“Strengthening Our National Language” The National Forum On The Maltese Language Convenes

He remarked that the survey by Dr. Marmarà shows that the vast majority of adults cherish Maltese, considering it their main language. “Maltese is also used for our artistic and cultural expression, and in Dr. Marmarà’s survey, we see encouraging participation from Maltese people in cultural activities in the Maltese language,” he said.

At the same time, he explained that as bilingual people, in a multicultural society and a globalised world, the mixing of Maltese with other languages is being felt. He also noted the need for foreigners living and working in Malta to learn Maltese to better communicate with Maltese and Gozitans and to integrate more into society.

Minister Bonnici declared that in this context, the government is showing its support for the increase in the use of our language, including the establishment of the Maltese Language Centre six months ago, which is working to raise awareness of our national and official language.

Norma Saliba, the Chief Executive of the Maltese Language Centre, also spoke, stating that Maltese, its preservation, and strengthening should become a national priority. “By national priority, I mean that we should take every necessary initiative, whether legal or decision-making, including political ones, to ensure that we protect and strengthen Maltese,” she said.

Saliba explained how the Maltese Language Centre, in recent months, has had several meetings with organisations and individuals to better understand the challenges and opportunities of the Maltese language and the way forward. 

She said that the Centre is working to ensure that knowledge of Maltese becomes a requirement for every foreign worker in the health sector, especially carers. She indicated that the Centre is working on a project to be announced soon, about audiovisual resources in Maltese aimed at children.

These are the main points from Dr. Vincent Marmarà’s survey:

• 95.4% of Maltese consider Maltese as one of their main languages; 12.7% consider English as one of their main languages;
• Nearly 95% of Maltese speak Maltese with their families; 13.5% say they speak English with them; the majority of the latter reside in the North of the Grand Harbour (19.8%);
• Parents of children under 18 mostly speak Maltese to their children (68.3%). 15.9% said they speak to them in English most of the time, while another 15.9% said they use both languages;
• Parents aged 26-45 are the most likely to respond that their children understand only English (24.3%), with those living in the North of the Grand Harbour most likely to say their children understand only English (30.4%);
• At work, nearly 80% speak Maltese, and more than half (53.2%) speak English with their colleagues;
• Maltese is most used in banks (75.7%), while it is least used in bars and restaurants (16.1%);
• The majority of Maltese feel comfortable writing emails in English (57.3%); more than half prefer to use Maltese for writing notes (55.7%) and sending mobile messages (52.5%);
• Online news in Maltese is the most sought after (57.7%), but then there is a preference for obtaining more information from English websites (39.9%);
• Nearly half of the Maltese attend cultural activities. The most preferred activities are those that are in Maltese only (53.7%);
• Nearly 85% of Maltese agree that foreigners living in Malta should learn Maltese.

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