Malta‘s rich history of foreign conquerors, its post-colonial past, together with its small landmass have fostered an enduring history of bilingualism on a societal level. Schooling in Malta is offered through three sectors,... [ view full abstract ]
Malta‘s rich history of foreign conquerors, its post-colonial past, together with its small landmass have fostered an enduring history of bilingualism on a societal level. Schooling in Malta is offered through three sectors, the State, the Church and the Independent ones. Despite national policies that promote both Maltese and English in schools, Maltese is considered to predominate in State schools, while English is used more in Church and Independent schools
This paper presents findings from a larger investigation into parents’ and their children’s language ideologies in Malta. The present study investigates the way participants link use of language in schools to language ideologies, while describing their own and/or their children’s experiences at school. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 7 women and 5 children. The interviews dealt with the participants’ language learning experiences, and with the ways they link language use to social groupings in schools. The following research question guided the collection and analysis of the interview data:
- How do participants link language ideologies to the type of school attended in Malta?
The data reveal how schools are sites where language use is linked to social capital (Bourdieu, 1991) and is very often used as a means of inclusion or exclusion. In some cases children had negative experiences because the social capital valued at home did not seem to match the one valued at school. This study also contributes to the ongoing debate about the ways speakers conceptualise ideologies about language and the impact that such ideologies can have on the way individuals are accepted or rejected by social groups. It also provides further insight into how language ideologies are anchored in the social environment (Schieffelin & Woolard, 1994, Schieffelin, Woolard, & Kroskrity, 1998).
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Schieffelin, B., Woolard, K. & Kroskrity, P. (1994). Language Ideologies. Practice and Theory, (pp. 317-332), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Schieffelin, B. B., Woolard, K. A., & Kroskrity, P. V. (1998). Language ideologies: Practice and theory. New York: Oxford University Press.
