Almost all Maltese people consider Maltese to be their first language - but a survey shows people find Maltese easier to speak but English easier to read and write.
The study by the the National Council for the Maltese language, looked at ways in which Maltese and English are used in social settings.
It showed that 57 per cent or respondents agreed with the statement that is Maltese easier to speak and understand than English.
But almost exactly the opposite was true when looking at reading.
Some 55 per cent of respondents disagree with the statement that Maltese is easier to read and write than English.
“Rather than being in competition, the use of Maltese and English complements each other in different circumstances,” Thomas Pace, Director of the Council for Maltese Language said.
The study also found that the majority of respondents felt that fluency in Maltese remains important for success at work as well as for products and services on the market.
In a press conference on Thursday, researchers from the university's Department of Maltese and the National Statistics Office said the use of the Maltese language remains very strong among young people, despite the saturated use of English in commerce, education and everyday life.
Some 97 per cent of 1,025 Maltese citizens aged between 18 and 80, who took part in the survey between November and December of last year, said they considered Maltese to be their first language. The majority of respondents were from the Northern Harbour area, with 268 people surveyed.
The use of Maltese proved to be prevalent in people’s daily lives, with 75 per cent saying they spoke to their children in Maltese only, 85 per cent who speak Maltese to their partners, 89 per cent who speak Maltese to their parents, 50 per cent who speak Maltese at work and 77 per cent who said they spoke Maltese exclusively with their friends.
The majority of people also listened to the radio (71 per cent) and watched the news on television (64 per cent) only in Maltese, however, when it came to entertainment, only 43 per cent watched sports programmes and 39 per cent television dramas exclusively in Maltese.
Some 64 per cent of respondents said they attended only Maltese language theatre productions.
When it comes to writing formally, the use of English had more prevalence among respondents, with 54 per cent saying they wrote formal letter or emails exclusively in English as opposed to 20 per cent who said they did so exclusively in Maltese.
However, when it came to informal writing, 37 per cent said they used English exclusively to write on social media compared to 30 per cent who did so in Maltese. Some 37 per cent said they wrote messages on apps like Whatsapp and Messenger, in Maltese compared to 21 per cent who did so in English.
Meanwhile, around 32 per cent of respondents said they read printed or online newspapers exclusively in Maltese, just slightly higher than the 28 per cent who said they only read newspapers in English.
Other respondents in these categories said they either used both languages or made use of another language entirely.
Half believe ads in Maltese more effective
When it comes to people’s attitudes towards the use of Maltese, 53 per cent said that adverts in Maltese were more effective than in English, while 80 per cent said that music with Maltese lyrics should be played more frequently on the radio.
Some 90 per cent think government department websites should be available in both Maltese and English, while a further 93 per cent wanted government correspondence as well as leaflets from banks and companies to be available in both languages.
“The research clearly indicates that Maltese people want more material in Maltese but not at the expense of English.”
The council welcomed further research into the use of Maltese, particularly among children under 18 as well as non-citizens who live in Malta and learn Maltese.