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Learner language varieties are characterised by common features, which are often found in learners of an L2 in distant and different contexts. This is the case of students of Italian L2 in Malta and in Alto Adige (Bolzano province), two contexts characterised by bilingualism where advanced L2 learners often resort to communication strategies when they write and speak in Italian. In some cases their linguistic and grammatical knowledge is superior to their pragmatic competence, thereby leading to the use of words and to the formulation of sentences which may be unsuitable within the context in which they are used. In this paper we present findings based on utterances purposely extracted from examination scripts. Attention is focussed on traits in which spoken forms are transposed into the written variety, on contact with the context language/s and on select morphosyntactic structures. Findings indicate that advanced learners of Italian L2, both in Malta and in Alto Adige, resort to their interlanguage skills to express complex notions and that this may also help them further develop their linguistic competences., peer-reviewed

In Malta, as in many other southern European countries, school populations have become much more multi-ethnic and multilingual due to the migratory fluxes of recent years. The presence of migrant learners requires inclusive didactic measures and linguistic policies which can facilitate integration and ensure that the educational set-up enhances personal experiences, to the benefit of all learners. In this study, we focus on Maltese schools while briefly referring to cases found in other countries in Southern Europe, especially those that participate in an EU Project entitled MERIDIUM. The increasing number of migrant learners has stimulated local educators and the educational authorities to improve the regulatory framework of the integration policies in favour of migrant pupils and their families. However, schools need more practical and useful measures in order to better understand this phenomenon and its advantages as well as to improve professional skills of the administrative and teaching staff, and the relationships that these could create with migrant learners, parents and communities., peer-reviewed

In 2007 Oliver Friggieri published in one volume all the poems written by Dun Karm Psaila, which were previously scattered in various newspapers and rare periodicals. This provided a long-awaited opportunity to study the local variety of Italian belonging to the literary genre and I decided to start with a concordance to Dun Kann's poems. I then thought it worthwhile to compare his lexicon with that of his Maltese poems. Another step was a comparison between Dun Karm's lexical choices and those of another highly-rated Maltese poet, Ruzar Briffa. In this paper I present and compare the results obtained by three students, Catherine Aquilina, Olivia De Brincat and Christian Sciberras who wrote dissertations under my guidance., L-ewzzjoni tal-poeziji li Dun Karm Psaila kiteb bit-Taljan offriet, fl-2007, opportunitl wisq mistennija biex jigi studjat it-Taljan ta' Malta fil-varjeta letterarja tiegnu u bdejt bi progett biex jinbnew ilkonkordanzi, lista tal-kliem kollu ui:at fdawn il-poeziji. Gietni wkoll il-kurZita biex inqabbel il-kliem uZat mill-istess awtur fil-poezija bit-Taljan mal-kliem uzat fil-poezija bil-Malti. Deherli utli wkoll inqabbel it-tendenzi fl-ghai:la tal-vokabolarju bejn Dun Karm u Ruzar Briffa. Bix-xognol ta' tliet studenti, Catherine Aquilina, Olivia De Brincat, u Christian Sciberras, inkisbu dawn ir-riZultati., peer-reviewed

The authors of Lettera ad una Professoressa, as well as Don Lorenzo Milani himself, devote great importance to the use of language and to language teaching and learning. From the beginning of the Lettera, the authors observe that those who cannot express themselves coherently and do not learn ‘the art of writing’ are socially disadvantaged and that negative repurcussions that may result from linguistic deficiencies could affect one’s life. Even the language varieties used for everyday communicative purposes can become an instrument of discrimination, on the grounds that standard language forms (on the basis of which one determines ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ use of language) are often determined on the grounds of the status and prestige of language varieties that, in the course of time, become a reference point in order to establish grammatical rules. This paper (in Maltese) reflects on the language style of the Lettera ad una Professoressa, and reflects on social and educational implications of language use., peer-reviewed

Nel presente lavoro prendiamo in esame conversazioni tra cittadini percepiti come ‘stranieri’ e personale erogante servizi pubblici. Le conversazioni presentate si svolgono in ambiti istituzionali tipicamente urbani: scuole di lingua per stranieri, uffici comunali e universitari. In generale si sa che tutti i cittadini hanno difficoltà a comprendere il linguaggio burocratico-istituzionale scritto e a gestire la comunicazione nelle istituzioni con i loro operatori al pubblico; tanto più questo è un problema per persone che per differenze culturali non condividono le stesse implicazioni e le stesse aspettative di come una comunicazione deve svolgersi. Infatti una delle caratteristiche principali della comunicazione consiste proprio nel fatto che più le nostre esperienze e i nostri riferimenti linguistici e culturali (common knowledge) differiscono da quello del nostro interlocutore, più facilmente la comunicazione fallisce o comunque ha maggiormente bisogno di riformulazioni e di riparazioni. E sappiamo che ciò è particolarmente evidente nella comunicazione con persone straniere in situazioni burocratico-istituzionali. In questo contributo si presentano estratti conversazionali da due contesti geografici differenti, ossia Italia e Malta., peer-reviewed

The most densely populated island in the central Mediterranean is marked by a great variety of surnames due to its central population, its chequered history and the rapid demographic growth. Its population rose from about 5,000 inhabitants around 1050 to over 400,000 today and its history is reflected in the 15,000 family names which can be subdivided into ethnic groupings. About 200 “traditional” surnames account for 83% of the population, but one must note that those coined in the local language were registered in Sicily as early as 1095 and in Malta after 1419, and that the top 200 include 89 Italian surnames which were already present before 1500. The more recent Italian (1,849) and English (3,845) surnames, together with a sprinkling of Spanish and French surnames, cover only about 15% of the population. In the past few years there has been a significant rise in Arab and Slav surnames, due to the recent wave of immigration from North Africa and Central and Eastern Europe., peer-reviewed

This paper describes the Malta Culture Awareness Project aimed at introducing a culture component in English teaching in the lower forms of the secondary school. The research was based on the belief that "a culture component in language teaching actually improves language learning and makes students more tolerant of cultural diversity". The assumptions are that culture awareness (a) facilitates language learning and (b) makes students more tolerant and appreciative of diversity. Indeed these very assumptions underpinned the Council of Europe Project "Language Learning For European Citizenship", which was launched in the light of the socio-political phenomena that created the "House of Europe" in the last 20 years (Neuner 1994). Our assumptions were also substantiated by Byram and Zarate (1995, Preface) "the Council of Europe believes that teachers of languages (and also of other subjects as history and education for citizenship) have a central role to play in preparing young people for full and active democratic citizenship in the new Europe"., peer-reviewed

After Malta became Independent, the Maltese language, besides English, also became the official language of Malta. In this article, the author is trying to distinguish which language is used more often by males and females of Maltese individuals after acquiring Independence from the British rule., N/A

In this article Cassar Pullicino refers to some Maltese sayings and proverbs that are also used in Lebanon, N/A