Language profiling: The weaving of Maltese and English in Maltese children’s conversations

The development of Maltese English

“…(12) jien ħa nuża l-green 'I'm going to use the green one' (13) u ejja let's play għax we have to go soon 'come on, let's play, because we have to go soon' Azzopardi-Alexander (2016) illustrates the value of language profiling especially for language assessment models in educational settings and suggests that a better understanding of translanguaging practices would benefit local education programmes.…”

“…Maltese scholars in the 1980s and 1990s, seeking to characterise the languages used in Malta, concluded with reference to the variety of English developing, as Borg (1980) puts it, ‘gradation is definitely involved here, rather than one clearly defined variety’ (p. 62). Other studies describing language use in Malta have focused on the extent of mixing and so‐called interference between Maltese, English and, to a lesser extent, Italian, also highlighting the issue of codeswitching (Azzopardi‐Alexander, 2016; Camilleri Grima, 2013; Ellul, 1978). In a different though related approach, Camilleri (1992) also sought to characterise language use in terms of family background and related language choices.…”

“…A recent account of code‐switching in Malta is made in a profiling study of Maltese bilingual children aged between 1.10 and 5.6 years (Azzopardi‐Alexander, 2016). Extensive examples from the data are presented in this study in the analysis of both the quality and the amount of switching evident between Maltese and English, such as the two provided in (12) and (13) below illustrating minimal, contrasted with extended code‐switching: jien ħa nuża l‐ green ‘I'm going to use the green one’ u ejja l et's play għax we have to go soon ‘come on, let's play, because we have to go soon’ …”

“…Azzopardi‐Alexander (2016) illustrates the value of language profiling especially for language assessment models in educational settings and suggests that a better understanding of translanguaging practices would benefit local education programmes.…”