Languages of Malta

Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English. Maltese is the national language of Malta. Until 1934, Italian was also an official language in Malta. Most people living in Malta can talk in languages that are not native to the country, mostly English and Italian. 

The Eurobarometer poll done in 2012 says 98% of people living in Malta can talk in Maltese, 88% can talk in English, 66% can talk in Italian, and more than 17% can talk in French. In 1995, 98% of people living in Malta could talk in Maltese, 76% could talk in English, 36% could talk in Italian, and 10% could talk in French. Fluency in Italian has increased after Italian was no longer an official language of Malta because Italian television broadcasts reach Malta.Country profile: Malta BBC News; [2008/01/10]; [2008/02/21] 

According to the 2011 census, there were 377,952 people aged 10 and over. Out of them, 357,692 people (94.7%) said they could talk in Maltese at least at an average level, 248,570 (82.1%) said they could talk in English "Well", "Average", "A little" and "Not at all". French, Russian, Spanish and German are the other main languages taught in secondary and tertiary education.Ignasi Badia i Capdevila; A view of the linguistic situation in Malta; NovesSL; [2004]; retrieved on [2008-02-24]

 References 

 Hull, Geoffrey. The Malta Language Question: A Case Study in Cultural Imperialism. Said International, Valletta, 1993.

Malta
Category:Malta