Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/981272
| SUNDAY • 13 MAY 2018 maltatoday 10 SURVEY THE MALTESE LANGUAGE SPEAKING AT HOME Maltese: 79% English: 2.5% Both: 18.6% MALTESE is the spoken language at home for people of all ages but Labour voters are likelier to speak the mother tongue more frequently than National- ist voters. The MaltaToday survey found that 87.3% of those who voted for the La- bour Party last year said the frequently spoken language at home was Maltese, while 11.9% said they frequently used both Maltese and English. Among voters of the Nationalist Par- ty, 71.6% said they spoke Maltese most frequently at home while 26.1% spoke Maltese and English. PL voters who identified English as the frequently used language at home were a measly three quarters of a per- centage point, with the equivalent number of PN voters totalling 2.3%. The figures show that spoken Mal- tese at home had a strong base in Gozo where 91.3% said it was the fre- quent language of choice, as opposed to 8.7% who identified both Maltese and English. The Western, Northern and North- ern Harbour regions are the ones with the highest prevalence of people who frequently speak Maltese and Eng- lish at home, ranging between 20.2% and 24.3%. The prevalence of people who speak Maltese most frequently at home is highest among those with a primary education and decreases, the higher the education level the person has attained. The highest prevalence of those who speak Maltese and English is among those with a post-secondary education where 28.2% said they fre- quently used both languages at home, followed by those with a tertiary edu- cation (23.9%). AT WORK Maltese: 50.6% English: 9.8% Both: 38.4% Almost half of the people with a tertiary education are those with the highest prevalence of using both Mal- tese and English at the workplace, ac- cording to the survey. They are also the group likely to speak English most frequently at work (15.9%), which is possibly a reflection of the type of jobs graduates are em- ployed in. On the flipside, people with a prima- ry level of education identified Maltese as the language they spoke more fre- quently (83.8%) at work. The survey showed that PN voters were evenly split between those who were more likely to speak Maltese (44%) and those who spoke both lan- guages (44.9%) As for the PL voters, those who spoke Maltese totalled 53.3%, as opposed to 37.9% who spoke both languages more frequently at their place of work. However, the overall figures suggest that Maltese is the prevalent language for half the population at their place of work. WITH FRIENDS Maltese: 81.4% English: 2.2% Both: 15.8% There appears to be little difference between the most frequently used lan- guage at home and that used between friends, the survey has found. The Northern Harbour region does stand out again with the lowest num- ber of respondents who speak Maltese among friends but at 74.5%, this is still very high. In all other regions, the prevalence of spoken Maltese between friends surpasses the 80% mark. People with a tertiary education are the likeliest to speak English more fre- quently with friends (25%), while the highest number of English-only use (5.4%) are among those with a post- secondary education. There is also a slight distinction based on political allegiance, with PL voters more likely than their PN counterparts to speak Maltese among friends. READING NEWSPAPERS Maltese: 37.7% English: 27.2% Both: 19.3% Don't read: 14.8% TRADITIONAL newspapers appear to be the last bulwark of Maltese reader- ship with 37.7% of people saying they prefer reading them in Maltese. This stands out when compared to other preferences for books and online news, where English prevails as the language of choice. Another 27.2% prefer reading Eng- lish-language newspapers, while 19.3% have no particular preference, choos- ing to read both in English and Mal- tese. Significantly, 14.8% say they do not read newspapers, with the largest group being the elderly category. There is a slightly higher preference for reading traditional newspapers in English among those aged between 18 and 35 but this belies the trend in all other age groups. Labour voters are more inclined to prefer Maltese-language newspapers (50.1%) as opposed to a relative major- ity of PN supporters (42.3%) who pre- fer reading newspapers in English. Speaking Maltese, reading English Malta's language snapshot We tend to speak Maltese at home and with friends, irrespective of where we live but then we much prefer reading books and posting Facebook statuses in English. A MaltaToday survey on language has lifted the lid on some aspects of how Maltese juggle bilingualism KURT SANSONE mt survey The figures show that spoken Maltese at home had a strong base in Gozo where 91.3% said it was the frequent language of choice, as opposed to 8.7% who identified both Maltese and English