A Sociolinguistic Comparison between Algerian and Maltese

Abstract

A sociolinguistic study is made of the Maltese language to compare it to the Algerian language. Algerian is not the official language in Algeria, although it is the national one, and in this article an empirical study is undertaken to question the particularities of Algerian and its formation, comparing it with Maltese which has itself gained official status. Maltese, or “the language of the kitchen” as it is known, has gained important status on the island after decades of foreign occupation and linguistic influence from various civilizations that left palpable paw prints on the Mediterranean island. Maltese has managed to successfully confirm its linguistic identity, through a noticeable influence of Arabic, Italian and English amongst other languages that have imposed themselves and had a hand in forming the Maltese language. A sociolinguistic and historical study is made to explain the formation of Algerian comparing it to Maltese and the influence of history in both languages. A historical study is made to compare and observe the historic diachronic of both countries, and we compare the influence of foreign languages in Algeria and Malta. Likewise, an empirical study is undertaken to question the use of Algerian from various angles, and to examine the linguistic identity in Algeria.