PERCIEVED LANGUAGE DOMINANCE AMONGST BILINGUAL MALDIVIANS AND PREFERENCE FOR EMOTIONAL SPEECH

Abstract

The existing limited literature in the field of linguistics of Maldives paints a bleak picture: young students do not perceive their L1 (Dhivehi) to be a useful language and places a higher prominence on learning their L2 (English). This study investigates the perceived language dominance of Maldivians between their L1 and L2, its impact on perceived proficiency in both languages, and whether perceived proficiency affects the preference of language for emotional and non-emotional use, along with perceptions towards their L1. Data collected via an online questionnaire shows a mismatch between perceived dominance and actual dominance, along with perceived proficiency. This has an impact of preference of use of L1 and L2, and negative perceptions towards their L1 to some extent. Further research could focus on a larger sample size, from different parts of the country in order to understand the true language situation of the country in terms of language dominance, proficiency, and perceptions.