Scoping bilingualism in digital marketing : the perception of brands on the basis of language

Abstract

This dissertation sought to explore the role that language plays in developing brand perception. This research is especially valid in the Maltese context seeing as the island is bilingual. The language debate has caused heated disputes amongst Maltese locals; who perceive the increased use of English to endanger their native language. For the purpose of this study, a database was compiled in order to assess the respective use of English and Maltese in online marketing. In addition to this, a survey replicating the work of Gerritsen et al. was compiled in order to gauge the attitudes of Maltese natives towards the use of the English and Maltese languages in content marketing. The survey was particularly administered to Maltese speakers and sought to categorise its sample on the basis of age, locality and education level. The data collected from the study was analysed by means of SPSS and NVivo. The findings indicated that the attitudes of respondents differed on the basis of language, with English being the preferred language with regard to promotional activity. This result was prevalent amongst all the variable groups tested. The textual analysis suggested that this preference is attributed to the fact that Maltese is regarded to be an unrefined language. Additionally, respondents reported preferring the English language due to an element of custom. THE PERCEPTION OF BRANDS ON THE BASIS OF LANGUAGE 8 Irrespective of these results, respondents still experienced an intrigue towards the Maltese content presented due to its elements of novelty, nationalism and nostalgia. Finally, the use of English did not result to alienate respondents given that the sample studied demonstrated to have a good grasp of the Anglo-Saxon language. Whilst the complete abolition of English in content marketing is not recommendable, the adoption of Maltese in marketing is seen to be potentially profitable given that it may help increase the exposure of products on the local market.