Graduation Ceremony 7
Wednesday 26th November 2014 at 4.30 p.m.
JESUITS’ CHURCH – VALLETTA
Graduand’s Address
Anne-Marie Bezzina
Student Representative
It is an honour for me to address you on this occasion, which is so special for us all.
On being asked to prepare this speech, I have had the opportunity to look back upon my experience as a Ph.D. student, and well
beyond that, I ended up reflecting on my long journey of University level studies, which I have been engaged in, on and off, for not
less than twenty-four years! It all started with my B.A. (Hons) course back in 1990. I initially took French only as a subsidiary
subject. Little did I know, back then, that I would one day be working as a Lecturer in French Pedagogy at the University of Malta,
and that I would be writing a Ph.D. thesis in French, on the Maltese and French languages. My love of French language and
culture made me feel at that time that I was missing out on my one greatest passion, and I requested a change of subjects which
allowed me to take French as a Main Subject. From then on, I never looked back. This was one of those decisions that you take at
one point in your life and that will shape your future itinerary for you.
As we all know, studying at tertiary level often leaves you disheartened because of its many challenges, but it also has its many
ways of instilling in you a craving for knowledge, the will to endeavour and experiment, and the excitement of discovery. Great
satisfaction accompanies every moment when you feel that you have moved a step forward and made real progress. This sense of
fulfilment occurred several times during the course of my Ph.D. studies. For my thesis I analyzed stylistic or register variation in
Maltese (and French), and I needed a large corpus of naturally occurring speech on which to carry out my analysis. For a number
of months I hardly went anywhere without my digital recorder, and most of my outings consisted of meetings with people who
had agreed to be audio-recorded. The transcriptions then took me more than a year of being locked up in a room, in the dark, so
that I could concentrate more, in the company of my computer and my headphones, striving to decipher the speech that I had
recorded, which very often included instances of several speakers talking at the same time. I am not sure that my ears are quite the
same now as before this exercise, and I seem to have developed very sharp hearing. When I finished transcribing, however, I felt a
sense of elation, as I could now start the analysis on the corpus I had built. A sense of satisfaction then continued to accompany
the completion of every chapter of the thesis, and each time, the feedback received from my supervisors was also a boost.
I am greatly indebted to my supervisors. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to work with two experts, rather than one. For my
Master of Arts course, I had studied for a degree in Linguistics with the Institute of Linguistics at the University of Malta. I also
had experience of a French University because I read for my Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies, an M.Phil equivalent course, at the
Université de Rouen. When the time came for me to embark upon my doctoral studies, my natural choice was to turn to the
Institute of Linguistics at the University of Malta for advice on the choice of topic and supervisor. At the same time I was also
reading sociolinguistic material which struck me as ground-breaking by Professor Françoise Gadet, a Professor at the Université
Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, leader of the French variationist school of thought. When I contacted Professor Gadet for
guidance, she suggested that the best way forward for me would be to go for a double Ph.D., which meant that I would be fully
registered as a Ph.D. student at two universities at the same time, and that I would graduate from both institutions. This scheme is
called “cotutelle” in France and is widely followed in French universities. I am very grateful that Rector, Professor Camilleri,
welcomed the idea of this partnership between the two universities, and I am also grateful to the Registrar’s Office which dealt
with the administrative and legal matters related to the signing of the contract between the two universities. When this was settled,
as a student registered at both institutions, I greatly benefitted from the double guidance and training that I was receiving. The
impact by my Maltese supervisor, Professor Albert Borg, was crucial to my interpretation of the sociolinguistic implications of
language use and distribution in the Maltese islands, and to an optimal exploitation of my corpus. I greatly appreciated Professor
Borg’s thorough readings of my drafts. Professor Françoise Gadet’s theoretical guidance on stylistic variation molded my
reflections on the theoretical level. I also received feedback and further training through doctoral seminars organized by the
Institute of Linguistics here in Malta, and by both the Doctoral School and the Research Laboratory that I belonged to in the
French university. These structures allowed me to have my first experiences of academic conferences. Even now that I have
finished my studies, the Research Laboratory network continues to send me very valuable information on calls for papers, recent
publications and upcoming conferences. It would be, in my view, very helpful to doctoral students and graduates of the University
of Malta, if there were, for every field of knowledge, or for every department or institute of the University, such structures and
networks operating with the aim to diffuse information to doctoral students on possibilities to contribute in conferences and to
publish, for instance in peer-reviewed journals. This would stimulate more research, and would be very enriching for the academic
development of the University of Malta’s Ph.D. students and graduates, and would give them and the University itself more
visibility on the local and international research scene.
When my thesis was drawing to its end, the coordination of a one-year extension period and especially of the viva voce
examination set-up necessitated much negotiation between the two universities and all persons involved. I am grateful to
Professor Ray Fabri, Director of the Institute of Linguistics, who was a crucial figure for the smooth running of these
administratively demanding milestones. I am also very grateful to the Board of Examiners, who in their thesis report, and during
the viva voce examination itself, suggested valuable contacts abroad, future projects and further readings related to my topic. This
truly enriched my Ph.D. experience, and I know that there is much room for further development of my research in the future.
Now that, as I am graduating with a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Malta, and with a Doctorat en Sciences du Langage
from the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, I come to take stock of this experience, I can make a very positive
assessment of the benefits of studying for a double Ph.D., and I encourage graduands here to explore the possibility of partnerships
with universities abroad, and any other research and training experiences which may broaden their horizons. Partnerships with
foreign universities may also prove to be a way in which the University of Malta could continue to reaffirm its already solid
presence in the network of salient academic institutions internationally.
I am also grateful to the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme, which funded my studies. Financial help through the MGSS
scholarship was important to me, especially in the first two years of my studies, when I had no other source of income. I had in fact
planned to study for my Ph.D. on a full-time basis while on parental leave after the birth of my second son. Studying when one is a
parent to young children means that you have to have very good time management and discipline. I intended to divide my time
between my studies and my family, but two years down the line a post for a Resident Academic lecturing in French within the
Faculty of Education was advertised. This was an opportunity not to be missed, and when I was selected for the job, there was now
another important duty in my life. Being in an academic environment however helped me in my studies, as it kept me focused. I
wish to thank the Rector of the University, the Dean of my Faculty, Professor Valerie Sollars, and the Deputy Dean and my Head
of Department, Professor Sandro Caruana, for the support shown to me during my years as Assistant Lecturer preparing for a
Ph.D.
Upon my employment, the MGSS scholarship continued to help by funding my course fees. I encourage graduands present here
today to apply for scholarships which can fund their post-graduate studies, as these relieve the financial burden that such studies
entail.
In my address so far I have had the opportunity to mention and thank several persons who helped me in one way or another to
achieve success in my studies. A special thank you goes once again to my supervisors, Professors Albert Borg and Françoise Gadet.
I would not be here sharing these reflections with you however, if it were not for the support received from my family, who went
through many sacrifices so that I could complete my studies. I am indebted to my dear husband and my younger son Paul, to my
mother and sister, and to my very special elder son Patrick, who is here sharing this special occasion with me, and who was
throughout this journey, and always will be, my greatest source of inspiration.
Likewise, I think that all my fellow graduands owe much to their parents and families, who have borne the brunt of our moods and
dejection, whenever we were faced with stiff challenges, and who have lent a helping hand whenever possible. Therefore, I thank
and congratulate all the families who have proudly accompanied their graduands here today to share the joy and the well-deserved
reward of their achievement. I would finally like to express my most sincere wishes of good luck to you all.