Foreign Languages

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The Foreign Languages community showcases scholarly publications and research outputs authored by faculty and researchers in the Faculty of Foreign Languages. This collection includes journal articles, working papers, conference proceedings, and other academic works that contribute to the understanding of theory, policy, and practice. It aims to promote open access to high-quality economic research conducted within the institution.

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Contrastive analysis of the dependent subject clause in Albanian and English
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Alla, Aida
During the process of foreign language learning, it often happens that students are influenced by native language rules while formulating their ideas in a foreign language, thus failing to pay due account of the fact that linguistic aspects are different in different languages. In light of this finding, this paper/presentation intends to make a contrastive analysis designed to demonstrate, both from a theoretical and practical perspective, similarities and differences between subject clauses in English and Albanian, from a syntactical point of view. Thefollowing presentation examinessome of the linguistic means used to express a subject clause in both languages; their structural typology (based on the conjugation means); the grammatical agreementsbetween the categories of number and person, both direct or otherwise, that this type of sentence establishes with the predicate of the main clause of a complex sentence; as well as its order in the complex sentence. The similarities and differences we intend tounfold in this analysisare expected to be of value to two target-groups: it shall serve English language students as an example illustrating that failure to take account of these linguistic differences in the way a sentence is formed, would result in the use of grammatically erroneous structures and, consequently, create obstacles in interlingual communication. This presentation shall also serve English language university students who may use this modest and by no means exhausting presentation, and elaborate it to a greater extent and in greater detail in their scientific papers.
Migration and Personal Identity in Writings of the Jewish Writer, Anzia Yezierska
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Ramadani, Fatmir; Sallauka, Ardian
Jewish migration stands as a poignant memorial to the historical pogroms and discrimination endured by human beings in the modern era. This intricate and profound process of migration gives rise to numerous political, social, and economic challenges for both the countries and the people involved. It transcends the simple act of moving from one place to another, encompassing a multifaceted journey viewed from various perspectives. This research examines the influence of one Jewish author, Anzia Yezierska, whose writings often draw from her own autobiographical experience, particularly in her works “America and I” and “How I Found America”, and how her sufferings are represented in the modern literature by delving deeply into literary works, critical analyses, and historical studies. The data analysis shows that there is a strong relationship between the American dream and the homeland in shaping the migrants dreams. These works share common themes, including a strong bond with the land, prejudices and respect. These two stories have their similarities and differences, and altogether are unique parts of the Jewish migration mosaic. It looks at the aversions against the human beings, representation of prejudice against the population forced to leave from one place to another. The data analysis demonstrates the continued relevance of migration narratives and aspirations in contemporary literature as a memorial of remembrance for young generations. "America and I" and "How I Found America" poignantly depict the suffering of Jews, highlighting both similarities and contrasts between their homeland and the promise of "America, the land of opportunity." Together, these stories contribute to the rich tapestry of Jewish migration, a testament to the resilience and struggles faced by a people seeking a better life. In order to obtain a more profound comprehension of the influence of migration on the personal identity of the writers, scholars should conduct multidisciplinary investigations. Comparative studies, literary analysis classes, and stimulating seminars will all contribute to understanding.
SYMBOLISM IN “A CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” (1922) BY F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Ramadani, Fatmir; Sallauka, Ardian
This paper analyzes the use of symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (1922), focusing on its employment of allegory, archetypes, and symbols. The study seeks to throw further light on the manner in which Fitzgerald uses literary symbolism as a means to explore the modernist consciousness of the protagonist, Benjamin Button, who serves as an archetype for the alienation experienced by modern man in the Jazz Age. By examining both personal and conventional symbols, the paper not only reveals how the protagonist embodies the tensions of his era, but also highlights how he exemplifies the human representatives of the period. Special attention is given to several underexplored symbols within the story, including: Benjamin's dress suit, the cigars he smokes as an infant, his hair dye, fake whiskers, and the colored paper in kindergarten. These symbols illustrate Fitzgerald's craftsmanship in conveying complex themes such as identity, aging, and societal expectations. Through the juxtaposition of these symbols with Benjamin's unusual aging process, the paper argues that the protagonist becomes a symbolic figure for the disorientation and alienation experienced by individuals in the modernist era. Ultimately, the research provides fresh insights into how Fitzgerald’s symbolism deepens the narrative’s engagement with modernist themes, offering a richer understanding of both the text and its cultural significance.
CODE-SWITCHING IN ELT CLASSROOMS IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Sallauka, Ardian
The use of the mother tongue also known as L1 as a needed and important constituent in the L2 classroom has been discussed amongst teachers of English as a foreign/second language for a long time. Therefore, the present study wants to answer the following research question: What are the circumstances ELT teachers and students switch between English and Albanian, with the goal to better understand teachers’ and students’ language choice regarding code switching in ELT classrooms. In order to reach the goal, a sample of 15 interviews conducted with primary, secondary, and higher education ELF teachers and of 15 interviews carried out with ELT high schools and university students, from the Republic of Kosovo is determined. The interviews are transcribed and then coded and the analysis rests upon the interpretativeinductive approach. The results of this study show that the majority of the EFL teachers use their mother tongue to either explain their ideas clearly, give instructions, manage the classroom, or understand instructions and ideas appropriately in English, etc. Teachers always switch to their mother tongue (L1) when using EFL (L2) and in very rare cases the opposite. The research results also display that EFL learners use code switching to express themselves better, to explain ideas, to communicate with each other, and to increase comprehension such as in cases when they ask their professors or their colleagues questions, but there are cases worth mentioning when professors and learners use it without even realizing it. This research will help teachers and students have a better understanding of the role of code-switching in ELT classes, and will make them more aware of this very common phenomenon.
Hypocrisy of the Society in Mark Twain's “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Sallauka, Ardian; Llunji, Venera
The main purpose of conducting this research was to give its readers a clear overview of the society, racism, religion, adventures, and most of all the hypocrisy of people at the time of Mark Twain (1835-1910). My focus was on how people treated each other as well as how they treated Tom, who is the main character of the novel, and how other children of the city were treated based on the role they had in the society they lived in. Considering the fact that these topics are very much alive even nowadays in our society, I hope this research paper will help people realize that many of these things are bad for societies and we should change for better in order to make the world a better place to live in. I did the research on this topic by first reading the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” written by Mark Twain and by exploring resources from other related books and many trusted ejournals that gave me a better understanding of the novel, so its reader can have a clearer overview through a thorough analysis of the novel.
Legal language: Stylistic analysis of “Convention on Cluster"
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Alla, Aida
English is undoubtedly the most important means of communication between different nations worldwide. It is the lingua franca in most of the international gatherings, be them political, economical, social, artistic, literary etc. Similarly, in this framework, diplomatic and political interaction among nations is rapidly increasing, thus, rising the need for professionalism in translation. International law needs to be translated accurately in order to fit every country‘s national political and cultural mentality. This study analyses the peculiarities of legal translation with a focus on international treaties, namely ―Convention on Cluster Munitions – CCM‖, which Albania ratified and is a Member State.2 This study focuses on the peculiarities and characteristics of legal-diplomatic language in terms of style, register, tone, sentence structure, syntax, and lexicology, the uniformity of terminology, functional equivalence and in the same time underscoring the difficulties that have been encountered during the translation of CCM. In order to better understand the above mentioned characteristics, we will make a stylistic analysis taking into account the examples extracted from the official texts in both English (source text, ST) and Albanian (target text, TT). Even though we will confront both texts together - ST and TT - we cannot consider this analysis a contrastive and comparative one. It is not the scope of this study to compare and contrast the linguistic tools to identify the similarities and differences. On the contrary, we will focus on the style and tone of the conventions and the way these two components are linguistically portrayed in both languages.
An invisible storyteller or a loud recreator? A translator-centered approach to the translation of children’s literature
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Alla, Aida
This paper aims to demonstrate that, like the original author, a translator of children’s literature (hereafter CH. L.) possesses a distinct style or idiolect, shaped by both linguistic and extralinguistic expectations. The study focuses on the first three books of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, translated into Albanian by Amik Kasoruho, who is renowned for his contributions to the translation of classic adult literature. Given the study’s scope, the analysis will concentrate exclusively on Kasoruho’s creative use of the lexicon in the Albanian translation. Both internal and external factors are considered to identify and analyze translator Kasoruho’s idiolect at the lexical level. Internally, sentences containing words and phrases with common patterns (e.g., archaic terms, dialectal expressions, phraseological units, substandard words) are selected from the target text. These are compared with their counterparts in the source text to determine whether such patterns reflect the author’s style or the translator’s linguistic preferences. Externally, these lexical clusters are assessed against the norms of children’s literature translation (Ch. L. T.) to ascertain whether the translator adhered to or deviated from these norms. The findings suggest that the translator’s linguistic idiosyncrasies significantly influence the translation process.
THE SEMANTIC FUNCTION OF SUPRA-SEGMENTAL FEATURES IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN ENGLISH AND THEIR TRANSFERENCE INTO ALBANIAN
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Alla, Aida
Supra-segmental features, namely, the tone, intonation, stress, variations in diction, pauses etc., as acoustic phenomena imposed on speech sounds, can be considered a domain of phonetics. However, such features are replaced by graphics when the spoken discourse is rendered into the written form. Their presence in literature is very important, considering the semantic functions that they entail. The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it attempts to study the graphical tools that replace the supra-segmental features as well as their stylistic functions in literature in the first three Harry Potter novels. Secondly, the translated variants of Harry Potter into Albanian will be looked upon through the comparative analysis, with the aim of investigating whether the graphical aspect of supra-segmental features along with their functions are preserved during the translation process, so that the child reader of the target text receives the connotative layers of intended meaning. As for as the methodology of this paper is concerned, the descriptive, comparative analysis will be utilised with the aim of comparing and contrasting both the source text and the target text in terms of the use and the function of supra-segmental features in both the Harry Potter variants. The emphasis will be placed on the investigation of the effect that these features have and the transference of the similar effect to the child reader of the target text.
BAC, U KRY! Space, Albanian Commemoration and the Gheg Variety as a Linguistic Symbol of State Independence in Postwar Kosovo
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Demaj, Uranela; Alla, Aida
This paper investigates the reconstruction of Albanian identity in Kosovo after the region’s transformation to state independence in 2008. The cultural environment emerged as a site of ethnic appropriation and contestation in the longstanding interethnic struggles between the Albanians and the Serbs. The study examines the socio-symbolic and linguistic manifestations of national identity in Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo, through the lens of Linguistic Landscape Studies. The first aspect of the study investigates M. Theresa Boulevard, the central promenade of the city and a site of memory and commemoration, to highlight how the period of South Slavic hegemony in Kosovo and the recent interethnic war resulted in a redefinition of Albanian identity. The second aspect of the study focuses on the written manifestation of the Gheg variety of Albanian as a symbol of Kosovo’s independence. Through this dual focus on memory and language, the study aims to arrive at an understanding of how new national and political self-identifications are shaped in contexts that have undergone ethno-political conflicts and socio-political shifts. We argue that the symbolic configuration of Kosovo suggests a redefinition of Kosovo-based Albanian identity following the transformation to state independence. The study contributes to an understanding of the multi-layered redefinition of Albanian identity in Kosovo, calling attention to language and memory in the process of constructing national identities in postwar contexts.
Comparing and Contrasting the Syntactical Structures in the English and Albanian Variants of the Harry Potter Saga
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Alla, Aida
Whenever the issue of translation is raised, the term equivalence is taken into consideration. Becoming an essential feature of translation theories since the 1960s, equivalence was meant to indicate that source text and target text share some kind of “sameness”. The degree of sameness gave birth to different kinds of equivalence, namely lexical, grammatical and cultural ones. Considering that language systems differ from one-another, we cannot assume that lexical and grammatical structures of both source and target language will be identical. On the contrary, it is the meaning and preservation of style which take precedence. The present study aims to observe the similarities and differences in syntactical structures between English and Albanian language traced in the first three Harry Potter novels, written by the British author J. K. Rowling and translated into Albanian by the distinguished translator Amik Kasoruho. Firstly, the translation strategies introduced by the most prominent scholars of translation theory will be explained. These strategies will then constitute the theoretical basis of syntactical and comparative analysis, which will compare and contrast both the source and target texts at the phrase level. Finally, conclusions will be drawn regarding the similarities and differences in the illustrations taken out from the corpus.
The influence of English in the language used by Kosovar media
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Alla, Aida
The aim of this research is the reflection of the influence of English language on Albanian language used by Kosovar media. The Albanian language is always influenced by other languages, including the impact of different invaders throughout history over the Albanian people. English language holds a special place as a global or international language. Its use affects all the languages of the world, including Albanian, where its influence has become more significant over the past twenty years. This happened due to uncontrolled entry of anglicisms in Albanian language and the need for appropriate terminology labelling as a result of technological development. The equivalents of current Albanian words are not used in the media or in public because of the prestige that that English words have. Lack of equivalent words is another reason for using more anglicisms. Today, despite the commitment of the Albanian language lecturers, television media and daily newspapers are the most significant users of anglicisms. This research deals with the history, use, causes, time and future anglicisms in Albanian language.
Distributive numerals in Albanian
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Rushiti, Bujar
This paper investigates nga-marked numerals in Albanian. They qualify as distributive numerals, since the presence of nga on the numeral yields a distributive reading of the sentences they belong to. Beyond their differences, most of the previous accounts rely on the hypothesis that distributive numerals introduce some kind of semantic feature, e.g. a covariation feature; an evaluation plurality requirement, also called a post-suppositional plurality requirement; or a distributivity force. Our main claim goes against this trend of thinking. We propose that distributive numerals do not carry any semantic feature but only a formal syntactic feature that needs to enter a syntactic dependency relation with a distributivity feature. The analysis is implemented in terms of Zeijlstra’s (2004) UPWARD AGREE.
APPLICATION OF FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN PRISHTINA UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOLS
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Dreshaj, Niman
Examining the evaluation process and the items used to evaluate students is crucial. For student evaluations, teachers are either staying with more traditional methods that need significantly less commitment than present methods, or they are adopting more modern alternatives. The purpose of this research is to find out whether and how Kosovo's student teaching content is evaluated. Thus, the study focuses on identifying various types of test designs that are employed to determine their effectiveness. The goal of this study is to improve teaching and learning by offering reliable information on evaluation. The results display that most teachers are trained to use summative methods, and occasionally formative methods are implemented. The information gathered also reveals that the application of particular strategies by teachers is significantly influenced by their age, length of service, and attendance at training. The results show that older teachers tend to use summative assessments. whereas younger educators use formative strategies.
THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH IN THE AGE OF COVID-19
(AAB College, 2025-07-11) Spahiu, Isa; Dreshaj, Niman
Whether to use or not new technology inside the classroom has always been discussed for various reasons. Nowadays, technology is becoming an integral part of everybody's life (Hongling & Zhang, 2012). Considering the benefits that the use of new technologies could provide to people, especially those for learning English, research on this topic has been deemed worthwhile. Having in mind the counter-arguments, the present paper aims to investigate the advantage of using new technology in a class, and most importantly, how to use it and promote learning, advantages and disadvantages of using new technology in the classroom, how to encourage students to use IT appropriately, and exploring some of the best ways to teach and learn English language (Hermans et al. 2008).
ENGLISH WORDS IN THE LEGAL TERMINOLOGY OF KOSOVO
(AAB College, 2025-07-14) Ramadani, Fatmir
English language as the most widespread language in the world, is used as language of communication, technology, education by more people and for more purposes than any other language on Earth. English Language today is spoken all over the world and the nature of its easy transmission to the people through mass media makes it as the most accessible language on earth. Kosovo was rapidly part of these developments after the 1999. Every Kosovar is bilingual and many multilingual. They are rich in terms of languages spoken, due to the interaction with countries and cultures abroad and presence of many international institutions. Foreign languages influenced Albanian spoken language but also language of education, media and communication, particularly after the war in 1999, English language and words drastically influenced common spoken language as well as glossary of Kosovar legislation. This was done either by using intentionally English legal terminology into Kosovo legislation, or by continuing use of English words in official language and communication which resulted with words becoming integrated part of legal terminology. My long experience as Language Assistant in various international organizations in Kosovo, would be a great help to focus on English terminology that has entered into legal system of Kosovo, respectively legal linguistic terms that were borrowed by judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police officers, and other parties involved in legal proceedings in Kosovo.
Erotic, Sexual Words and Meanings in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in Albanian translation
(AAB College, 2025-07-14) Ramadani, Fatmir
The Albanian reading public had to wait for three hundred years to be introduced to the works of one of the greatest writers of English literature, William Shakespeare, in their mother tongue. The translation of Shakespeare’s works into Albanian started in the second decade of the 20th century. We distinguish three periods of the Albanian translation of Shakespeare’s plays. The fi rst phase, from 1915 to 1928, is known for the translation of Bishop Fan Noli, the head of Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Boston, USA. The second phase from 1955 until 1982, during the totalitarian regime world literature was strictly censored by communist propaganda, with only three offi cial translators of Shakespeare’s works, Skënder Luarasi, Vedat Kokona, and Alqi Kristo. Third period, from 1990 to the present, with an increasing number of translators of Shakespeare’s works, such as Refi k Kadĳ a, Perikli Jorgoni, Qezar Kurti, Mihal Hanxhari, Napolon Tasi, Pashko Gjeçi, Kristaq Traja etc. William Shakespeare has made frequent use of erotic and sexual words, meanings and connotations in his tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Most of them are missing in the fi rst Albanian translation. But the second translator has noted all of them in the footnotes of his translation. In this paper I will focus on these sexual and erotic words and references in the “Romeo and Juliet” and their translation in Albanian language by two translators, the fi rst translation of Alqi Kristo some 70 years ago, and the second translation by Refi k Kadĳ a in 2014. Political influences, evolution of Albanian language over the last decades, are some of the main reasons to suggest that Refi k Kadĳ a’s translation should be used as more complete and bett er translation of Shakespeare’s tragedy in Albanian language.
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF LINGUISTICS IN THE TEACHING OF SPEAKING SKILLS IN EFL – A CASE STUDY IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
(AAB College, 2025-07-14) Xhemaili, Mirvan; Kasumi, Hysen
This study investigates the perceptions of high school EFL teachers in the Republic of North Macedonia regarding the role of linguistics in teaching spoken English. Employing an educational-linguistic framework, the study focuses on elucidating teachers’ beliefs concerning the nexus between linguistics and the instruction of spoken English as a foreign language. Utilizing a quantitative approach, data were gathered through a questionnaire. The findings underscore a significant connection between linguistics and the teaching of speaking skills in English as a foreign language. Notably, teachers recognize the pivotal importance of grammar and vocabulary in the teaching of speaking skills. The study discusses the implications of these findings for English language teaching.
Acquisition of Albanian as a first language from the perspective of natural order hypothesis
(AAB College, 2025-07-14) Rexhaj, Xhavit
This study deals with the natural order hypothesis in language acquisition, which posits that there is an order in which grammatical morphemes are acquired in the first, but also second language acquisition. There have been numerous studies addressing the order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes for major international languages, but there have been no such studies for Albanian language. A study of the natural order could serve to improve acquisition of Albanian as mother tongue, to enhance language curricula in schools, and to facilitate learning of Albanian as a second language. This research involved over 100 junior researchers in a crosssectional research observing more than 200 children in the age of 0 to 11 years, organised in four age-groups, over a period of two weeks. The observation collected naturalist nonexperimental data to find out whether there is a natural order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes and structures in Albanian as a first language. The existence of an order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes by difficulty level was clearly established. An unplanned finding of the study was the significant role of dialect and vernacular in the process of acquisition of Albanian as a first language. At the same time, it was difficult to clearly ascertain the role of school and environment in acquiring standard Albanian.
Access to higher education in Kosovo
(AAB College, 2025-07-14) Rexhaj, Xhavit
During the last decade alone, Kosovo saw higher education institutions going from a phase of low access (less than 12 % in the age group) and relatively poor quality of education and research in one public institution to massive access, very poor quality of education and total lack of research in seven public and over twenty private higher education institutions. Higher education in Kosovo is going through a phase of significant albeit uncontrolled and unplanned, increase of access to higher education. Information available shows that for political reasons the government is establishing new universities in all the bigger cities in Kosovo. These policies have resulted in four new universities being established in the last two years alone. Besides being labeled as 'universities ' against respective legal provisions, they are not preceded by a needs assessment or business plan, they remain underfunded and budgets are allocated only after months in operation, they operate with sparse administration and the new management is manned largely from among the members of the ruling coalition parties. This situation renders Kosovo higher education poles apart from that in any other country in the region.
Moving from survival to development: Experiences in Kosovo from developing academic identity in a transitional context
(AAB College, 2025-07-14) Rexhaj, Xhavit
The purpose of the study on which this article reports was to elaborate on career trajectories of academics in Kosovo. Particular attention is given to efforts to follow international benchmarks such as the Bologna Process at key stages of Kosovo's historical and political development in the last three decades. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with eleven academics with and without management experience as well as administrators. Findings revealed that Kosovo's higher education system is characterised by a weak organisational culture and an orientation towards externally driven change. Also, we found that academics perceived their role narrowly. The findings suggest that while higher education in Kosovo has moved towards adopting international benchmarks, the identity of the academics has not evolved in parallel to support the transition. A managerialist approach catalysed by the Bologna Process has helped a transition process in higher education in Kosovo. Finally, we propose that for a context in transition, local meaning-making processes for policy transfer are needed. Moving forward, institutional development should be led by academic managers and should serve the professionalisation of academics in Kosovo.