Features of dysfunctional attrition in the Arbresh of Piana degli Albanesi
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Eda Derhemi
Abstract
This article discusses the nature of the attrition of the Arbresh dialect of Piana degli Albanesi. It investigates the state of language use, the state of structural decay, and the linguistic attitude of Arbresh speakers. It concludes that this Arbresh dialect is undergoing a process of “dysfunctional attrition,” which consists of a progressive shrinkage of linguistic domains and functions, a decrease in the number of speakers, and a decline in linguistic competence as the speakers’ age diminishes. Unlike previous views, it maintains that dysfunctional attrition is not necessarily characterized by stigmatization and rejection of the language. The study emphasizes that a positive attitude towards the language is not a guarantee of linguistic survival, and that other aspects of language deterioration and loss must not be neglected in the process of linguistic revitalization.
© Walter de Gruyter
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- Variations sociolinguistiques en albanais du Nord — sur la base des données du parler de la ville du Shkodra
- The anatomy of survival in Arbëresh numeral forms
- Features of dysfunctional attrition in the Arbresh of Piana degli Albanesi
- Some differences between varieties of Albanian with special reference to Kosovo
- Who’s “mixing” the languages? Statistical-sociolinguistic analyses of differently developed bilingual practice of Albanian-speaking school pupils in German-speaking Switzerland
- Standard Albanian — linguistic controversy in post-Communist Albania
- The Albanian language: developments in the lexicon under the new social and political order
- The First Congress phenomenon: the case of Albanian
- Book reviews
- Rexhep Ismajli: ‘‘Në gjuhë’’ dhe ‘‘për gjuhë’’ (Rrjedhat e planifikimit të shqipes në Kosovë 1945–1968)
- Small languages and small language communities 50
- Can A Language of A Million Speakers Be Endangered? Language Shift and Apathy Among Northern Khmer Speakers in Thailand
Articles in the same Issue
- Überblick über die Entwicklung der Soziolinguistik in Albanien
- Variations sociolinguistiques en albanais du Nord — sur la base des données du parler de la ville du Shkodra
- The anatomy of survival in Arbëresh numeral forms
- Features of dysfunctional attrition in the Arbresh of Piana degli Albanesi
- Some differences between varieties of Albanian with special reference to Kosovo
- Who’s “mixing” the languages? Statistical-sociolinguistic analyses of differently developed bilingual practice of Albanian-speaking school pupils in German-speaking Switzerland
- Standard Albanian — linguistic controversy in post-Communist Albania
- The Albanian language: developments in the lexicon under the new social and political order
- The First Congress phenomenon: the case of Albanian
- Book reviews
- Rexhep Ismajli: ‘‘Në gjuhë’’ dhe ‘‘për gjuhë’’ (Rrjedhat e planifikimit të shqipes në Kosovë 1945–1968)
- Small languages and small language communities 50
- Can A Language of A Million Speakers Be Endangered? Language Shift and Apathy Among Northern Khmer Speakers in Thailand
