(Ri)valorizimi i formave të stigmuara konkuruese: mundësia e emancipimit të shqipes bashkëkohore
Competing (re)valorizations of formerly stigmatized forms: the case of an emancipated contemporary Albanian

Summary/Abstract: Various usage-based languagetendencies that surface in daily interactions are often considered (un)felicitous language choices that shapeand reflect language change and evolution. Similar to other vibrant languages in constant states of development, the dynamic language practices of Albanian languagers must alsobe considered, particularly regarding what constitutes legitimate linguistic elements worthy of being employed in multiple public and private domains.The current multifaceted linguascapes of Albanian, includingtraditional and new mediaas well as spoken utterances, provide numerous illustrations of competing valorizations of linguistic arrangements (see Agha,2007), particularly given the diversity of constructions in the various (sub)varieties of the language (Byron, 1976). While some of these competing forms represent(in)complete and fractured (dis)alignmentswith the current standard (Unified Literary Albanian), others containrecycled components from previous standards.When employing such alternative linguistic trajectories through meshing an expansive array of semiotic and polycentric mechanisms, such as codecrossing (e.g. duke punu; see Morina in Gashi, 2010), many languagers endeavor to produce authentic representations of self and the other. This paper focuses on how current evolutionary processes in Albanian appear to tolerate the coexistence of such transhistorical, truncated, and translocal elementsin the linguistic ecosystem, where rather thanacquiescing to strict allegiance to standard language ideology of bygone eras, ULA is often sidelined, thereby presenting a green light to languagers to embrace their agentive roles as active participants in shaping and emancipating the language (see Lindgren, 2013), as is observed invarious diaglossic repertoires exhibiting destandardizationtendencies, including in contemporary Europe (Rutten, 2016).

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