Ethnolinguistic Vitality, Language Use and Social Integration Amongst Albanian Migrants in Greece

The focus of this paper is on the relationship between Albanian speakers’ ethnolinguistic
vitality (EV) perceptions and their language maintenance, language use and
choice patterns. A subjective EV questionnaire, and a language usage questionnaire
capturing domain-specific language use was completed by 200 Albanian immigrants
of first and second (one and a half) generation residing in various areas all over
Greece. In addition, interviews were conducted with 180 informants from the sample
to generate useful information for the qualitative analysis. The findings of this study
chime with recent findings on Albanian immigrants’ social integration strategies. Data
analysis uncovers three themes: first, language use is domain-specific, with preferences
for the L1 in the home/family domain only, L2 being the language of choice elsewhere
especially for the 1.5 generation; second, there are low perceptions of EV of the L1
group across the sample; and third, there is evidence for a shift in language use and
competence as a result of an integrative attitude to migration by the respondents,
governed mostly by practical reasons.