Towards a Broader Space for Discourse Linguistics in Albanian Linguistic Thought

Abstract

This study seeks to examine current developments within a particular line of inquiry in the sciences of language commonly referred to as discourse linguistics or discourse analysis. At the same time, it argues for the necessity of further deepening and consolidating discourse-oriented research within Albanian linguistic scholarship. Special attention is given to the epistemological conditions that enabled a departure from the structuralist conception of language as a closed, autonomous system, toward an understanding of language in use – that is, a shift from the analysis of language as a formal system of signs to the investigation of its realization in concrete discursive and communicative practices. This reorientation entails a methodological and theoretical focus on trans-sentential entities such as text and discourse. The broad and complex range of issues associated with the concepts of text and discourse within this strand of linguistic thought – developed alongside, but distinct from, formal linguistics – is approached through a set of interrelated analytical perspectives. These include: the relatively delayed scholarly attention to discursive and communicative practices; the emergence of discourse linguistics as a distinct field within the sciences of language; the scientific and intellectual contexts in which its conceptual and methodological foundations were established; the analytical models developed across European and wider international traditions; the role of interdisciplinarity beyond the boundaries of linguistics proper; the research orientations that contributed to the cognitive and social institutionalisation of discourse analysis; the factors underlying the limited attention accorded to discursive phenomena; issues of terminology and conceptual labelling within discourse linguistics; and, finally, the conditions required for the cognitive and social institutionalisation of discourse linguistics within Albanian linguistic thought. The study engages extensively with contributions from the Anglo-American tradition in Europe and the United States, particularly in the fields of discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis. These include approaches grounded in speech act theory, pragmatics, ethnomethodology, the ethnography of communication, and conversation analysis. It also examines key developments within the French tradition of discourse linguistics – especially discourse analysis, text linguistics, and textual semantics – situated within broader theoretical frameworks such as enunciation theory, integrated pragmatics, and semiotics. In addition, attention is given to the German tradition, where discourse analysis has evolved in close interaction with text linguistics and the social sciences. Taken together, these traditions demonstrate that discourse linguistics is an inherently heterogeneous field, characterised by a plurality of theoretical models yet unified by a shared orientation: the analysis of language as social practice and as a means of constructing reality. The study further addresses issues directly related to the incorporation of these theoretical perspectives into Albanian linguistic scholarship, particularly questions of terminology concerning key concepts in discourse linguistics, including the notion of discourse itself, speech acts (locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary), and the speaking subject. Special emphasis is placed on identifying indicators that may facilitate the cognitive and social institutionalisation of discourse linguistics in Albania. While acknowledging the substantial achievements of formal linguistics in the analysis of the Albanian language system, the study notes a relative lack of sustained engagement with discourse-oriented research. It ultimately concludes that, without a more systematic and well-developed body of work in discourse linguistics, Albanian linguistic thought risks remaining structurally and conceptually incomplete.