FilmAccording to Flaitz (1988), American movies in English make up a third of international movie exports (p. 183). As such, film is a powerful medium of exporting English to countries in the outer and expanding circles. Kosovo is no exception. Cinemas such as the Cineplexx in Kosovo frequently show American movies with subtitles in Albanian.
Social MediaMany people in Kosovo frequently use English when posting on social media, although Albanian is still the most frequently used language. On Kosovo's Facebook page, people from other countries often use English to reply to posts, which demonstrates the use of English as a lingua franca. Below are a few examples of English in Kosovo's social media.
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English in Kosovo's Pop MusicAbove is a music video by Pristina-based rapper Flori Prenaj. Note the use of English slang in the chorus: "shawty you so fine." The mixed use of English and Albanian has two possible explanations that are not mutually exclusive: 1) Kosovar rappers use English slang so as to have a larger international appeal, as then the lyrics will be more comprehensible to English speakers, and/or 2) the popularity of American rap in Kosovo influences Kosovar musicians.
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This post on Kosovo's Facebook page shows the use of English. It appears that using English is a way to attract tourism as the post shows how beautiful the city of Mitrovica is.
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Most of the posts on Kosovo's Facebook page are entirely in Albanian, but this post includes an English translation of Albanian as well. Additionally, a user from Germany comments on this post in English, demonstrating how English is used for communication between two non-English dominant countries.
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The popular internet site reddit.com has a subreddit used by Kosovo nationals . On this page are many discussions between people living in Kosovo and Americans. One such post was made by an American asking about the possible difficulties of moving to Kosovo to teach English. Many Kosovo nationals responded to this post saying that Kosovo's citizens are very friendly to American foreigners.
I posted on this page asking about the use of English in media in Kosovo. The questions are transcribed below:
The following user did not choose to respond to each question individually. Instead, he gave one cohesive response that speaks to all questions. Below is the response (edited for clarity):
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Click the button above to see more of Kosovo's subreddit!
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Interview with User mxbmp
User mxbmp is a 20 year old from Pristina. He asked to remain anonymous for this interview:
English is barely used in the news. Some singers try out singing in English to reach the international market but struggle with pronunciation so it's mostly left for single words and sentences to create some rhymes or to sound cool. Films are mostly subtitled. Only cartoons and stuff like that are dubbed in English. English language movies/series are mostly available on pay TV but most foreign free TV series are Turkish (also Indian, Latin American, Korean).
English words are mostly used in Hip Hop, Rap and RnB either to sound hip or as a rhetorical means or because of anglicisms. The usage happens more often the more inspired artists are inspired by American artists such as in rap. Pop singers only sing in English when they get (or try to get) featured internationally. Other languages used lately are Spanish (because of Despacito), French, Italian, and German (since many artists grew up in those countries). When it comes to pure English music, people listen less to international hits like in other places in Europe mostly because of the lack of English skills. Turkish music and among the youth K-POP also dominates.
People want to learn English very much mostly because of the lack of job opportunities in Kosovo. For a few years many schools also started to teach German, since many young people wish to work there. But the performance of the school system is rather poor mostly because of corruption and nepotism, so those who can afford it sends their kids to English private schools. Another problem is that Kosovo is isolated from many international institutions which makes it harder to have a stance in the modern day globalized world. The lack of freedom of movement (no free movement in Schengen and states that refuse to accept Kosovo's independence) makes it very hard to stay connected to the outside world, so the internet often remains the only connection for people to English speakers.
English is used very very rarely in communication. Excluding highly motivated students, most of the people, especially in rural areas, struggle a lot with English or have never learned it in school. So the level of skills varies a lot. English still remains mostly only present among the high educated people such as in universities or in international companies. Otherwise I think only people who migrated to English speaking countries (USA,UK,AUS,IRL) will use it communicating among themselves.
In general Albanians mostly focus on Albanian (due to the need and things like patriotism) but tend to learn more foreign languages, especially if they work abroad they are willing to learn the language they need for their work and communication which is very often the case.
English is barely used in the news. Some singers try out singing in English to reach the international market but struggle with pronunciation so it's mostly left for single words and sentences to create some rhymes or to sound cool. Films are mostly subtitled. Only cartoons and stuff like that are dubbed in English. English language movies/series are mostly available on pay TV but most foreign free TV series are Turkish (also Indian, Latin American, Korean).
English words are mostly used in Hip Hop, Rap and RnB either to sound hip or as a rhetorical means or because of anglicisms. The usage happens more often the more inspired artists are inspired by American artists such as in rap. Pop singers only sing in English when they get (or try to get) featured internationally. Other languages used lately are Spanish (because of Despacito), French, Italian, and German (since many artists grew up in those countries). When it comes to pure English music, people listen less to international hits like in other places in Europe mostly because of the lack of English skills. Turkish music and among the youth K-POP also dominates.
People want to learn English very much mostly because of the lack of job opportunities in Kosovo. For a few years many schools also started to teach German, since many young people wish to work there. But the performance of the school system is rather poor mostly because of corruption and nepotism, so those who can afford it sends their kids to English private schools. Another problem is that Kosovo is isolated from many international institutions which makes it harder to have a stance in the modern day globalized world. The lack of freedom of movement (no free movement in Schengen and states that refuse to accept Kosovo's independence) makes it very hard to stay connected to the outside world, so the internet often remains the only connection for people to English speakers.
English is used very very rarely in communication. Excluding highly motivated students, most of the people, especially in rural areas, struggle a lot with English or have never learned it in school. So the level of skills varies a lot. English still remains mostly only present among the high educated people such as in universities or in international companies. Otherwise I think only people who migrated to English speaking countries (USA,UK,AUS,IRL) will use it communicating among themselves.
In general Albanians mostly focus on Albanian (due to the need and things like patriotism) but tend to learn more foreign languages, especially if they work abroad they are willing to learn the language they need for their work and communication which is very often the case.