Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Linguistics

As a result of migration starting in 1990 Albanians constitute the largest ethnic minority and a considerable part of the population of Greece today. This work examines how Albanianness is constructed in Greece through various avenues. First, a linguistic and thematic analysis of internet memes that target the Greek of Albanians shows that the stigmatization of Albanians is still present in the Greek society as it was when they first arrived albeit is less direct. The analysis also shows the enregisterment of a Mock Albanian Greek or a Pan-foreign L2 Greek that is evident and is disseminated through the internet memes. Second, an analysis of semi-structured interviews with Albanian migrants in Greece shows the strategies Albanians have developed in order to navigate this hostile environment in which they live. One of them is to reject ethnic labels such as Αλβανος [alvanos] ‘Albanian.MASC' and Αλβανεζα [alvaneza] ‘Albanian.FEM' that have come to be ethnoracial slurs in Greek along with being used as labels of ethnicity. These are replaced by high register forms that do not carry the slur potential such as Αλβανη [alvani] ‘Albanian.FEM' or have been reclaimed and imbued with positive meanings that express ethnic solidarity. Others reject ethnic labels altogether and show preference for periphrastic constructions centering nationality such as απο την Αλβανια ‘from Albania'. Periphrasis allows them to make a cautious claim to Albanianness but not the negative indexicality of Albanianness, as well as to cautiously suggest a claim to Greekness. While Greekness is not something the second-generation can openly claim despite most of them holding Greek citizenships and spending their formative years in Greece, they feel that Greekness describes part of their identities. Another strategy by which Albanians navigate xenophobia is family and personal name changes and Hellenizations which deracialize them, removing the indexical link to their Albanianness, and reracialize them (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brian Joseph (Advisor); Anna Babel (Committee Member); Kathryn Campbell-Kibler (Committee Member) Subjects: Linguistics