Asian Journal of Language, Literature and Culture Studies

Aims: This study aims to examine the language of fashion in contemporary Albanian, with particular attention to terminology, lexical borrowing, adaptation, and lexical innovation. It investigates fashion language as a dynamic area of specialised and semi-specialised vocabulary shaped by cultural change, globalisation, international fashion discourse, mass media, advertising, and digital communication. The study also explores the relationship between specialised terminology and general vocabulary and considers the sociolinguistic and didactic implications of fashion-related lexical change.

Study Design: A qualitative, descriptive, and analytical research design was employed, combining perspectives from terminology, lexicology, sociolinguistics, and language studies. The analysis focuses on the linguistic, semantic, structural, and functional characteristics of fashion-related lexical items in contemporary Albanian.

Place and Scope of the Study: The study focuses on contemporary Albanian fashion discourse and examines terminology as it occurs within media, advertising, digital communication, social networks, and other contexts of everyday and semi-professional language use. Particular attention is given to the interaction between Albanian and the major source languages of contemporary fashion terminology, especially English, Italian, and French.

Methodology: The study draws on relevant literature in terminology, lexicology, sociolinguistics, and language contact and applies qualitative lexical and terminological analysis. Fashion-related lexical items are examined according to their origin, semantic function, structural characteristics, and degree of integration into Albanian. Particular attention is given to foreign borrowings, calques, morphologically adapted forms, neologisms, and hybrid expressions combining foreign lexical elements with Albanian grammatical patterns. Examples such as outfit-i, look-u, brand-et, street style, and veshje casual are analysed to illustrate different patterns of lexical borrowing and adaptation. The study also examines the role of media and digital platforms in the diffusion and circulation of fashion terminology and considers the use of these lexical forms from sociolinguistic and didactic perspectives.

Results: The analysis demonstrates that contemporary Albanian fashion terminology constitutes a dynamic and flexible lexical domain characterised by the interaction of inherited vocabulary, foreign borrowings, calques, lexical innovations, and hybrid formations. English has a particularly strong influence on contemporary fashion discourse, while Italian and French continue to contribute to specific areas of fashion vocabulary. Borrowed forms are used both in their original forms and in morphologically adapted forms that follow Albanian grammatical patterns. The analysis further indicates that the boundary between specialised terminology and general vocabulary is often fluid, as fashion-related terms may circulate across professional, media, advertising, and everyday contexts. Media and digital platforms play a significant role in accelerating the diffusion and normalisation of new lexical forms. From a sociolinguistic perspective, the use of borrowed terminology reflects processes of language contact as well as factors such as prestige, identity, communicative efficiency, and linguistic choice. The findings also indicate that fashion terminology has considerable potential as authentic material for developing lexical and critical language awareness.

Conclusion: The study concludes that the language of fashion represents an evolving lexical and terminological domain in contemporary Albanian, reflecting broader processes of globalisation, cultural change, language contact, and digital communication. Borrowings, adaptations, calques, and hybrid forms contribute to the expansion and transformation of the Albanian fashion lexicon while simultaneously raising questions concerning linguistic choice, integration, and standardisation. The study further demonstrates that fashion terminology can provide valuable material for language teaching by enabling learners to examine lexical change, borrowing, word formation, and the relationship between language and society. Further empirical research may investigate speakers’ attitudes towards borrowed fashion terminology, patterns of acceptance and use, and the relationship between foreign forms and possible Albanian equivalents.