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Albania's 'Sworn Virgins'

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Albania's 'Sworn Virgins' THE LINGUISTIC EXPRESSION OF GENDER IDENTITY: ALBANIA’S ‘SWORN VIRGINS’ CARLY DICKERSON A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN LINGUISTICS YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO August 2015 © Carly Dickerson, 2015 Abstract This paper studies the linguistic tools employed in the construction of masculine identities by burrneshat (‘sworn virgins’) in northern Albania: biological females who have become ‘social men’. Unlike other documented ‘third genders’ (Kulick 1999), burrneshat are not motivated by considerations of personal identity or sexual desire, but rather by the need to fulfill patriarchal roles within a traditional social code that views women as property. Burrneshat are thus seen as honourable and self-sacrificing, are accepted as men in their community, and are treated accordingly, except that they do not marry or engage in sexual relationships. Given these unique circumstances, how do the burrneshat construct and express their identity linguistically, and how do others within the community engage with this identity? Analysis of the choices of grammatical gender in the speech of burrneshat and others in their communities indicates both inter- and intra-speaker variation that is linked to gendered ideologies. ii Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………….. ii Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………….. iii List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………..……… viii List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………………ix Chapter One – Introduction ……………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter Two – Albanian People and Language ………………………………………………… 6 2.0 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………6 2.1 History of Albania ………………………………………………………………………..6 2.1.1 Geographical Location ……………………………………………………………..6 2.1.2 Illyrian Roots ……………………………………………………………………….7 2.1.3 A History of Occupations …………………………………………………………. 8 2.1.4 Northern Albania ………………………………………………………………….. 9 2.1.5 Brief Period of Independence and Modern-Day Borders ……………………….… 9 2.1.6 Communist Albania …………………………………………………………….…10 2.1.7 Post-Communist Present-Day Albania ……………………………………………10 2.2 Albanian Language …………………………………………………………………….. 10 2.2.1 Balkan Sprachbund ………………………………………………………………..12 2.2.2 Standard Albanian …………………………………………………………………12 2.2.3 Gheg ……………………………………………………………………………….14 2.3 Grammatical Gender …………………………………………………………………….17 2.3.1 Grammatical Gender in Albanian …………………………………………………18 iii 2.4 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………22 Chapter Three – Language and Gender ……………………………………………..…………. 23 3.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………...23 3.1 Gender Identity ………………………………………………………………………….23 3.1.1 Predominant Theories ……………………………………………………………..23 3.1.2 Cultures with Non-Binary Gender ………………………………………………...24 3.2 Language and Gender ………………………………………………………………...…27 3.2.1 Early Theories and Criticisms ……………………………………………………..27 3.2.2 Responses to the Deficit Approach ………………………………………………..28 3.2.3 Performing Gender through Language ……………………………………………29 3.3 Burrneshat (‘Sworn Virgins’) …………………………………………………………...31 3.3.1 The Kanun …………………………………………………………………………31 3.3.2 Assuming a Male Identity …………………………………………………………33 3.3.3 A Matter of Gender, Not Sexuality ………………………………………………..34 3.3.4 Burrneshat – a Third Sex? ………………………………………………………...35 3.4 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………36 Chapter Four – Data ……………………………………………………………………………. 38 4.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………...38 4.1 Informant Demographics ………………………………………………………………..39 4.1.1 Burrneshat Profiles ……………………………………………………………..…41 4.2 Collection of Data ……………………………………………………………………….45 4.2.1 The Sociolinguistic Interview ……………………………………………………..45 4.2.2 Participants’ Consent ……………………………………………………………...47 iv 4.2.3 Role of the Interviewer and the Researcher ………………………………….……48 4.2.4 Recorded Material …………………………………………………………………48 4.2.5 Transcription Protocol …………………………………………………………….49 4.2.6 Written Materials ………………………………………………………………….50 4.3 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………52 Chapter Five – Qualitative Analysis …………………………………………………………… 53 5.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………...53 5.1 Methods ………………………………………………………………………………….53 5.1.1 Data Coding ……………………………………………………………………….53 5.1.1.1 Exclusions …………………………………………………………………...55 5.1.1.2 (GENDER) …………………………………………………………………..57 5.1.1.3 Part of Speech ……………………………………………………………….57 5.1.1.4 Type …………………………………………………………………………58 5.1.1.5 Preceding Grammatical Gender ……………………………………………..59 5.1.1.6 Topic ………………………………………………………………………...61 5.1.1.7 Language Medium …………………………………………………………..62 5.1.1.8 Sex/Gender Identity …………………………………………………………62 5.1.1.9 Relationship to Burrneshë …………………………………………………...62 5.1.1.10 Age …………………………………………………………………………63 5.1.1.11 Individual Code …………………………………………………………….63 5.1.2 Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………...…64 5.1.2.1 Adjusting for Knockouts …………………………………………………….64 5.1.2.2 Multivariate Analysis ………………………………………………………..65 v 5.2 Results ………………………………………………………………………..…………66 5.2.1 Raw Numbers and Percentages ………………………………………..………….66 5.2.2 Factors Selected as Significant ………………………………………….………. 68 5.2.2.1 Preceding Grammatical Gender ……………………………….…………….69 5.2.2.2 Type …………………………………………………………………………69 5.2.2.3 Language Medium …………………………………………………………. 69 5.2.2.4 Relationship to Burrneshë …………………………………………………...70 5.3 Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………….70 5.3.1 Part of Speech ……………………………………………………………………..70 5.3.2 Type ……………………………………………………………………………….71 5.3.3 Preceding Grammatical Gender …………………………………………………...72 5.3.4 Language Medium ………………………………………………………………...76 5.3.5 Age ………………………………………………………………………………...77 5.3.6 Sex/Gender Identity …………………………………………………………….…77 5.3.7 Relationship to Burrneshë …………………………………………………………77 5.3.8 Topic ………………………………………………………………………………81 5.4 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………....83 Chapter Six – Gendered Practices ……………………………………………………………… 85 6.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………...………85 6.1 Gendered Performances ………………………………………………………………....85 6.1.1 Vocal Pitch ………………………………………………………………………...85 6.1.2 Dress and Mannerisms …………………………………………………………….87 6.1.3 Register ……………………………………………………………………………90 vi 6.2 Avoiding Grammatical Gender ………………………………………………………….91 6.2.1 ‘Burrneshë’ ……………………………………………………………………..…92 6.2.2 Describing the Personality, Not the Person ……………………………………….92 6.2.3 Addressing Burrneshat by Name ……………………………………………….…93 6.2.4 Circumlocution ……………………………………………………………………94 6.3 Creating Masculinities through Lexical Choice ……………………………………...…95 6.3.1 Connotations of Masculinity ………………………………………………………95 6.3.2 Terms of Affection and Nicknames ……………………………………………….96 6.4 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………99 Chapter Seven – Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….. 100 7.1 Concluding Discussion ………………………………………………………………...100 7.2 Limitations of the Present Research ………………………………………………...…102 7.3 Directions for Future Research …………………………………………………...……103 Chapter Eight – References …………………………………………………………………... 105 Appendix A – Interview Schedule …………………………………………………….……… 115 Appendix B – Coding Instructions …………………………………………………………… 117 vii List of Tables 2.1 Albanian consonants ………………………………………………………………….…13 2.2 Albanian personal pronouns and clitics by grammatical person, number, and case …………………………………………………………………………………18 2.3 Albanian demonstrative pronouns and pronominal adjectives …………………………19 2.4 Nyje particles ……………………………………………………………………………21 4.1 Biographical information for speakers ……………………………………………….…40 4.2 Background information for participants in written materials ……………….…………51 4.3 List of article titles for materials without authors’ names, accompanied by English translation ………………………………………………………………………51 5.1 Overall distribution of masculine grammatical gender marking …………………….…67 5.2 Factors contributing to the use of masculine grammatical gender for burrneshat ……………………………………………………………………………..…68 viii List of Figures 2.1 Albanians in neighbouring countries ……………………………………………………..7 2.2 Distribution of Albanian dialects ………………………………………………………..11 2.3 Albanian vowels …………………………………………………………………………13 4.1 Map of speakers’ places of origin ……………………………………………………….41 ix Chapter One – Introduction The study of language and gender has provided valuable insight into the ways that individuals or groups of people can identify, or be identified, through their language use. Lakoff (1973)’s ground-breaking work on women’s speech set the stage for further sociolinguistic research into the gendered practices of speakers. Although early work such as Lakoff’s largely focused on a male-female dynamic, research has since expanded to studies of more nuanced gender differences and similarities, including the practices of transgender communities. Within the field of sociolinguistics, the linguistic dimensions of transgenderism have typically been studied within qualitative frameworks, and have tended to focus on marginalized groups, such as the hijras (Hall and O’Donovan 1996), the travestis (Kulick 1997), and the ‘yan daudu (Gaudio 2014). These studies reveal that transgender individuals navigate, and often create, complex systems of gendered linguistic practices and gestures to assert unique identities that transcend traditional understandings of what it means to be male or female. However, not only are there no quantitative studies of sociolinguistic variation in transgender speech generally, there is also a lack of research on transgender individuals who occupy prominent positions in mainstream society and
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