Kosovo musicians' efficacy of using English language: Internationalization of Albanian songs

Abstract

The English-speaking market is huge. English dominates the international music. The two most powerful countries in the world, the USA and the UK are the bases of the music industry. There is over one billion people who speak English worldwide. It is no surprise that the English language is used as a base for music by so many musicians. This work’s main objective is to find out the Albanian musicians’ English language proficiency level as well as gain knowledge about the importance of being an English-speaking musician. The present study delves further into examining the internationalization of Albanian songs from the viewpoints of musicians in Kosovo and investigating whether the Albanian songs would have a different impact or would be more successful if translated and sung into the English language. Last but not least, the researchers are also interested in discovering if there is any difference between Albanian and English languages in terms of songs and singing. To go deep into the understanding and the perception of the issue and answer our research questions, a descriptive qualitative approach was used. To collect the data, semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were conducted. Ten (10) Kosovar musicians who have a lot of knowledge on the issues participated in this study and thus provided us the necessary information. The results of this research correspond with the theoretical framework. The results obtained from the data analysis reveal that Kosovar musicians are proficient in English which is considered very advantageous since performing in English can help musicians build an international music career. It is also indicated that an Albanian song can also be an international success without the need to translate it into English since music is a universal language, musical notes sound the same in all languages around the world, they are written the same, they have the same position. Thus, the melody sounds the same in every language of the world and this is the beauty of music.