Behind and Beyond the Lexicon: Anglophone Terminology and Western Balkan Realities
Behind and Beyond the Lexicon: Anglophone Terminology and Western Balkan Realities

Summary/Abstract: When considering how the Western Balkans and their current circumstances have been imagined by outsiders, the linguistic and semantic difficulties begin with the very naming of the region(s) under scrutiny. Neither previously published reference guides nor analytical essays serve adequately to clarify the nuances of contemporary usages and the complex, shifting state of affairs they refer to. Working from a lexicological perspective and an ‘outsider’ stance, this article highlights some contemporary issues by citing examples of keywords used recently in geopolitical, diplomatic and popular discourses. The article tracks transitions that have taken place in representation, focusing in turn upon the language used to describe progression towards Europeanization, upon terms which may be perceived differently by those within and those outside the speech communities in question, and upon changes in meaning and interpretation of key terms, as well as the generation of relevant new terminology taking place in the Anglosphere, but yet to be disseminated across global English. A conclusion briefly notes some lexicographical projects in preparation in the Western Balkans and suggests that these need to be complemented by further analysis of the lexicon of geopolitics and integration.

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