Irena Cani University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali”
irena.cani@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
This study examines how metadiscourse which are the elements of language that the author uses to address the reader and comment on his or her own statements, were used in political speeches and press texts during the communist period in Albania (1960-1990) to reinforce communist ideology. Drawing on Ken Hyland’s theoretical model of metadiscourse, as well as the Critical Discourse Analysis approach to language and ideology, the analysis compares official political speeches with press articles (newspapers and magazines). A corpus of 90 speeches by leaders and 135 articles from the propaganda press of the time was constructed, and key metadiscourse categories were identified. The results show that the authors of communist texts consciously used these elements to shape the ideological message: reinforcers and stance expressions often appear to confidently assert the “truths” of the Party line and to present the world in a polarized “us versus them” frame. Comparison between genres reveals that, despite differences in style, speeches being more emotional and dialogical, propaganda journalism more formal and “objective”, both served to naturalize Marxist-Leninist principles by presenting ideological assertions as self-evident and unquestionable. The study demonstrates that even “secondary” components of language, such as these metadiscursive markers, played a central role in maintaining and reproducing ideology in the public discourse of the communist regime.
Keywords
Metadiscourse; Ideology; Political discourse; Communist Albania; Propaganda language
Introduction
During the communist regime in Albania (1945-1990), language became the main means of transmitting and legitimizing the official ideology. As in many totalitarian systems, public discourse was characterized by “wooden language”, a formulaic, rigid style filled with ideological clichés (Stoica, 2016; Toska, 2020). Communication was largely a monologue from the state to the people, where “one person speaks and the rest listens” in a strict top-down hierarchy. This official language established sharp boundaries between the ruling group and its opponents: absolute virtues were attributed to the “us” (the Party and its people), while any external element was portrayed as a hostile “them” (van Dijk, 1995, 2006). Such polarized “us versus them” rhetoric was a means of unifying the masses against external or internal “enemies” and of justifying the regime’s authority. For Albanian communist leaders, control of public discourse was the key to ideological hegemony. Enver Hoxha’s regime ensured that every means of communication, from speeches at Party Congresses, to editorials in the official newspaper “Zëri i Popullit”, to school textbooks, directly served the Party’s interests and mythology. The press, radio and television were under state monopoly and functioned as “Ideological State Apparatuses” (according to Althusser’s concept), where every news item or article was expected to reflect the Party line (Althusser, 1971/1984). Independent journalism did not exist; Hoxha himself defined the media as “the educator of the masses” and “the mobilizer of the people for the construction of socialism.”. Consequently, the public discourse of the time was highly ideologized not only in content, but also in the way that content was conveyed. Scholars have noted that the official communist language often favored fiery slogans and ideologized over reasoned argumentation, eliminating alternative voices (Fairclough, 1989; Bedini, 2014).
Volume 11, No.1 (2026): February
ISSN 2661-2666 (Online) International Scientific Journal Monte (ISJM)
ISSN 2661-264X (Print)
Full Text: PDF
This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)