INTERLINGUAL DIFFERENCES IN ENGLISH AND ALBANIAN ADJECTIVE USE: IMPLICATIONS FOR SECOND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Abstract

This research paper investigates the interlingual implications of learning adjectives from English to Albanian language, focusing on the morphological, syntactic, and semantic factors that influence adjective acquisition in EFL contexts. In Albanian language instruction, adjectives are often presented as isolated lexical items, with limited attention to their formation, positional behavior, or cross-linguistic transfer. As a result, learners encounter continuous difficulties when identifying, interpreting, and translating English adjectives into Albanian. Using a contrastive analytical framework, this paper analyzes adjectives that end in suffixes, prefixes, compound adjectives, and placement of adjectives in both languages. The findings show significant interlingual differences, such as: Adjectives in English that contain prefixes and suffixes are not always translated into Albanian using the same affixes. Instead, equivalent meanings are often expressed through different morphological forms, in some cases, English adjectives formed with suffixes correspond to Albanian adjectives formed with prefixes. Compound adjectives present particular challenges, as their Albanian equivalents frequently appear as phrases, noun groups, or single adjectives rather than formal compounds. English adjectives are predominantly pre-nominal, whereas Albanian adjectives exhibit morphological adaptation for gender, number, and case and typically occur in post-nominal position. Despite these differences, areas of positive transfer are observed especially in international adjectives with shared lexical roots e.g. final, actual, tropical, etc.. Moreover, this paper also addresses pedagogical variables such as learner age and instructional progression, emphasizing stage-appropriate strategies for adjective instruction. Based on the analysis, this article proposes an interlingual teaching approach that integrates contrastive explanation, structured equivalence tables, contextualized examples, and explicit focus on form–function relationships.