A new study on recurrent issues and good practices in the promotion of regional and minority languages in Europe has been published. It examines the diverse landscape for minority languages, particular online, specifically the use of minority languages in new, social and digital media, and the teaching of these languages and of associated history and culture.
"Some non-kin state languages (Welsh, Basque, Frisian, and so forth) have high levels of presence across many new, social- and digital-media platforms," the study reads. Thanks to lower financial, technical and regulatory entry barriers, the new media have increased the capacity of internet users to produce and disseminate diverse content, the interaction between language users, including among the younger generation (thus creating a distinct youth culture beyond the education system). Also notable is the increased access to archival material and cultural memory. New language learning tools, including Duolingo and other applications, have boosted regional and minority language learning. Digital linguistic resources (automated translation, speech to text technologies, voice recognition, artificial intelligence tools) are increasingly important for future language sustainability.
This study was prepared by the Council of Europe Steering Committee on anti-discrimination, diversity and inclusion (CDADI) and it provides an opportunity for governments of European countries to explore the gaps in this field and to better support regional- or minority-language protection.
Online and old media conjunctions
The study notes the co-dependency between traditional and new media in regional or minority languages: some converge, some give precedence to digital and social platforms over print output, some traditional media fully migrate to online format. The process also goes the other way around, with digital entities adopting traditional formats, for example printed books originating from blogs, vinyl records produced alongside digital music offerings, and youtubers becoming television presenters.
New, social and digital media should become available to users of regional or minority languages of all ages, to fully harness the potential of these media, CDADI suggests. Good practices include introducing calendar initiatives (special days and weeks) to enhance the social-media presence of a regional or minority language, facilitating the creation of new media content for children and young people, developing social-media influencers in these languages, supporting the transition of traditional media into new media, increasing digital and language skills of citizens and creating new digital resources. The Council of Europe furthermore recommends democratising access algorithms: content in regional and minority languages should find its way easily to potential users, and not only to those who proactively search for it.
Importance of teaching for regional and minority languages predicated
The study also focuses on the teaching of the history and culture associated with regional and minority languages. Some countries teach them as part of a curriculum for all students across the whole territory of the state (such as Austria, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, as well as partly Croatia, the Czech Republic and Italy), others do so only in the territory in which the language is used (for instance, Germany, Spain, the UK), and some specifically target members affiliating with a particular national minority.
The Council of Europe steering committee advises that all member states ensure that the teaching of history and culture associated with regional or minority languages is part of the mainstream education objectives throughout their territory at both primary and secondary level. Within a territory where a regional or minority language is used, there should be appropriate teaching and learning of the regional or minority language itself and intensified teaching of the associated history and culture. Those who do not speak the language and are not learning it will nevertheless regularly encounter its speakers as part of their everyday experience. Adequate teaching resources, prepared in consultation with language speakers, should be made available and the topic should be included in teacher training.
The Council of Europe body also provides a number of recommendations concerning establishment in member states of permanent advisory bodies for each regional or minority language used in these states.
The study concludes with an overview of the developments related to the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The charter is the only legal instrument worldwide for the promotion of the public use of these languages. It has been ratified by 25 states and signed by a further eight states (Azerbaijan, France, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, and Portugal).
Read the study on regional and minority languages in full
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