Abstract
This useful edited collection seeks to examine the impact of recent technological and social developments on the functioning of minority language media, as well as on minority languages more generally. Emerging from the Mercator Media network of minority language media in the European Union, the contributions share a commitment to an engaged study of minority media, seeking to establish how and why these may help sustain the existing diversity of minority languages. The book opens with a helpful and substantial introductory chapter (Browne and Uribe-Jongbloed) that offers an overview of minority language media history as well as a discussion of key trends in the academic study of minority language media. The authors also discuss a series of directions for future research in the field, including the study of the conception of professionalism, financing and promotion and the role in community development. They also argue for the benefits of cultural sensitivity and comparative analysis as two most fruitful avenues for advancing the field.
The rest of the book is divided into three parts featuring a total of 17 chapters. The first part addresses general theoretical debates on convergence and minority languages, while the remaining two parts include case studies looking at minority language media in the context of interactive digital media (Part II) and in relation to the creative industries (Part III). The theoretical chapters address issues such as the benefits of greater exchange between minority language media research in Europe and Latin America (Uribe-Jongbloed), the factors that can help us explain the level of use of minority media (Vincze and Moring) and the (un)reliability of established indices of linguistic vitality when applied to a digital, interactive media environment (Jones). Part II includes case studies of, among others, online and offline linguistic practices of young bilingual people in Wales (Cunliffe et al.), online literacy, language ideologies and attitudes to languages spoken in Luxembourg (Wagner), the practices of Twitter users among Welsh–English bilingual communities (Johnson), the impact of the internet on Kashubian language speakers (Dołowy-Rybinska), the Welsh-language media space on YouTube (Cunliffe and Dyfrig) and the use of online media in language learning in the Irish context (Uidhilin). Part III offers a similarly wide collection of case studies, including, among others, an examination of minority language broadcasters in the context of a converging media environment in Ireland (O’Connell), recent public debate and legal issues linked to cinema distribution in Catalan language (Cordonet and Forniès), the multilingual media practices of young audiences of the Basque broadcaster EITB (Pavón and Zuberogiotia), a comparative analysis of two television series broadcast by two indigenous television stations (Lysaght), as well as a chapter offering a useful typology of television channels and content in minority languages in the European Union (Arana and Azpillaga).
The closing chapter (Cormack) draws on the varied contributions to offer a more general assessment of the state of play in research on minority language media in the converged media environment, as well as highlights the need of the field to understand and demonstrate the ways in which minority media play a role in sustaining language communities. Although the initial emphasis is on the benefits of comparative analysis in the field, it is somewhat disappointing that the majority of contributions are limited to single-country studies and that there is little attempt to build a broader comparative picture based on the cases discussed. Given the geographic scope covered in the collection, this seems a lost opportunity. Nonetheless, this is a useful book for anyone looking for an overview of recent developments in minority media research.