The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Still Relevant in the Information Age?

The impact of new information and communication technologies on European societies could not have been foreseen at the time the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) was adopted two decades ago. Although the text of the ECRML contains no reference to such technologies, they clearly have a role in the context of linguistic communication, given their current social ubiquity. The measures outlined in the ECRML concerning, inter alia, media and cultural facilities, are precisely those being affected by the new media landscape. We can therefore be certain that the internet has some sort of impact on regional and minority languages in Europe, yet detailed assessments of this impact at the policy level are lacking. This article seeks to uncover the extent to which the Committee of Experts of the ECRML assesses the impact of the internet on those languages that have been selected by state parties for protection and promotion under the provisions of the ECRML. Findings show that references to the internet have increased in the reports of the Committee of Experts since monitoring began. However, the role of new technologies in inhibiting or facilitating regional and minority languages is seldom evaluated.