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SECTION 3. CREATING POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT
FOR THE PROMOTION OF LINGUISTIC
AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Dieter W. HALWACHS
Professor, University of Graz
(Graz, Austria)
Linguistic Diversity, Dominated Languages and the Internet:
The Case of Romani
The internet in its still open and democratic mode is the easiest way for
speakers of dominated languages to present their languages to the wider public.
Nowadays all languages of the world whose speech communities have access
to modern technology can be found on the internet. However, their virtual
presence differs in function, mode, style and type. With respect to the latter,
a distinction has to be made on the basis of the difference between societal
multilingualism and individual plurilingualism.
• Multilingualism on the internet is a static, additive phenomenon
which presents dominated languages above all alongside dominant
languages. Functionally this type has to be described as emblematic and
symbolic. Because of its static and additive character, multilingualism
on the internet is measurable or rather countable. However, the
meaningfulness of such statistics remains highly questionable.
• Plurilingualism on the internet is a dynamic interactive phenomenon
which presents languages in their actual use. Functionally this type
has to be described as integrative and communicative. Although
plurilingualism on the internet shows the actual language use, it
is, above all because of its dynamic and transient character, only
qualitatively describable and not countable.
This paper discusses this fact and the resulting differences in the case of Romani,
a dominated language of Europe.
1. Romani
Romani is the language of the Roma, Sinti, Calé, and of all other ethnic groups
in Europe who speak or spoke an Indic language. These population groups are
collectively called “Gypsies”, a term mostly used derogatively.
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