Minority Language Communities and the Web in Italy

This chapter aims at evaluating in a critical way the potentialities provided by the Web in terms of identity community building, (self) representation, and interconnections for minority language communities through the analysis of two case studies: the Ladin and the Arbëreshë communities in Italy. Although deeply rooted in the theoretical framework at the intersection between information geography and geography of languages, the epistemological frame opens up to an interdisciplinary perspective that cannot disregard linguistics and media studies. From the empirical standpoint, the study is based on a twofold methodology to evaluate online connections in minority language communities in order to deepen patterns and practices of self-representation through the Web. Apart from textual and contents analysis, the methodology implies the study of connections among websites, blogs, and in social network pages through some specific open access tools able to spatialize the patterns of interaction within the selected communities.