Insights from the Basque, Frisian and Irish language communities

Originally published on Global Voices

Join us on YouTube Live on August 27, 2024, at 11 am UTC for a discussion about media and information literacy for European regional language communities.

The internet has enabled speakers of many of Europe’s regional languages to create, share, and consume media in their native or heritage languages.

However, some believe these languages remain overlooked and that media and information literacy resources in these languages are not as widely available. Such resources are important for enabling speakers to critically engage with this information flow.

With that, there are also narratives that are shaping public discourse about events happening on local, national, or global levels that require additional attention. This GV Insights session aims to explore the current state of the media ecosystem in the Basque, Frisian, and Irish languages, through the perspective of language activists and media professionals who will help interpret how these ecosystems parallel, diverge from, or complement the media landscapes in the dominant languages, as well as the narratives that are taking place in both the ecosystems.

The session is free and open to the public. Register below if you would like to receive a reminder about the event:

Register for free on Eventbrite

The event, co-organized between Global Voices’ Civic Media Observatory and Rising Voices will be moderated by Global Voices’ Civic Media Observatory Lead, Giovana Fleck, and will feature the following panelists:

• • Mirjam Vellinga, Afûk
  • Amy O'Riordan, Wikimedia Community of Ireland
  • Urtzi Urrutikoetxea, Garabide

We look forward to having you join us on Tuesday, August 27, at 11 am UTC (click here to convert to your local time zone).

Updated, livestream recorded on August 27, 2024:

The performance has kicked off and so have the protestors

Originally published on Global Voices

Irish group Bambi-Thug perform their song “Doomsday Blue” on the first day of the Eurovision Semi-finals. The group is dressed in the fun, avant-garde getup characteristic of Eurovision performances. Image via Eurovision official YouTube.

While the annual Eurovision Song Contest is best known for its gaudy glitz and glamour, the over-the-top performances often veil regional political tensions and international conflict.

“The World’s Biggest Song Contest” will be held May 7–11, in Malmö, Sweden, and this year all eyes are on Israel — a longtime participant in the European song contest despite its geographical distance — as it participates despite the state’s ongoing genocide against Gaza.

While organizers insist the Eurovision Song Contest is a “non-political event” and even have rules barring participants from sharing political slogans or agendas, activism is nothing new to Eurovision. In previous years, the contest has been used to draw attention to Russia’s war against Ukraine, LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms, gender inequality, and more. Many contestants, voters, and fans alike have historically used the event as a platform to air their grievances and have hidden political messaging in their songs, outfits, or placcards. 

In the weeks leading up to the event, protestors steadfastly gathered outside the Malmö city hall, calling on organizers to condemn Israel's violence in Gaza and suspend them from the event.

Protestors gather outside the Malmö city hall in mid-April calling to boycott Israel. Screenshot via Reuters YouTube video.

Swedish organizers are ramping up security around the event in anticipation of protests related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Ahead of the event, there were widespread calls for Eden Golan, 20, Israel’s contestant this year, to step down, as well as calls to boycott the event altogether if Golan participates. Golan staunchly refused to step down and in an interview with Reuters, said, “I come here to show my voice, to share my love, my gift from God and to hopefully make people feel something and leave a mark in their souls and to unite by music.” 

Golan was originally set to sing an original song titled “October Rain” which seemingly referenced the October 7 Hamas-led attack against Israeli settlements. The European Broadcasting Union took issue with the submission and the song has since been altered and renamed “ Hurricane.”

Meanwhile, some contestants are using the platform to voice their solidarity with Palestinians. Eric Saade, 33, Sweden’s 2024 contestant who has Palestinian roots, wore a Keffiyah (traditional Palestinian attire) around his wrist during his performance to protest Israel’s participation, earning praise from fans and criticism from the show’s producers. Eurovision Executive Producer Ebba Adielsson released a statement after, saying, “Eric Saade is well aware of the rules that apply when standing on the Eurovision Song Contest stage. We think it’s sad that he’s used his participation in this way.”

eric saade you will always be iconic pic.twitter.com/qTGyjTSgSt

— kellie⁷ (@indigoxseoul) May 7, 2024 

During the preliminary competition, Palestinian singer Bashar Murad was chosen to represent Iceland at the event, though he was eliminated before the finals. He used his time in the spotlight to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians and quickly became a fan favorite. He also collaborated with previous Iceland competitor, the band Hatari, who were almost disqualified during the 2017 Eurovision contest for their political statements about Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Hatari has released numerous songs related to Palestinian liberation.

While Israel’s participation was green-lighted, Belarus hasn’t been allowed to participate in Eurovision contests since 2021 due to the state’s crackdown on protestors and record of human rights violations. Russia has been banned for the last two years since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

When discussing Russia's ban in December 2022, Eurovision’s executive supervisor Martin Österdahl said the ban has been challenging but added, “When we say we are not political, what we always should stand up for are the basic and ultimate values of democracy.”

Ukrainian singer Alyona Alyona performs during Eurovision, with special effects reminiscent of bombs raining down above her. Image via Youtube Screenshot

Since the invasion began in 2022, Ukraine has used the Eurovision Contest to rally public support amidst its ongoing war with Russia. Ukraine won the competition in 2022 and the winning song, “Heart of Steel,” became something of an unofficial national anthem in the country. Last year's Ukrainian contestants chose a song describing the terror citizens have felt during the war, while this year's competitors, Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil, used imagery and special effects clearly alluding to Russian missiles and dead Ukrainians.

Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil perform over a video of reposing Ukrainians during their May 7, 2024, performance. Image via YouTube screenshot.

The so-called unequal application of suspensions has driven much of the controversy and calls to boycott this year's Eurovision. 

Boycott Eurovision there’s absolutely no reason why israel should still be in the competition while you dropped russia https://t.co/3WbexCLa30

— (@Paliefer3) May 1, 2024

Russia continues to be barred from the Eurovision song contest for invading Ukraine. Palestinian flags are banned to avoid ‘politicising’ the event.

But the non-European state of Israel, currently carrying out a genocide in Gaza, is not only participating. Its flag will be… pic.twitter.com/w5z60vSr06

— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) May 7, 2024

Find the full video of Eurovision semi-final performances in the video below.

Alexandra will be managing the @EuroDigitalLang rotating X account

Originally published on Global Voices

Photo provided by Alexandra Philbin and used with permission.

Europe’s linguistic diversity is increasingly reflected in online spaces, where regional and minority language speakers and their communities leverage digital tools and media to preserve, promote, and revitalize their language heritage. In this spirit, Rising Voices’ online campaign @EuroDigitalLang has been curating a rotating X (formerly Twitter) account. Here, language activists and advocates narrate their personal stories in their own words, engaging directly with their audience and sharing ongoing challenges as well as successes.

In this email interview, Rising Voices spoke to upcoming host Alexandra Philbin, a PhD a student at of the University of Valencia, who has been working with the Irish language. You can follow Alexandra on X at @Alexandra_Phil_, as she manages the account the week of April 29–May 5, 2024.

Rising Voices (RV): Please tell us about yourself and your language-related work.

Alexandra Philbin (AP): I am originally from a small town called Domhnach Beathach outside of Baile Átha Cliath (Dublin), but I have been living in Valencia for the past three years. I first learned Irish in school and in immersion summer camps in Baile Átha Cliath and Conamara, and I have been involved in promoting the language since I was a teenager.

Currently, I teach Irish to adult learners and research the experiences of Irish speakers in Baile Átha Cliath. I’m carrying out this research as a PhD candidate at the University of Valencia and I also look at the experiences of Valencian speakers in Valencia. I started learning Valencian when I moved to the city in 2021 and am massively inspired by the speakers I have met here.

I also work as a mentor with the Endangered Languages Project, an organization that aims to support minoritized-language communities around the world by providing resources, building connections and sharing ideas across borders. In this role, I get to meet speakers who are doing amazing work to promote their languages, and I feel extremely lucky.

RV: What is the current state of your language both online and offline?

AP: Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland and over 1.8 million people there claim some competence in it, according to the latest census results. Adding this to the 228,600 people in the six counties of the North of Ireland that have some ability in the language means that over two million on the island of Ireland are somewhat competent in the language. There are also speakers living all over the world, particularly in areas where many Irish people have emigrated historically. There is a higher proportion of speakers in areas of Ireland known as the Gaeltacht.

There are many efforts happening to increase the number of Irish speakers. Schools are an important focus for these efforts and there is huge demand for Irish-medium education. There are classes outside the formal education system for adult learners, including a great offering of online classes. There have been some important gains in recent years in the media, as the Irish-language channel TG4 launched a brand-new children’s channel last year. There are also many digital projects that aim to support language learning and use, including online conversation groups, dictionaries and grammar tools, podcasts and Irish-language servers.

It is important to note that speakers face many challenges when trying to live their lives in Irish. This is reflected by the fact that while 1.8 million people claim some competence in the language, only 71,968 people in the Republic of Ireland use the language on a daily basis outside of the education system, according to census figures. There are many dedicated activists working against this situation and drawing attention to the struggles of Gaeltacht communities and speakers across the country and fighting against the dominance of English.

RV: What are your motivations for seeing your language present in digital spaces?

AP: I started thinking more about using Irish in digital spaces in 2020, when COVID-19 came to Ireland. Up until that point, I had mainly used the language in person — in my schooling and professional life, and socially.

When the pandemic started, I was living with my parents and only speaking English in person, so all of my communication in Irish was suddenly brought online. From my bedroom, I was catching up with how friends were doing in lockdown in Irish, attending work meetings in Irish, studying to be an Irish-language teacher for adults, going to a weekly Zoom gathering for Irish speakers. Having access to those digital spaces allowed me to continue to use Irish at a time when I had been cut off physically from other speakers — something that provided a lot of relief during a very difficult period.

Moving to Valencia soon afterwards meant that I was still separated physically from a lot of my Irish-speaking friends in Ireland and the events that I would have attended were I living there. I still use the language on a daily basis thanks to the digital forms of communication that I started using in 2020. This means the world to me, and I know it does for other Irish speakers scattered across the globe.

RV: Describe some of the challenges that prevent your language from being fully utilized online.

AP: Before I moved to Valencia, I saw myself as being very dedicated to Irish-language promotion. Yet, when I came to Valencia, learned Valencian and started meeting language activists through the University of Valencia, I was really struck by how my language practices in Irish didn’t reflect those of the people I was meeting, who strive to use Valencian in every interaction. My use of Irish was mainly limited to people who I knew spoke Irish, rather than with strangers in spaces not associated with the language, and if I was posting publicly online, I’d do bilingual posts in Irish and English. In my daily interactions, I was constantly giving in to the dominance of English in public life, both online and offline, without really thinking about it too much.

Ideologies, then, around where and with whom Irish should be used, and also around what counts as language activism in a given context, were really affecting my use of the language online and are a major challenge preventing the language being fully utilized. Helping speakers to identify these ideologies, recognize the inequality that has led to our public interactions being so often in English and reflect on how our daily interactions can challenge or sustain this inequality is really important.

RV: What concrete steps do you think can be taken to encourage younger people to begin learning their language or keep using their language?

AP: In order to help the younger generation recognize those ideologies that I mentioned, it is important that we openly discuss issues of power, justice and equality when we are teaching and using our languages. I studied Irish to degree level and there was little to no focus during my formal education on language activism. While I appreciated a lot of the literature that I studied, I think there is a major need to include sociolinguistics in the curriculum for students of Irish at all levels. I think we should encourage discussions around these ideas at community gatherings and events and work out ways together to challenge ideologies that limit us linguistically.

As I described, moving to Valencia and meeting language activists here was pivotal for me in thinking through my own use of Irish and I think that speaks to something important: how much we have to learn from connecting with each other.

Bringing young people together from different minoritized-language communities means they can share experiences and ideas, and also see that they are not alone and are part of a global fight for a more just world. Initiatives like the @EuroDigitalLang project provide a great space for such connections. These connections are also central to our work at the Endangered Languages Project so I’m really excited to be taking over the rotating account for the week.

Originally published on Global Voices

Members of European Parliament (MEPs) from Romania who voted in favor of defending the rights of Internet users: Renate Weber, Adina-Ioana Vălean, Laurentiu Rebega and Traian Ungureanu. Collage by Global Voices, CC-BY, incl. Wikipedia PD photo.

YouTube says that every 60 seconds, 400 hours worth of video is uploaded to its servers. From silly cats, to public protests, to soft porn, YouTube is ever-expanding for one major reason: you don’t have to ask permission to upload. If you break the rules, you find out on the other side — for now.

A landmark copyright reform effort proposed in the European Union (EU) could radically upend this system by requiring user-generated content platforms like YouTube to assess the ownership of a piece of content — whether it be video, audio, text or image — before a user can successfully upload the file.

On July 5, the European Parliament rejected the negotiation mandate of the leading committee on the Copyright Directive, JURI. This means that while the proposed directive put forth by JURI has been rejected, debates are still open and any of the 751 MEPs can submit new proposals and amendments. In September, there could be a new vote on this proposal.

Nearly one million people signed petitions and more than 40,000 of European citizens wrote emails to members of European Parliament arguing for modifications to the directive that would ensure protection of their rights and interests.

First put forward by the European Commission in September 2016, the proposed Copyright Directive was intended to be a key part of the EU’s package of measures designed to create a Digital Single Market in the EU, that would streamline networked technologies in order to foster economic and market growth. But this proposal could only detract from the modernisation of the copyright legislative framework within the EU.

Copyright proposals currently being pushed by European governance bodies do not take into account the nature and potential uses of networked digital technology.

By far the most controversial article of the Copyright Directive  is Article 13, unofficially dubbed “the censorship machine” by the open internet advocacy network European Digital Rights (EDRi). The article attempts to hold online service providers liable for the content that users upload. Currently, if an user uploads content that infringes on someone else’s rights or breaks some law, the user is liable and the service provider or platform is protected from liability. If the service provider or platform were to be held liable for the actions of the users, it would become risk-averse. Most likely, this would cause a sea change in the baseline abilities of such platforms, and shift their focus away from user participation and sharing. It would be the end of open sharing.

We have seen a smaller-scale version of this phenomenon play out with the comment sections of various sites: when the site owner/administrator begins to observe undesired behavior on their site, they often  start moderating the comments, lightly at first and increasingly strictly as the times goes. And it all ends up with the author or publication disabling the comment section altogether. In the case of Article 13, online platforms would be forced to implement automatic filtering mechanisms to make sure before every upload that the file being uploaded is not infringing anyone’s copyright.

How would this automatic filtering work? The online platforms would need to implement a filtering based on algorithms used to detect whether a piece of content is infringing or not.

This is very easily said but next to impossible to accurately implement in practice. The number of cases involving content removed in error for alleged copyright infringement are too numerous to count. Two especially absurd examples are  a video of a purring cat was accused of copyright infringement by two record labels,  and a Harvard lecture on copyright issues that was taken down because… claimants said the video violated copyright of a pop song.

The second most controversial article of the EU proposal is Article 11, which introduces a new right for press publishers called “ancillary copyright” (also known as “The Link Tax”).  This is not new in Europe — it was first introduced in Germany and then in Spain, in both cases under intense lobbying from the large press publishers. And in both cases, it proved to be a spectacular failure. Under this new right, the press publishers may need  to ask for payment from people quoting their online content. If the proponents had gotten their way, simply linking to online content would require a fee as well.

This would cause huge imbalance between press publishers and everyone else on the Internet. When ancillary copyright was implemented in Germany, Google News used their market dominant position to negotiate special privileges with press publishers, exempting them from the tax altogether. But smaller news aggregators that didn’t have Google News’ size to swing around, had to close up shop. In Spain, where the law didn’t allow press publishers to waive their fees (similar to Germany), Google News closed up shop as well.

What happened in Spain afterwards was even more striking: A new company appeared, allegedly a dynamic success story of a startup, which provides an Android application on which you can access news articles. While it seemed like a great solution at first, it was soon revealed to be owned by German corporation Axel Springer — the main driver behind this type of legislation in Germany, as well as in Spain and at the European level.

What are the reactions from Romania?

At European level there are large numbers of individuals and organizations involved in this project. We at the Association for Technology and Internet (ApTI) tried to contact the Romanian MEPs, in order to impress upon them the legal, economic and educational effects of some of the articles in this copyright reform proposal.

Out of 32 Romanian MEPs, only four rejected the negotiation mandate of JURI committee, in favor of defending the rights of Internet users both in Europe and in the world at large. Two of them publicly stated their stance on this matter on Facebook.

Renate Weber (ALDE, Independent):

…in opinia mea, libertatea in raport cu internetul nu inseamna ca tot ce e continut de internet trebuie sa fie gratuit. Sunt de acord cu protectia drepturilor de autor si cu faptul ca platformele online trebuie sa gaseasca formule prin care autorii, artistii in general sa fie protejati si platiti in mod adecvat pentru utilizarea operelor.

Problema e ca formularea actuala a art. 13 nu reuseste un just echilibru intre respectarea drepturilor de autor si obligatiile impuse platformelor online. Dar mai ales, ceea ce lipseste din acest articol este protectia utilizatorilor individuali (end users). Pentru a se conforma cerintelor din art. 13 platformele online vor fi obligate sa introduca filtrarea automata a continutului online, asta inseamnand inclusiv afectarea oricarei uploadari, oricat de nevinovata ar fi ea.

Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung a rezumat cel mai bine: uploadarea, urcarea unui video pe YouTube, sau pe Twitter, de la aniversarea unui copil va deveni imposiba daca in fundal canta Beyonce. Aceste instrumente automate nu pot nici macar sa fie conforme cu directiva privind drepturile de autor care prevede exceptii in cazul parodiilor, al criticilor, etc.

Dar trebuie sa precizez ca de fapt uploadarea devine imposibila daca utilizatorul este european. Vad din nou aici tipul de abordare care a fost folosit in cazul ACTA: impunem reguli cat mai stricte pentru europeni in vreme ce utilizatori de pe alte continente vor face in continuare ce vor dori. Nu pot fi de acord cu asa ceva, mai ales ca de data asta ar fi vorba inclusiv de sanctionarea unor comportamente complet nevinovate sau de sanctionarea creativitatatii utilizatorilor individuali europeni.

Asadar, voi vota impotriva unui mandat care sa permita inceperea negocierilor, insa acest lucru nu va fi suficient. Nicio dezbatere in Plenul PE, chiar daca ea e un instrumemt democratic in procedura legislativa, nu este momentan de ajuns. E nevoie de un nou text care sa rezolve toate aceste probleme care sa gaseasca un just echilibru intre libertatea utilizatorilor de internet de a uploada, cu protejarea drepturilor de autor si respectarea dreptului utilizatorilor europeni de internet de a se exprima liber, comparativ cu utilizatorii de internet de pe alte continente.

…I want to point out that, in my opinion, freedom on the Internet does not mean that all Internet content should be free of charge. I agree with copyright protection and the fact that online platforms have to find formulas where authors and artists generally are protected and paid for the use of works.

The problem is that the current wording of Art. 13 does not achieve a fair balance between respect for copyright and the obligations imposed for online platforms. But what is critically missing from this article is the protection of end users. To comply with the requirements of Art. 13, online platforms will be required to introduce automatic content filtering online, including the impact of any uploads, even if it is legal.

Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung summed it up as follows: uploading a YouTube or Twitter video of a child’s birthday will become impossible if Beyoncé is playing in the background. These automated tools cannot even comply with the copyright directive that provides for exceptions to parodies, criticisms, etc.

But I have to say that uploading is actually impossible if the user is European. I see here again the type of approach that has been used in ACTA: we are imposing stricter rules for Europeans while users from other continents will continue to do what they want. I can not agree with this, especially as this time it would include the sanctioning of completely innocent behaviors or the sanctioning of the creativity of individual European users.

So I will vote against a mandate to start negotiations, but that will not be enough. Debates in the EP plenary, even if there is a democratic instrument in the legislative procedure, are not enough. There is a need for a new text to solve all these problems, that will find a fair balance between the freedom of internet users to upload, protecting copyright and respecting the right of European internet users to express themselves freely, as compared to internet users from other continents.

Adina Vălean (EPP, PNL):

I believe the success of a normative act lies in broad support from all those involved. Today we would not be in this situation if the proposal of the Legal Committee were not controversial. This shows us that we need to continue the debate and find the means and legal instruments by which the entire creative industry in Europe is genuinely protected without creating obstacles to innovation and the digital economy. That is why I voted against the proposal of the Legal Committee on the Copyright Directive.

Adina Vălean's statement on Facebook.

At this juncture, we still need to convince MEPs to submit actual amendments that should guarantee the rights of European citizens.

On August 26 there will be Save the Internet Action Day, an event meant to involve as many individuals and organizations as possible, to send a clear message to EU representative in finding the proper legislative measures to be further implemented.

Originally published on Global Voices

Screenshot from the Avicii Vs Lurgan – “Wake Me Up” as Gaeilge video

A version of this post was originally published at r12n on Medium.

YouTube contains innumerable amateur covers of popular songs, from teenagers strumming guitars in their bedrooms to garage bands in dive bars. Few covers, however, attract millions of views and glowing praise from the original artists.

A few years ago, Irish summer college students posted a cover of Swedish DJ Avicii’s mega-hit “Wake Me Up” that became a global sensation itself. Notably, the cover was performed in the Irish language (Gaeilge), and soon became the language’s most-viewed YouTube video.

As a sociolinguist interested in minoritised languages, I’ve been exploring how this emerging practice of posting music video covers in minority languages on YouTube shapes (and is shaped by) questions of national identity, language attitudes, and revitalization practices. Access to new media spaces and genres can contribute to changing attitudes and emotions related to minoritised languages, which are often regarded as old-fashioned and unglamorous. Through its interactive character, by offering the possibility to comment on the videos, YouTube also opens up a window on the shifting emotional landscape around the languages.

An analysis of the digital conversation surrounding the Irish version of “Wake Me Up” and a different song cover in the Sámi language shows how the performances elicit enthusiasm, admiration, love, solidarity and pride. At the same time, a closer look at the comments reveals how this apparently “happy” space is cut through by divisions within and between ethno-linguistic communities, marked by scorn, anger and shame, and engendered in many cases by acts of “everyday nationalism” linked to the colonial histories of Ireland and Finland.

The Irish and Sámi languages

Sápmi, the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sami people. (Image CC BY-SA 3.0, Original from Wikimedia Commons)

Both Irish and the Sámi languages are minoritised languages from peripheralised sites.

Although Irish is the first official language in the Republic of Ireland, it occupies rather a marginal position in many areas of everyday life, such as business and the media, where English is the dominant language.

Sápmi, the region of the indigenous Sámi people, stretches over the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and north-west Russia. Of the nine Sámi languages, three have the status of an official language in the part of the Sámi domicile area that is located within the borders of the Finnish nation state. Otherwise, Finland has two national languages, Finnish and Swedish. The most vibrant of the Sámi languages, Northern Sámi, is estimated to have around 30,000 speakers in total; other Sámi languages have only a couple of hundred speakers, and all nine languages are classified as endangered.

The historical trajectories of Sámi and Irish echo those of many other minoritised languages, involving deliberate marginalisation and stigmatisation on the part of the dominant nation states and, in the past few decades, attempts at language revitalisation, especially among young people.

Avicii Vs Lurgan — “Wake Me Up” as Gaeilge

The video from the Irish context is entitled Avicii Vs Lurgan — “Wake Me Up” as Gaeilge and is a remake of the global mega hit “Wake Me Up” by Swedish DJ and producer Avicii. The Irish version is a joint production of teachers and students from Coláiste Lurgan, an independent, non-profit, but self-supporting, Irish language summer school in Gaeltacht, the Irish-speaking region on the west coast of Ireland.

Producing Irish-language versions of globally popular pop songs has for a few years been part of the coursework at Coláiste Lurgan. As such, the Avicii Vs Lurgan video is not unique. What makes it special, however, is the media attention it gained and the huge popularity it achieved: the performance was praised by newspapers and online magazines; radio stations added the song to their playlists, not only in Ireland, but also in Australia and Canada; and part of the group starring in the video were invited to perform on the Late Late Show, broadcast on the national channel RTÉ1.

The performance was noted even by Avicii himself, who linked to the video on his Facebook page and posted “This one is so cool! I can’t understand a word but I love it.” After two months on YouTube the video had gathered 2 million views. Three years later, the figure had risen beyond 5 million and the video which at the time of my analysis had more than 5,500 comments. While most of the comments are written in English, around 1,000 are in Irish or include some Irish, and a handful is written in other languages, such as Spanish, Russian and German.

“Leivänmuruseni”

The video from the Sámi context is a parody of the popular song “Missä muruseni on” (“Where Is My Sweetheart”) by Finnish pop singer Jenni Vartiainen. The cover video, “Leivänmuruseni” (“My Crumb of Bread”), makes a humorous reference to the hardships associated with the traditional Sámi way of life.

The video was uploaded on YouTube in autumn 2011 as a teaser for the TV comedy show Märät säpikkäät/Njuoska bittut, which was conceived, co-written and presented by two young Sámi women, Suvi West and Kirste Aikio. The series was the first “Sámi comedy show” shown in prime time on national Finnish TV, and as such, widely noticed and promoted by newspapers and weeklies. The video appeared in the first episode of the show as the first part of a series of similar musical parodies.

Over its first four years on YouTube, the video had gathered around 320,000 views and 230 comments, written mostly in Finnish, with a few short ones in Sámi and English, and one in Spanish.

Perceptions of “Irishness” and “Sáminess” in the comments

A primary theme among the comments, as might be expected, is the quality of the performances themselves. The vast majority of comments on both the Sámi and the Irish performance are positive in tone.

A second category of discussion addresses the commenters’ perceptions of their own “Irishness” or “Sáminess”.

If Irish people usually identify positively with “Irishness”, what we see in the comments is more than positive identification; it is pride gone viral. What seems to have happened here is what one of the commentators urged: ”Keep listening to it and spread the word about it brings out the Irish in us all :) ”.

But there are also attempts to demarcate the “right to pride”: legitimating oneself and excluding others not considered to be Irish enough:

Makes me proud to be irish?? And yes I was born, raised and still live in Belfast, Ireland?Im not an american who thinks they are half irish because their aunties cousins goldfish nextdoor neighbour was a quater irish :/”

Other exchanges embody features of hate speech, drawing divisions between the Irish and the English or the English-minded “West Brits“.

In the Sámi/Finnish context, the category of ethnicity is far less pronounced. Here, one commentator belonging presumably to the majority Finns wishes that “the Sámi finally could be proud of their cultural heritage”.

Pride, solidarity, and exclusion tied to language ability

In both cases, the performances triggered an abundance of positive comments about the two languages.

In the Finnish context, a number of comments praising and advocating the Sámi language stem not from the Sámi people, but from the majority Finns opposing the position of Swedish in Finland. In this strand of discussion, the love for Sámi is inspired by hatred of Swedish, and rather than uniting, it creates divisions “in the name of love”.

In the Irish context, the ability to speak Irish makes a theme of emotional engagement in its own right. While the expressions of pride, joy and solidarity forge ties of belonging among those (considering themselves as) able to speak Irish, at the same time they work to exclude those who don't know the language or are less fluent.

I am Irish but am ashamed to say I don’t understand a word of this but i still love it….

Taken together, these two cases show how music video covers can positively influence attitudes and emotions related to minority languages, their speakers, and the associated ethnicities/nationalities. At the same time, they demonstrate how these kind of performances, put on a social media platform, might also propel the reproduction of everyday nationalism and social divisions.

Originally published on Global Voices

The photo by Derek Lackaff taken in rural County Galway, Ireland in January 2016

A version of this post was originally published at r12n on Medium.

Last summer, an Irish woman named Caoimhe Ní Chathail sent her mobile phone company a tweet to let them know that she was having some trouble using their website. For months, the site had been rejecting her name as “invalid” because it contained an accented Irish letter (í). The mobile company’s response was to ask if Caoimhe could just use the “English version” of her name. This very public exchange caused a minor uproar on Irish Twitter: an Irish company seemed to be questioning the acceptability of using the Irish language online in Ireland. Within a few weeks, the company had actually updated its site so it would not reject Irish names, but this small incident illustrates the type of interactions that speakers of Irish frequently face in their interactions with digital media.

Irish (Gaeilge) is the first official language of Ireland, a recognized minority language in Northern Ireland, and an official language of the European Union. Instruction in the language is mandated throughout primary and secondary school. The language has a rich literary heritage, and is used in radio, television, and across the internet. Second language learners outside Ireland can find formal opportunities to study the language at universities like Notre Dame or University of Sydney, or more casually at a MeetUp or using free apps like Duolingo. Despite this support and interest, Irish is considered to be “definitely endangered.” Current estimates suggest that there are only about 40-70,000 daily speakers out of the Irish population of 4.6 million. Irish is a community language spoken outside of school in very few areas, most prominently in specially-designated rural regions called Gaeltachtai. Irish is thus a minority language in Ireland where most people use the majority language — English — in their daily life.

Percentage of people who speak Irish daily outside the education system, 2011 Census. By SkateTier CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A recent report suggests that Irish could actually die out as a community language within a decade or two. This puts Irish in the company of thousands of other human languages that could disappear in the coming years and decades without active intervention. While the technical classification of languages and their endangerment levels is somewhat contested, the global trend is toward less linguistic diversity as languages like English, Spanish, or Chinese displace local and indigenous languages. Although languages have come and gone throughout human history, colonialism, assimilation programs, and globalization have put massive pressures on languages of fewer speakers over the past century. In the United States over 150 indigenous languages still have living speakers, but decades of cultural suppression have left these languages in a very precarious position. There are still 2,000 speakers of Lakota, for example, but most first-language Lakota speakers are now in their 60s and 70s. Intergenerational transmission of a language — grandparents and parents to children — is the core process in a language’s survival, so language preservation and revitalization is often a race against time.

There are many reasons why users should be empowered to use their own language, and for preserving linguistic diversity. A language represents an unbroken connection to a particular culture and perspective, and encodes unique information about humans and the world. Access to a heritage language provides profound benefits to peoples who are resisting and recovering from colonialism. With my colleague William J. Moner, I recently started a research project that examines the use of a minority language — Irish — across mobile media. We suggest that lessons from the Irish experience might be applied to the other thousands of endangered human languages, and that interaction designers have an important role to play in the language revitalization process.

Minority Language Computerization

Communication technologies, and social media more specifically, present both opportunities and challenges for minority language preservation and revitalization efforts. Benefits include the ability to widely distribute cultural and news media, as well as learning materials; and the opportunity to improve the prestige of the language, and promote its use among younger generations. This last point becomes increasingly salient as global youth cultures move towards always-connected communication contexts exemplified by mobile messaging platforms like Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Digital communication platforms potentially enable members of language communities to remain in contact with one another whether they are local or distant. However, as the personal computer loses primacy to mobile communication devices, interaction and input rely more on advanced processes like speech recognition and gesture typing than on traditional keyboard typing. While accepting basic textual input from a keyboard is a trivial computational exercise, providing more advanced functionality such as spelling correction or speech processing is more expensive in terms of time and resources. Some observers have started sounding alarms, such the poet and musician Sjón regarding his native Icelandic language (330,000 speakers):

The broader and more serious implications are for the language as it is used in daily life. Technology is moving towards AI and speech-controlled applications, and the companies developing it do not see preserving languages spoken by few as their responsibility. When the day comes that we have to speak to our refrigerators in English (which I believe is not far in the future), Icelandic will retreat very fast.

And Icelandic isn’t even technically endangered.

The computerization of minority languages provides several new opportunities for language preservation and revitalization. These opportunities include easier and less intrusive language documentation, for example by using mobile apps like Aikuma. They include new opportunities for pedagogy and learning, as new text, audio, video, and computer-assisted learning software becomes easier to produce and disseminate. Among my favorite examples are the game Never Alone, which was developed in close collaboration with Alaska Native storytellers.

Another fun example is the Lakota-dubbed version of Berenstain Bears now available on Youtube. Finally, software localization or translation, particularly of open-source software, is an area of particular promise for minority languages. Kevin Scannell, a computer scientist at Saint Louis University, lists many software applications — including desktop apps like Mozilla Firefox and LibreOffice, and webapps like Gmail and Twitter — that are now available in Irish thanks to his and others’ contributions.

Mobile eats the world

Globally there has been a massive shift towards mobile, and it’s clear mobile devices shape the use of a language in different ways than personal computers do. The first generation of mobile text platforms was primarily composed of mobile phones with small screens and numeric input pads. Because the standard numeric keypad only had 12 buttons, most characters were entered using multiple button presses to cycle through available options. For example, a user would press the button labeled “2” six times to produce the Á character, first cycling through the characters A, B, C, 2, and Ä. Predictive text is an input technology designed to ameliorate some of these problems, allowing the software to “predict” which word a user intended to produce based on a reduced number of button taps. Predictive text increases text input speed by as much as 30%, and was broadly implemented for global languages, but support for minority languages with smaller commercial markets languished.

Sure beats button mashing on a feature phone.

Touchscreen devices such as the Apple iPhone and iPad characterize the second generation of mobile platforms. Such devices typically employ a “soft keyboard” that appears onscreen when text entry is necessary. For a minority language with a script closely related to a majority language, basic input of text is likely not a problem. Modern Irish, for example, uses the majority of letters from the Latin alphabet with five accented vowel characters (síneadh fada) that can be accessed from an English keyboard with just an extra key tap. Typing characters one at a time, however, is probably a foreign concept to most touchscreen device users. For users of global languages, software keyboards provide advanced features such as gesture typing, spellchecking, and automatic corrections. These types of interface technologies greatly increase the convenience, accuracy, and speed of text input on mobile devices, and this may introduces a bias toward the majority language even for fluent minority language users.

How does Irish go mobile?

To better understand how minority language users interact with mobile technologies, we developed and conducted an online survey of young Irish speakers and learners in Ireland. The survey was derived from one used in a previous study of teenage speakers of Frisian, a minority language spoken in the Netherlands. As might be expected, these participants tended to be very heavy users of social media, particularly of mobile social media apps. They reported divergent levels of language proficiency: understanding of Irish was fairly high, speaking proficient was a bit lower, and writing was significantly lower.

These users had a lot to say about their experience using Irish in social and mobile media, and the various obstacles they faced, and three broad themes emerged from their responses to open-ended questions. The first theme was that the audience for Irish was much smaller than the audience for English. Most of the participants have many friends who speak Irish, but many hesitated to use the language socially in digital media. In fact, many suggested that it would be “unusual” or “abnormal” to see Irish in their feeds. No users reported that they attempt to segment their audience by language, for example by using Facebook lists.

The second, related theme was that users note their networks are linguistically pluralistic, and they were concerned that posting in Irish would exclude or offend those who didn’t speak the language. This finding was in many ways paradoxical, as participants also generally feel that the language is an important part of their culture and personal identity.

The third theme was that the mobile media context presents specific technical challenges. Even fluent users are faced with additional challenges in producing written Irish on a mobile device — rather than using advanced gesture typing with autocorrect, they are forced to laboriously input text letter by letter. In many cases, the keyboard actively works against them, as the English autocorrect marks all their Irish as misspelled, or “corrects” their Irish words into English. The challenge of producing “correct” Irish on a mobile keyboard is exacerbated for many potential Irish users who are not completely fluent. Several mentioned that they had been publicly critiqued or shamed by “grammar snobs” or prescriptivists for writing “incorrect” Irish online.

These findings suggest some specific issues that interaction designers might consider in designing for minority language users.

Technological factors

Most of our respondents find that current mobile interfaces inhibit the use of Irish. Whether it is accessing accented characters or battling the autocorrect in another language, the interface itself can push users toward the majority language. In some smaller language communities, users have no problem with switching keyboard layouts, disabling assistive technologies like gesture typing and autocorrect, and typing words out a letter at a time. However, in a minority language context such as the Irish example, users make the valid assumption that everyone in their network is proficient in English, and thus elect to take the path of least linguistic and technical resistance. Many of the fluent Irish users in our sample send English messages to their Irish speaking friends and family, even if they speak Irish with them in person and on the phone.

We also find that social media popularity metrics push Irish users towards using the majority language. Such metrics tend to be simplistic but are prominently featured on every post or update: think “likes” or “comment counts” or “retweets.” In the attention economy in which social media users are encouraged to perform, anything that might limit engagement — like the use of a minority language — will be avoided.

Cultural contexts

Second, all minority language users live and communicate in a complex cultural context. Irish has a deep and complex set of associations for Irish people, ranging from a sense of heritage and pride, to concerns about political conflict or painful experiences learning the language in school. Further, it is safe for Irish users to assume that English will be understood by their entire local network, while Irish will only be understood by some of their Irish network and none of their global network. This complicates the sustained use of Irish, particularly for younger generations. If the goal is to encourage casual, creative use of the language, there may be value in designing to promote new language norms, for example with monolingual platforms that remove the social ambiguity of bilingualism. Other minority languages will have different relationships with the majority language, warranting other types of designs.

Linguistic requirements

Finally, languages have specific and unique linguistic requirements related to their orthography, morphology, and computational resources. Irish is somewhat unique as a minority language in that it is comparatively well-resourced. For example, several inexpensive or free functional Irish keyboard input technologies are already available for mobile devices, but adoption seems to be low among the potential userbase we surveyed. None of our participants mentioned using the Adaptxt keyboard, a free iOS and Android keyboard that provides high-quality Irish predictive and autocorrect functionality and easy language switching. A few users noted that they used the Swype keyboard, which is a separate download, but has full support for Irish. There are active centers of research in Irish computational linguistics, such as the ADAPT Centre collaborative in Dublin. Kevin Scannell suggests that for Irish, the challenge is not a dearth of technical resources or support, but actually connecting users with these resources: effectively marketing Irish-language software and interfaces to potential users, and convincing operating system developers and device manufacturers to integrate Irish language technologies into their products. There are indications that this may be happening for some languages — the latest version of Google's GBoard keyboard app for iOS and Android supports Irish, and allows for autocorrect and prediction in multiple languages simultaneously.

Teresa Lynn, a researcher with the ADAPT Centre, gives a TEDx talk on Irish and social media.

Language vitality requires practice in spaces where people are active in a mutual exchange of ideas and where conversation may occur. As global technology giants like Facebook and Google, for example, move aggressively into developing regions of the world, questions of linguistic self-determination and colonial resistance are becoming increasingly important. Encouraging the everyday use of endangered languages –in both offline and online contexts — warrants a strong push for participation and engagement by minority language activists, designers, and developers in these spaces.

As communication technologies move into increasingly intimate and developing cultural contexts, and as social media platforms facilitate communication within these contexts, the tensions between local languages and the global technologies will continue to vex both local communities and interaction designers. While Irish is a unique minority language, its examination provides insights into how global and local practices are mediated through mobile interfaces.

Originally published on Global Voices

A widely shared image announcing the ‘Black Monday’ strike, via Twitter user Anna Blus.

Poland is readying for a massive general strike on October 3, as part of the next stage of a protest movement against legislation strengthening the national ban on abortion. Activists in Germany are also preparing solidarity actions.

Polish women's rights activists announced a nationwide strike of female workers intended to bring Polish society and the economy to a standstill on October 3.

The strike is a continuation of the “Black Protest”, a massive reaction to the government's latest plan to increase the severity of the anti-abortion law by including stipulations such as five-year prison terms for both women abortion patients — including rape victims — and doctors.

The first phase of the protests involved digital activism, with people expressing their disagreement with the proposed law by posting photos of themselves dressed in black, using the hashtags #czarnyprotest (“#BlackProtest,” found here on Facebook and Twitter) and #blackprotest (Facebook, Twitter).

After the Polish Parliament proceeded with consideration of the controversial legislative proposal on September 23, activists responded with massive demonstrations in tens of Polish cities as well as in several other cities around the world the following weekend.

Right-wing national-conservative party PiS (“Law and Justice”) holds a majority in the parliament and has the backing of the Catholic Church. Its lawmakers also voted to dismiss another piece of legislation that would have liberalized existing laws. Proposed by the “Save Women” pro-choice coalition, and supported by a petition with 150,000 signatures, it would have allowed for legal abortions up until the 12th week of pregnancy.

Anti-government protests in Warsaw today #czarnyprotest #blackprotest #kod #warsaw pic.twitter.com/hlE7EYSJI1

— Sophie Tabatadze (@zosia007) September 24, 2016

On October 1, political party RAZEM (“Together”), a very active element of the protest movement, which also includes civil society organizations and individual activists, organized another pro-choice protest in front of the Sejm, the Polish Parliament in Warsaw.

Warsaw right now #CzarnyProtest pic.twitter.com/qbNE4radLf

— Ola Cichowlas (@olacicho) October 1, 2016

#Blackprotest in #Poland against total ban on abortion #CzarnyProtest #zartysieskonczyly pic.twitter.com/7gSVsnqKFL

— Natalia Ojewska (@Natalia_Ojewska) October 1, 2016

The protest movement has received support from left-wing political parties and human rights activists across Europe.

#CzarnyProtest | S&D's @KaufmannSylvia @BirgitSippelMEP @Weidenholzer march in solidarity with Polish women in Warsaw! #OurFightWomensRights pic.twitter.com/v1mmTb33Tt

— S&D Group (@TheProgressives) October 1, 2016

A survey by polling company Ipsos indicated that 11% of citizens support stricter anti-abortion laws, 47% do not approve changes to the existing law and 37% demand liberalization. Another poll showed wide support for the protest movement.

55% of Polish women support #czarnyprotest against total #abortion ban. 44% of men support protests, 15% oppose them https://t.co/SwPm2AHqPR

— Gulliver Cragg (@gullivercragg) October 1, 2016

The strike and protests scheduled for October 3 have been branded under the slogan “Black Monday.” Activists use the corresponding hashtags in #CzarnyPoniedziałek in Polish (on Facebook and Twitter) and #BlackMonday in English (on Facebook and Twitter). The main Facebook event also provides links to tens of planned demonstrations both in Polish cities and cities across Europe and North America.

One major “Black Monday” Solidarity Demonstration with Polish Women's Strike is scheduled to take place at S+U Warschauer Strasse Station (Warsaw Street) in Berlin. The organizers, the independent collective Dziewuchy Dziewuchom Berlin, include ethnic Polish women who want to support those that face further infringements on their human rights.

Black Monday is a warning strike by all women in Poland. During the daylong strike, they will take a day off at work, universities and schools, they will leave their housework at home. The strike is a collective initiative, gathering women of different ages, occupations and life experiences.

The Black Monday protest is a national-scale event, motivating thousands of women in a very short time, in response to a critical situation in Poland. Recently, famous Polish actress Krystyna Janda posted on social media the idea of organizing a national strike based on the one in Iceland, which took place in 1975. There, women fought against gender inequality and their strike paralyzed the whole country for a day.

In the current circumstances, in 2016 (in the 21st Century!), Polish women need to fight for their basic human rights of self-determination, and more specifically, for their reproductive rights.

One digital tool deployed to mobilize people around the upcoming ‘Black Protest’ activities is this punk video created by the group EL Banda. As of this writing it has amassed over 6,000 views on YouTube since it was posted September 27.

Originally published on Global Voices

Screen shot from the video for Elton John's “Nikita” (1985).

Themes of love, loss and the other trials of our personal lives have been the mainstay of popular music for centuries. But in every generation there are pop artists who have taken on that other great theme called politics, responding to current events and instances of injustice both domestic and global, and bringing often controversial issues to the attention of the young people who make up their audience.

Growing up in Macedonia in the 1980s, my awareness of global politics was very much influenced by pop music, as a number of A-list artists during that era released huge hits addressing political issues, some of which were considered quite controversial at the time.

Here are a few of the stand-out political songs from the era:

 “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – U2 (1983)

One of the most influential and overtly political songs by the Irish rockers, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” describes the horror the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry, Northern Ireland, in which British troops shot and killed 14 unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders in 1972.

The sound of the voice of the young Bono, shouting “This is not a rebel song, this is Sunday Bloody Sunday!” can still cause one to feel goosebumps, even for those who for whom he has become very much a part of the establishment.

“Pride (In the Name of Love)” – U2 (1984)

The following year, U2 released “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, about the American Civil Rights movement and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

“Gimme Hope Jo'Anna” – Eddy Grant (1988)

Guyanese British musician Eddy Grant turned the age-old pop song device of addressing a loved one on its head in 1988’s “Gimme Hope Jo'anna”. The Jo'anna in question is not a woman, but a nickname for the South African apartheid regime, personified by the city of Johannesburg.

Well Jo'anna she runs a country
She runs in Durban and the Transvaal
She makes a few of her people happy, oh
She don't care about the rest at all
She's got a system they call apartheid
It keeps a brother in a subjection
But maybe pressure will make Jo'anna see
How everybody could a live as one

The major political issue of the 1980s was the Cold War that had been simmering between the two giant blocs of East and West since the end of the Second World War, threatening the planet with nuclear destruction. For decades, its influence permeated the daily life of many throughout the word, not to mention all forms of art, not only science fiction. Many of the songs inspired by the Cold War carry antiwar messages, demanding an end to the conflict and promoting empathy for the people “on the other side.”

“99 Luftballons” – Nena (1983)

German band Nena gained worldwide fame with their 1983 hit “99 Luftballons”. The original German version of the song tells the story of a trigger-happy fighter pilot provoking a military incident after shooting at a swarm of children's balloons, starting a 99-year war.

“Nikita” – Elton John (1985)

At the peak of his career in 1985, Elton John sang about “Nikita”, a love interest confined behind the Iron Curtain. The name “Nikita” is given to both boys and girls in Slavic countries. The video for the song featured the beautiful Nikita character, played by British female athlete and model Anya Major, famous for starring in Apple Computer's “1984” commercial.

Do you ever dream of me
Do you ever see the letters that I write
When you look up through the wire
Nikita do you count the stars at night

And if there comes a time
Guns and gates no longer hold you in
And if you're free to make a choice
Just look towards the west and find a friend

“Russians” – Sting (1985)

Another song promoting empathy and humanizing “the enemy” was Sting's “Russians” (1985), which commented on the exchange of warmongering rhetoric and fears of nuclear annihilation.

We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us, me, and you
Is if the Russians love their children too

In 2010 Sting said that his inspiration for the song were Soviet children's programs like these that he had watched via a “stolen” satelite TV signal.

“Wind of Change” – Scorpions (1990)

The collapse of the Soviet system also inspired several songs. “Wind of Change” by the German rock band Scorpions, released in 1990, became an anthem for the reforms that were underway, with high hopes, all over Central and Eastern Europe.

The world is closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change

This power ballad remains popular, and was recently used in the closing scene of the controversial political comedy “The Interview.”

This list is just a tiny sampling of a vast tradition that includes hits such as Simple Minds’ “Belfast Child” and “Mandela Day,” (1989), and the somewhat more recent “Zombie” by the Cranberries, released in 1995.

What is your favorite political pop song? Leave us a note in the Comments!

Originally published on Global Voices

Irish satirical website Waterford Whispers News certainly enjoyed the Ireland cricket teams’ victory over the West Indies on 16 February in Nelson, New Zealand:

THERE were concerns this morning among the Irish Cricket Union after the success of the Ireland team at the World Cup caused massive strain on the Irish Cricket bandwagon, leading to fears that the axles may not be fit to cope with the strain.

Axles On Irish Cricket Bandwagon Beginning To Show Signs Of Strain

But for Irish fans this is no laughing matter.

Originally published on Global Voices

Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary by Niko Kitsakis (CC-SA-3.0)

This guest post was written by Allyson Eamer, a scholar in sociolinguistics at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. A version of this post was originally published on the Ethnos Project blog.

One of the world's dying languages goes extinct every 10 to 14 days. In the fight to save them from disappearing, speakers, scholars and IT specialists are collaborating to explore how digital technology can be used to revitalize a language. 

Languages become vulnerable to extinction over time as their speakers gradually shift to using a language with greater political and economic power. More often than not, the shift occurs because of colonial and expansionist agendas that see indigenous peoples, cultures, and land ceded to empire builders. 

Remarkably, some academics are unperturbed by what could be called “linguistic Darwinism”, or survival of the fittest language. They might argue: Isn't it easier if we all speak the same language?

I am not going to elaborate on how each language encodes a unique worldview: how the vocabulary of a language reveals the values of the people who speak it, how empirical knowledge is contained within linguistic features, and how art, self-expression, history, culture, economics and identity are inextricably linked with language. Instead I am going to proceed under the assumption that, like me, you believe that the loss of a language is tragic and that the world’s indigenous peoples have had far too much taken away from them.

Miniature DNF Dictionary by Tomasz Sienicki (CC-SA-3.0)

Technology can connect language teachers and content with learners across space and time. Technology can document endangered languages with voice recordings. It can produce and distribute curriculum and resources easily and quickly. It can facilitate independent learning through gaming, cloud-based downloads and apps. It can connect teachers and learners for one-way or tandem language learning.

Forward thinkers are harnessing the unprecedented power of technology to bring languages back from the brink of extinction, and in rare cases, to resurrect an extinct language.

Here is a brief overview of some of the ways that digital technology is being used in these efforts:

Europe

• The Norwegian North Sàmi language has been programmed into downloadable dictionaries.
• Gaelic bloggers are sharing tips on the use of the Irish language.
• Students of Manx, the indigenous language of Isle of Man, are using smartphone and tablet apps to improve their proficiency.

North America

• A CD-ROM self-study course has been developed in Navajo, which is spoken in the southwestern United States.
• Learners of Cherokee, spoken in the South Central U.S., can communicate within a virtual world.
• The Ojibwe of Manitoba, Canada, are using an iPhone app to revitalize their language, as are the Winnebago in the Midwest U.S.

Africa

• Databases are being developed for oral languages in Kenya.
• Ancient stories are being recorded in the indigenous languages of Mali.
• An online language learning company is offering a course in the whistle language of Spain's Canary Islands.

Central and South America

• Ground-breaking language documentation of the Kĩsêdjê language is being done in Brazil.
  
• A talking dictionary of the Pipil language of El Salvador has been developed.
• Recordings of personal narratives of the Aché people in Paraguay are being made.

Asia

• Digital storytelling software now includes some of the minority languages of China.
• Lessons in the Tajik language of Uzbekistan are now available on YouTube.
• A total of 780 previously undocumented languages in India have now been mapped and archived online.

Arctic

• Asynchronous online lessons are available in Inuktitut, one of the languages of the Arctic.

Middle East

• Online storytelling in Chaldean, spoken in Iraq, can help speakers achieve fluency.

Pacific

• Indigenous sign language from Central Australia can now be learned via online videos.
• Digital storytelling in Pacific Island languages are available online.

For more updates on technologies in use for indigenous language education, take a look at Allyson Eamer's curated content site.

Originally published on Global Voices

Website: MediaInitiative.eu. For updates follow @MediaECI on Twitter and ‘like’ the Facebook page European Initiative for Media Pluralism.

“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom.

The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool of participatory democracy “which allows civil society coalitions to collect online and offline one million signatures in at least 7 EU member states to present directly to the European Commission a proposal forming the base of an EU Directive, initiating a legislative process”. The petition is available in 15 languages and can be signed online:

Protecting media pluralism through partial harmonization of national rules on media ownership and transparency, conflicts of interest with political office and independence of media supervisory bodies.

A short video presents the campaign:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Pis3j2RUs

Originally published on Global Voices

The anonymous Irish blogger behind the blog “Pieces of me” sends an open letter to the Irish minister of Health after the ministry decided to cut off medical reimbursements for cancer treatments, “unless their diagnosis is terminal.” As a cancer survivor, the blogger writes a poignant pamphlet:

My “not such a bad diagnosis at all”, brought me to my knees in ways you could only know if you yourself had been handed one. My  ”not such a bad diagnosis at all”, robbed me of my last few fertile years. My self esteem. My self worth. My mental health. My joy. And replaced it with a fear that seeps deep into your bones and probably won’t leave me for a very long time.

Originally published on Global Voices

The anonymous blogger behind Namawinelake, a prominent watchdog blog that chronicled Ireland's efforts to deal with its economic crisis, has stopped publishing, triggering a wave of speculation as to the blogger's identity and his or her reason for quitting. 

Namawinelake was launched in January 2010 after the financial crisis hit the country and the government was forced to request a bailout plan from the troika, made up of the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. As its title indicated, Namawinelake's reports were focusing on the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), a state agency founded in 2009 as part of the government's answer to the financial crisis.

NAMA was filling the role of a “bad bank”, that is to say buying devalued property from banks and selling them afterwards, effectively making losses on behalf of private banks or companies in order to provide them with liquidity. Namawinelake was one of the many critics who charged NAMA with squandering public money for the benefit of the banks.

Screenshot of the NAMA Wine Lake blog homepage as of May 19, 2013

Jagdip Singh, the pseudonym under which Namawinelakes sometimes wrote, announced the decision on May 19, 2013, with a laconic message on the blog:

After 3.5 years and 2,700 blogposts, this is the final NAMA wine lake blogpost. I truly regret that I can’t continue something that has become more than full-time and has stopped me leading anything like a normal life.

Jagdip adds that existing publications will remain available. In addition, the author posted a mysterious message on the website broadsheet :

A panda walks into a bar. The clock reads 29 minutes past three though the second hand is broken and is stuck at 59. The panda sits down at the bar and looks all around. There’s a couple in the corner having a quiet chat, and a man by himself at the other end of the bar. The panda orders a pina colada and as the barman is preparing it, panda taps its paw on the bar and asks for the drink in a tall glass. The couple in the corner looks up, the panda stares meaningfully at them, the couple avert their gaze and stare at the table. The barman comes over to the panda and says “I hear the blog isn’t being continued” and the panda says “I truly regret that I can’t continue something that has become more than full-time and has stopped me leading anything like a normal life” Just at that precise moment, the second hand budges and advances in a single movement to 60.

What is the reason the panda isn’t continuing the blog?

Irish journalist Laura Noonan (@LauraNoonanIRL) summarized the general sentiment among Irish Twitter users when Namawinelake announced the decision to discontinue the blog:

@LauraNoonanIRL: End of an era as @namawinelake blog comes to a close. A must-read for anyone following Irish banks/property, it will be much missed.

A blogger under threat?

The exact reason why the blogger decided to stop writing isn't clear. But some, such as Twitter user “earlofcork” (@urlofcork), suspect that the decision to quit was because of a threat of some kind:

@urlofcork: 2day Namawinelake said he is to stop blogging, following legal threats from NAMA, he shone a lite [sic] on that cesspit and he has been shut down

Two weeks before announcing the shuttering of the blog, Namawinelake author wrote a post that details the context of a letter threatening legal action sent to him by Northern Ireland solicitors, Johnsons. He explains that in a previous post, Nawawinlake incorrectly stated that Neil Adair was the head so-called Maple 10 or Anglo Golden Circle, a group of financiers who have received loans from Anglo Irish Bank in return for buying shares. Despite a quick erratum and an apology, the blog was accused by the solicitors of deliberately and purposely trying to cause damage to Neil Adair's reputation.

On Twitter, professor of economics at University College Dublin Karl Welhan (@WhelanKarl) pointed to the letter as a possible reason for the blogger's departure:

@WhelanKarl: Based on this entry and the tone of today's post, I wouldn't be surprised if the NWL closure relates to this letter. http://namawinelake.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/how-paul-tweeds-johnsons-solicitors-are-trying-to-muzzle-the-namawinelake-blog/ …

Under threat or not, economist and blogger Constantin Grudgiev emphasized the lack of support for independent information publishers in Ireland:

I can attest from my own & others’ experiences that those of us who run anything independent of the officialdom mouthpieces (regardless of political / ideological orientation or even the lack of one) have near-zero support (moral or citations- and links-wise) from our internal (not to be confused with international) media and all businesses.

Those in our society, including the traditional media, who only benefit from the free analysis and the climate of openness and debate the independent analysts help to create prefer to endlessly endorse and support, including via advertising revenues, cross-links, citations and readership, those who offer no alternative but consensus.

In contrast, independent analysts in Ireland operate in the environment of constant, usually indirect, ‘soft’, pressure from the part of the Irish society which is fully aligned with the official elite. This ‘aligned’ sub-section of Ireland often has direct and indirect support (including financial) from major business, political and ideological organisations in this country, and even from European organisations. Because of this, Irish new independent media remains relatively small, under-resourced and often marginalised.

Meanwhile, a few commenters on IrishEconomy.ie congratulated and thanked the author of Namawinelake.

Gavin Kostick wrote:

Congratulations on your extraordinary achievement.

Your initiative and your perseverance has shown how citizens can take matters into their own hands and impact on public life. The time and effort to do the work you have done is mind-boggling.

David O'Donnell concurred:

An exemplar of active citizenship on shedding some light on the opaque world of NAMA_land. Thank you!

Georg R. Baumann added high praise for the author:

I remember your blog from day one, it was inspiration, it was a level of journalism that far exceeded the mainstream spin media and yellow press that makes the Irish media landscape. In a sense, to me it was always the very Irish version of WikiLeaks, it reflected the same spirit to me.

One question remains: Who was the blogger behind Namawinelake? The guessing game has already begun on Twitter:

@brianmlucey: Now of course the speculation will really mount…who was @namawinelake ..Anybody want to start ball rolling? I nominate…Sean Dunne [ed's note: Dunne is an Irish businessman who faces the prospect of bankruptcy after he agreed to court orders directing him to repay more than €185 million to the NAMA]

Originally published on Global Voices

Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party, reinterprets the wars of religion that devastated Western Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries in terms of the current struggle to control information through overbearing legislation related to copyright and freedom of expression:

The religious wars were never about religion as such. They were about who held the power of interpretation, about who controlled the knowledge and culture available to the masses. It was a war of gatekeepers of information.

Originally published on Global Voices

Ryanair, the low-cost, low-luxury Irish airline is once again coming under fire, this time for numerous incidents that have built up over the course of the past few weeks. On July 23, 2012, three Ryanair planes had to make emergency landings in Valencia due to lack of fuel.

In September, two more planes made emergency landings in Madrid because of technical problems and depressurization, and another in Barcelona due to loss of fuel. The issue has not left netizens indifferent, and they did not hesitate to make jokes about the situation:

@Joanavas: Dentro de unas horas monto en #ryanair. Encantada de haberos conocido.

@Joanavas: I'm getting on #ryanair in a few hours. It's been a pleasure knowing you all.

@mgarnedo: Hoy vuelo con #ryanair, mañana actualizo la sección de hobbies de mi @linkedin añadiendo deportes de riesgo #wishmeluck

@mgarnedo: Today I'm flying with #ryanair, tomorrow I'm updating my Hobbies section on LinkedIn to add extreme sports #wishmeluck

@Lausfdez: Hoy tenía dos opciones, quedarme plácidamente en mi cama o ir al aeropuerto. Elegí vivir al límite. #Ryanair

@Lausfdez: Today I had two options: staying peacefully in bed or going to the airport. I chose to live life to the fullest. #Ryanair

@Txemitta: #ryanair les la nova loteria… Saps de quin aeroports despegues pero no on aterreras…

@Txemitta: #ryanair is the new lottery… you know which airport you're leaving from, but not the one you will land in…

Ryanair plane “decorated” for the holidays.  Photo taken from the Ryanair Facebook page.

But, is Ryanair a safe airline? According to a report from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) [es], it is. According to the Spanish pilots labor union [es], Sepla, “[Ryanair] takes the low cost concept too far, always straying into the security limits of legislation.”

(Ryanair has announced that it will launch legal actions against Sepla for their declarations, which they call slanderous, and in turn, adjudicator Soledad Becerril will initiate a court-appointed action to ensure that the company does not violate air security regulations nor the rights of the passengers.)

Despite what Doris Casaites writes on her blog “3viajes al día” [es], the Ryanair's cabin staff does not appear to be too concerned, since on a flight from Gerona to Madrid she had the opportunity to hear the following comments over the PA system:

como ya sabemos que todos piensan que somos unos chorizos, agarren bien sus bolsos por si acaso les robamos, y si no se fían pueden encender las luces de lectura
(…)
si compran [su lotería], les puede sacar de sus miserables y ruinosas vidas. Hasta el piloto me acaba de llamar por el interfono para pedirme un cupón porque hoy no hemos vendido ni uno

since we all already know that everyone thinks we are a bunch of thieves, make sure to hold on to your bags in case we rob you, and if you don't trust us, you can turn on the reading lights

(…)

if you buy [lottery tickets], it can be a way out of your miserable and disastrous lives. Even the pilot just called me on the intercom to ask me for a ticket because we have not sold a single one today

In reality, flying with Ryanair is often anything but cheap. If you buy a round trip flight for two European destinations online, in addition to the cost of the two trips, you will have to pay a 4€ tax for flight delays/cancellations, 12€ to do an online check-in, 50€ for checking a 15 kg bag (60€ for a 20 kg bag) and 12€ in administrative costs. This is to say that Ryanair will raise the initial price of the trip by at least 78€ (39€ each way).

If they discover that you exceeded the baggage limit in the airport, Ryanair will charge you 20€ per kg until a maximum of 32 kg. If you do not complete the check-in online or you forget to print your boarding passes, Ryanair will fine you 60€.

It is worth adding that Ryanair received over 793 million euro [es] in public subsidies in Europe over the course of the last year. This money is what permitted the company to turn a profit of 503 million euro [es] during that time period with such low costs.

Ryanair's dramatic CEO, Michael O'Leary, appears to know no limits when it comes to cutting costs… and “privileges” for his customers. In addition to his plans to place an extra charge [es] on obese individuals, demand 1€ to use the restroom, remove two of the three restrooms from each plane to make room for more seats, install the so-called vertical seats or suggest that passengers carry their own bags to the plane, he has added a proposal that planes fly without a copilot and, in case one is necessary, it be one of the crew members that land [es] the plane.

Michael O'Leary dressed as a bullfighter. Photo taken from banbloodsports.com

O'Leary does not refrain. On Belgian website références [fr], we find many statements of such a controversial character:

We don't want to hear your sob stories. What part of ‘no refund’ don't you understand?
(…)
We would welcome a good, deep, bloody recession in this country for 12 to 18 months … It would help see off the environmental nonsense.
(…)
We need a recession. We have had 10 years of growth. A recession gets rid of crappy loss-making airlines and it means we can buy aircraft more cheaply.

In 2006, the BBC Channel 4's program, Dispatches, placed two of its journalists on Ryanair as flight attendants. They worked in the company for five months and filmed all sorts of irregularities.

The video talks about lack of training, little regard for accreditation of their personnel, 25-minute stops during which it is impossible to conduct a proper investigation of the aircraft, sufficient fuel loads and borderline illegal work conditions. Not to mention the total disregard for their clients, who they appear to consider stupid for flying with this airline. Judge for yourselves, and hope that things have gotten much better since then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BLkBeLj_o&feature=related

Take, for example, Ryanair's Facebook page, where most entries are complaints from outraged passengers saying that the company does not even bother to respond. No comment.