MEDIA EUROPEJSKICH MNIEJSZOŚCI JĘZYKOWYCH: STAN, WYZWANIA, ZAGROŻENIA

It is difficult to imagine linguistic minorities functioning in the modern world without their own media. In this article, the role and significance of minority media are examined through a broad anthropological perspective. The media not only transfers information and provides entertainment but also influences people’s perception of the world and the creation of imagined communities. Therefore, the media plays an essential role in the process of maintaining group cultural identity and raises the prestige of the minority language. This article considers the essential issues related to minority media and the ambivalent consequences for a minority group of their existence: i.e., protection of a minority language at the price of cultural uniformity, and the necessity of being financed from above resulting in limitations on the minority media’s scope. Based on examples from a few European linguistic minorities, some practical problems concerning the functioning of the minority press, radio, television, and Internet are presented.