Minorities and Information and communication Technologies: when in the net every point can be the centre

In the last few years languages have been able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Internet: the use of I(nformation) and C(ommunication) T(echnologies) is not a prerogative limited to those which register a significant number of speakers, even minorities can make use of it. In this regard, scholars are divided between those who keep the Internet as a valuable tool for regional and minority languages, and those who are skeptical about the positive impact of ICT, stating that it is in fact a precious tool only for “large” languages (especially English). This debate implies sociolinguistic aspects, being linked to the theme of ethnicity (a field in which language plays a key role) and the cohesion of the community. Here we pay particular attention to a planned language, Esperanto, highlighting analogies and differences with English, Ethiopian, Yiddish, Corsican, Catalan, Griko and Occitan, providing a general description of some of the main websites dedicated to their protection.