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The Public Sphe e and No maliza ion o Mino i y
Languages1
An Analysis o Basque Tele ision in Ligh o O he
Expe iences in Eu ope
Es e a pública i no mali zació de llengües mino i à ies
Una anàlisi del cas basc (EITB) a la llum d’al es
expe iències eu opees
Josu Amezaga, Edo a A ana, Bea Na baiza, Pa xi Azpillaga
NOR Resea ch G oup. Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y UPV/EHU
Tele ision channels in mino i y langua-
ges a e equen ly he only ele ision
channels speci ically a ge ing he who-
le popula ion o he e i o y in which
ha language su i es. This means
ha hey can be seen no only as ools
o linguis ic no maliza ion, bu also
as means o he building o a public
sphe e open o he whole popula ion.
In cases whe e he linguis ic communi y
is a mino i y wi hin he whole popula-
ion, he p oblem o how o deal wi h
he building o he public sphe e in a
language ha is spoken by only a pa
o he popula ion may a ise. An analysis
o he cases o Sco land, Wales and Fin-
land shows us ha mino i y language
ele ision can de elop s a egies ha
will enable hem o be accessible o
he whole e i o ial communi y. In he
case o he Basque Coun y, howe e ,
he app oach has been a dual model
acco ding o which b oadcas ing in he
mino i y language is used o ul ill lin-
guis ic goals, and b oadcas ing in he
Les ele isions en llengües mino i à ies
són, so in , les úniques ele isions
que enen com a objec iu p imo dial
el e i o i de la llengua. Això signi ica
que poden se is es no an sols com
a ins umen s de no mali zació lin-
güís ica, sinó ambé com a mi jà pe
a la cons ucció d’una es e a pública
que englobi el conjun de la població
d’aques e i o i. En els casos en què
la comuni a lingüís ica és una mino ia
dins d’aques a població, po so gi el
p oblema de com se i a la cons uc-
ció d’una es e a pública en una llengua
que només és pa lada pe una mino-
ia. Una anàlisi dels casos d’Escòcia,
Gal·les i Finlàndia ens mos a com es
desen olupen es a ègies que pe me-
in a la ele isió en llengua mino i à ia
ob i -se cap a la comuni a e i o ial.
En el cas basc, pe ò, s’ha op a pe un
model dual segons el qual l’objec iu
lingüís ic és cobe en la llengua mino-
i à ia, men e que l’objec iu de cons-
ui una es e a pública és a on a en
T ípodos, núme o 32 | Ba celona 2013 | 93-111
ISSN: 1138-3305
Rebu / Recei ed: 15/02/2013
Accep a / Accep ed: 29/04/2013
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mains eam language is used o he
building o he public sphe e. As a e-
sul , he model is ce ainly damaging
o he mino i y language, since i is
condemned o a si ua ion o diglossia.
Key wo ds: mino i y language, ele i-
sion, public sphe e.
la llengua majo i à ia. Com a esul a ,
podem a i ma que la llengua mino i-
à ia su ce amen pe judicada pe
aques model, en se condemnada a
una si uació de diglòssia.
Palab as cla e: llengües mino i à ies,
ele isió, es e a pública.
Tele isions b oadcas ing in mino i y languages a e, gene ally speaking and
by de ini ion, ele isions b oadcas in non-hegemonic languages. In his
sense, hey may be conside ed o be media wi h he main goal being la -
gely cul u al and p o iding public se ice. All oo o en, ne e heless, he e a e
o he hings happening behind he scenes. Said ele ision s a ions, aside om
ope a ing in mino i y languages, a e o en also he only ele ision s a ions ope-
a ing in he e i o y o he language. This is a ac i e o hose who belie e ha
he e i o y should ha e i s own public sphe e, especially in na ionalis ci cles.2
When he mino ized language3 is a language o a mino i y wi hin i s e i o y, on
he o he hand, a p oblem a ises: How o make use o a ele ision se ice ope a-
ing in a mino i y language as a ele ision s a ion o he popula ion as a whole,
a pa o which does no know ha mino i y language.
Co mack ap ly aised his ques ion when analyzing mino i y language media
in Eu ope as well as he ela ionship be ween mino i y languages and he public
sphe e (Co mack, 1998). Language, in his wo ds, is pe se a key componen in he
public sphe e as unde s ood by Habe mas, ha is o say, a speech communi y in
which e e y pa icipan akes pa by making use o language (Habe mas, 1962).
On he o he hand, he public sphe e is no limi ed, as we may deduc om
Habe mas’ wo k, o discussions cen e ed a ound poli ical and social issues and,
in a wide sense, i may be unde s ood ha leisu e con en p esen in oday’s
ele ision may also be aken in o accoun . This is how Cu an unde s ands i by
placing said leisu e con en as one o he mains ays o he public sphe e (Cu an,
1991).
Habe mas’ success ul concep has been aluable in unde s anding he ela-
ionship be ween na ion building and he mass media. Mo eo e , oge he wi h
he impo ance ha Ande son lends o he p ess in building up a na ional com-
muni y (Ande son, 1983), bo h academics and poli ical ope a o s ha e come o
highligh he impo an ole ha he mass media, in gene al, can play (Schle-
singe 1991). Likewise, among se e al mino i y na ions ha ha e clamo ed o
hei own s a e, he concep o a communica ion space as p oposed by Ca alans
has been success ul (Gi eu, 1989).
The p oblem o a ela ionship be ween language and he public sphe e has
been aised in a ious guises om place o place. Indeed, in some cases, he
mino i y language communi y has no pa icula na ionalis aspi a ions, which
lends a ce ain cha ac e o he local media. In some o he cases, on he o he
hand, when na ionalis sen imen is g ea e , he na u e o he p oblem akes on
a di e en o m. The e is a as casuis y be ween bo h ex emes and al hough
e e y si ua ion is unique, hey sha e a ious cha ac e is ics. Indeed, he public
sphe e ha can be buil based on a mino i y language will always be weake ac-
co ding o Co mack; especially when, a he same ime, he speake s o ha lan-
guage a e able o ake pa in ano he public sphe e by using he main language
since hey a e bilingual.
In o de o be able o be e analyze his ela ionship be ween he cons uc-
ion o he public sphe e and he no maliza ion o a mino i y language, we ha e
analyzed how he issue has been aised in ou coun ies (Finland, Sco land,
Wales, and he Basque Coun y) by laying special emphasis on he ou h. In-
deed, i is in he Basque Coun y whe e he con adic ion be ween using ele i-
sion as o no maliza ion o he language and o he building up o a poli ical
public sphe e appea s mo e clea ly. In o de o d aw some conclusions abou
his ela ionship, we will analyze bo h he objec i es ha each ele ision
claims ega ding he di e en language g oups and he s a egies di ec ed o
such goals; we will pu hem in he con ex o he sociolinguis ic si ua ion
and —in he Basque case, e olu ion— will ha e a look a he linguis ic p o-
iles o he audiences.
In ou opinion, his is impo an since he ole ha he media should ake
bo h in he no maliza ion o he mino i y language and in na ion building lies
in he discussion on su ging na ionalis aspi a ions ha is gaining s eng h in
Eu ope.
MINORITY LANGUAGE TELEVISION IN EUROPE
I we ake a look a ele ision s a ions ope a ing in Eu opean mino i y languages,
se e al s a emen s may be made. Al hough, in heo y he issue is no e y clea
as o how he media o e all, and ele ision in pa icula , exac ly can help mino-
i y languages, he e is a kind o in ui ion acco ding o which he media play an
excep ionally impo an ole in he su i al and de elopmen o a language. In
his ligh , Co mack eminds us ha he g ea sociolinguis s (e.g. Fishman) do no
lend any special impo ance o he media in he p ocess o language eplacemen
and enaissance; hey a e placed on a seconda y le el (Co mack & Hou igan,
2007). None heless by ha ing a eali y check, we can ind ha , a leas in Eu ope,
mos communi ies wi h a mino i y language ha e ied o ha e hei e y own
media. In such en u es, some ha e go u he along han o he s (Amezaga &
A ana, 2012).
The second piece o e idence is ha in he case o communi ies wi h hei
own ele ision — ha is, hose wi h b oadcas s no coming om ano he
s a e— he main ini ia i e has come om he public adminis a ion. Tha is o
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say, i we look a ele ision aimed a he whole body o speake s in a communi y
— hus apa om local s a ions—, he e is ha dly any p i a e channel o mino-
i y languages. The sole excep ions a e he ollowing: TV B eizh, a sa elli e TV
s a ion ha wished o gain an audience by using B e on o gain iewe s, which,
in he e y end, shun ed ha mino i y language aside; and Ba ça TV which is
a hema ic channel connec ed wi h he oo ball club; as well as he pa ially
Ca alan-b oadcas ing 8TV, BOM TV and RAC 105 TV—in he las one jus he
p omo ionals, being he es music ideos—, linked o he same company as he
oo ball channel (Godo G oup).4 In he es , i is public ini ia i e — ha is o say
he s a e— ha lies behind hem, wha e e he di e en o mulae ha migh be
used, acco ding o local legisla ion and media sys ems.
Language mino i y ele ision s a ions gene ally imply a p oblem on accoun
o i s public na u e. In o he wo ds, mino i y language ele ision, which is by
de ini ion, media o some mino i ies is inanced wi h he money om all o
he ci izens, and hus should be mean o be a he se ice o all o he ci izens
in ha e i o y. This is especially clea in he case o communi ies ha ing hei
own ele ision. Indeed, wi h he excep ion o Ca alonia, Galicia, F iesland, and
Luxembou g, (whe e a high pe cen age o he popula ion o he e i o y can
unde s and he mino i y language), he es o he mino ized language com-
muni ies wi h hei own ele ision se ice (Basque, Welsh, Gaelic, I ish, F isian,
Swedish in Finland, I alian in Slo enia, Finnish in Sweden, B e on, Co sican,
Ladin, So bian, and Saami) a e mino i ies wi hin hei e i o ies. Consequen ly,
a con adic ion may a ise he e be ween a policy demanded by he popula ion o
he e i o y as a whole and wha he local language mino i y needs.
O he cases which we ha e jus ci ed, we shall now ocus ou i s analysis
on h ee o hem, in o de o see how he con adic ion a ises and how ha
ou look ouches on he opic: Gaelic in Sco land, Welsh in Wales, and Swedish
in Finland.
Sco land
BBC Alba ele ision, which b oadcas s in Gaelic, wen in o ope a ion in 2008 as a
esul o he ag eemen be ween BBC T us and Gaelic Media Se ices (MG Alba),
which is dependen upon he Sco ish Go e nmen . The condi ions o gain BBC
T us public inancing make i e y clea ha he se ice is no only o Gaelic
speake s: “The se ice shall be aimed a hose who speak Gaelic as well as a
hose who a e lea ning i , a hose who would like o lea n i as well as o hose
in e es ed in he language and cul u e” (BBC T us 2012). In o de o achie e ha
end, he 2008 concession ha wen in o se ice would ha e o ha e a each o
250,000 iewe s.5 This was a goal ha was se o a language o 60,000 speake s.
Added o his would be hose who canno speak i bu who can unde s and i
which, al oge he , means i is a language wi h a each o 90,000 people (Gene al
Regis e O ice o Sco land 2005).
We should also ake in o accoun ha BBC Alba was se up on Sep embe 19,
2008 when he i s signs o he cu en inancial c isis came o ligh ; o ha in
BBC i sel he e migh ha e been layo s. This was ha dly help ul in winning
legi imiza ion o he new p ojec and he e was some c i icism abou he public
inancing o 16 million eu os o a small mino i y (Some 1.8% o he popula ion
o Sco land unde s ands Gaelic).6
In o de o each such a ha d- o- each goal o gain iewe s, BBC Alba eso ed
o sub i les in keeping wi h wha BBC usually does in i s channels. In ha way,
wi h he excep ion o child en’s p og amming and li e b oadcas s, all he es
o he p og amming is sub i led in he wish o make i a ac i e o hose who
knew no hing o li le o he language (Mu ay, 2009). In his way, i could be
said ha he channel achie es he audience a ge s se by BBC T us : acco ding o
i s own da a (BBC Sco land, 2012), i eaches 12% o he popula ion o Sco land
on a weekly basis, i.e. 480,000 iewe s. Thus, he challenge o ha ing a Gaelic-
language se ice o he whole o Sco land is jus i ied and public inancing he-
eo appea s as legi ima e.
Wales
The e could be also a con adic ion in Wales be ween he in e es s o a linguis ic
mino i y and he in e es s o he public a la ge and he e has been some deba e
abou his in ecen yea s. 21% o he popula ion in Wales can speak Welsh, and
ano he 5% can unde s and i . The Welsh-language ele ision se ice, S4C, wen
on ai in 1982, a e a long campaign in a o o i .
F om he ou se , S4C appea ed ied o he B i ish adi ion o public se ice. In
ha way, acco ding o a ious laws ha ha e p o ec ed i o e he las 30 yea s,
he mission o S4C is o e ing he popula ion o Wales a high-quali y ele ision
se ice.7 By expanding Welsh-language b oadcas s as a pa o such a public se i-
ce, di e en laws ha e b ough se e al ules in o e ec such as —du ing he yea s
when hey we e bilingual— he need o o e a meaning ul numbe o b oadcas s
in Welsh o he need o o e hem du ing p ime ime. The legal con ex in ha
way lea es he doo open o a deba e whe he S4C ele ision should be o all
o he Welsh o a ele ision o Welsh-speake s. Indeed, al hough Welsh is he
de aul language, all o he “membe s o he public o Wales” deem i as public
whe he hey a e speake s o Welsh o no . This deba e, o ins ance, has been
li ely o e he las ew yea s, wi h some claims ha S4C should be a ele ision
se ice o all o Wales and no p ima ily o Welsh speake s (Jones, 2009).
In such ci cums ances, S4C was in i s ea ly yea s a bilingual ele ision se i-
ce: only Welsh-language p og amming was b oadcas du ing p ime ime while
du ing he es o he ime English-language p og amming om Channel 4 was
b oadcas . Howe e , wi h he sp ead o digi al ele ision in he 2000’s, S4C Digi-
dol was added o he p e ious se up bu said digi al channel has b oadcas exclu-
si ely in Welsh. In he end, wi h he shu down o analogue TV in 2010, he ea ly
analogical S4C channel disappea ed oge he wi h he bilingual a angemen .
The monolingual digi al channel ook i s place and name: S4C.
This Welsh-language channel, howe e , allows hose who do no know
he language o also use he se ice by p o iding sub i les o such a pu pose.
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Nea ly 80% o cu en p og amming is b oadcas wi h English-language sub-
i les (in which mos a e op ional, i.e. he iewe s hemsel es u n hem on
o o by means o he emo e con ol). In addi ion, 8% a e b oadcas wi h
Welsh-language sub i les (S4C, 2011). I should be no ed, u he mo e, ha
his op ional sub i ling policy is also a ailable in he ideo-on-demand o e
in which i is possible o u n on o o he language o ideos being iewed
ia he In e ne .
In o de o unde s and his meaning ul use o sub i les, aside om he need
o a se ice aimed a all o he people in Wales, he e a e ano he wo elemen s
i we a e o si ua e he a i ude o S4C. On one hand, UK ele ision se ices ha e,
gene ally speaking and BBC in pa icula , adi ionally made ex ensi e use o
sub i les because, among o he hings, i p o ides a se ice aimed a he hea ing-
impai ed. On he o he hand, S4C e y ea ly on de ec ed he po en ial o a body
o iewe s who we e lea ning he language and ha ing sub i les would play a key
ole in eaching hem.
Wi h his s a egy, S4C has achie ed a signi ican numbe o iewe s. In 2011,
i go an weekly a e age each o 635,000 people h oughou Wales,8 i.e. 23% o
he popula ion. Ne e heless, he e is an e en mo e signi ican aspec abou he
da a o us: ou o all o he iewe s, only 360,000 we e Welsh-speake s, ha is
o say, hal o S4C’s iewe s (53%). Again he e is ano he piece o in o ma ion
ha ough o be bea in mind: unlike in he Basque Coun y, he numbe o pas-
si e bilinguals (i.e. hose who unde s and he language bu canno speak i ), is
signi ican ly low, jus 5% o he popula ion (O ice o Na ional S a is ics 2004).
Thus, i s ands o eason ha S4C’s ecep ion om hose who canno unde s and
Welsh is a he elling.
Finland
Finland is ano he example o ake in o accoun when discussing whe he ele-
ision se ice should be o a linguis ic mino i y o o he popula ion a la ge,
especially ega ding he Swedish-speaking communi y. This case is di e en om
he p e ious ones as he e is no wide na ionalis eeling p esen among his lin-
guis ic mino i y. Finland’s Swedish-speake s ega d hemsel es as Finns and he e
is, o e all, no demand o se ing up a coun y wi h a gi en e i o y. The e is
also no demand o sepa a ion om Finland o uni ica ion wi h Sweden.
Swedish is an o icial language o Finland and he mo he ongue o 6% o
he popula ion o Finland, i.e. some 300,000 ou o a popula ion o i e and a
hal million. A hi d o hem a e bilingual in Swedish and Finnish (Eu omosaic,
2004). Despi e he small numbe o speake s, Swedish enjoys a signi ican s a us
in he coun y; because o i s o icial s a us and i s weigh wi hin he Finnish
school sys em, as well as on accoun o i s p esence in he media.
I s p ima y ele ision keys one is on he Yle Fem channel (known un il e-
cen ly as FST5). This channel was se up in 2001 as a Swedish-speaking channel.
Be o e, Finland’s Yle public ele ision se ice b oadcas p og amming in Swedish
on i s channels in which Finnish-language p og amming had he lion’s sha e o
p og amming. Following he digi aliza ion p ocess in 2007, Yle placed all hei
p og amming in Swedish on Yle Fem channel.
Yle con esses ha one o i s main goals is “s eng hening democ acy and
cul u e in Finland” and o ha end i aims o p o ide se ice o all Finns. (YLE,
2012a). The Yle Fem channel is in keeping wi h such a philosophy as i consid-
e s Swedish o be a pa o Finland’s cul u al he i age. Fu he mo e, when goals
a e se , he public ele ision makes men ion o , among o he hings, in e ac ion
be ween he cul u es. (YLE, 2012b). Ma y Ges in, Di ec o o Media, s a es e en
mo e p ecisely ha one o he main goals o Swedish-language ele ision is build-
ing a b idge be ween he wo languages: Finnish and Swedish (Ges in, 2009).
In o de o unde ake such b idge building and o each a la ge public be-
yond he small Swedish-speaking communi y, Yle Fem has de eloped a policy o
sub i ling. In acco dance wi h such a policy, mos o wha is p oduced in Swedish
is sub i led in o Finnish (wi h he excep ion o child en’s p og amming, news
and a mo ning p og am —al oge he an hou and a hal a day—), and e e y-
hing ha is no in Swedish is sub i led in ha language. In his way, besides
being well ecei ed by Swedish speake s (i eaches as many as 70% o speake s
on a weekly basis), i also eaches a signi ican audience ha knows li le o no
Swedish. Thus, he a e age a ings is 1.6% o 70,000 iewe s. Many o hese
iewe s, none heless, a e no Swedish-speaking bu a he Finnish-speaking:
Ges in con inues by saying ha in se e al p og ammes only 20% a e Swedish-
speaking (Ges in, 2009).
F om he mino i y language communi y o he e i o ial
communi y
Among he cases discussed abo e, each wi h i s own cha ac e is ics, he e is
one hing ha hey all ha e in common: Mino i y language ele isions a ge
hose who do no know hei language, o di e en easons. One o hem is he
con adic ion men ioned abo e (how o legi imize he high p ice o inancing a
ele ision se ice o a mino i y wi h ax money paid by all) which is he case
in Sco land in i s c udes o m (namely he s ic condi ions laid ou by he BBC
T us o gain public inancing o BBC Alba). On he o he hand, he mino i y
language ele ision se ice has also esul ed in he e being a single “na ional”
se ice o he whole e i o y, bo h in Sco land and Wales, wi h he need o be
open o he popula ion as a whole (speake s and non-speake s). Indeed, al hough
some o he channels may o e b oadcas s o ha e i o y, hese a e usually
windows o channels b oadcas ing o all o he Uni ed Kingdom. Toge he wi h
hese wo cha ac e is ics, ano he eason is he need o p o ide in o ma ion
abou he cul u e o he mino i y language o non-speake s o , in e ms used in
Finland, o aim a building b idges be ween he wo language communi ies (one
mus ake in o accoun ha mos Finnish speake s a e no able o unde s and
Swedish and many Swedish speake s do no unde s and Finnish). Finally, Wales
p o ides ye ano he goal: ele ision can be a aluable ool o hose who a e
lea ning he mino i y language.
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Wha e e he eason, he ele ision se ices which we ha e looked a ha e
come up wi h s a egies aimed a b eaking ou o he con ines o a smalle language
communi y o each a la ge one, po en ially composed by all he inhabi an s o
he e i o y, whe he speake s o he mino i y language o no . In o de o mee
ha goal, hey ha e chie ly —bu no exclusi ely— made use o sub i les wi hin
he a angemen o a channel ha b oadcas solely in he mino i y language. The
esul s achie ed h ough his s a egy a e ha dly o dina y as we ha e seen, i he
sociolinguis ic imbalance is aken in o accoun ; and i can be said ha he goal o
opening up o he wide communi y has, o a la ge ex en , been me .
THE CASE OF EUSKAL TELEBISTA
We shall now look in o he case o he Basque Coun y in he belie ha he s o -
my ela ionship be ween no maliza ion o a language and he es ablishmen o a
wide and e i o y-based public sphe e can be clea ly shown. Fi s o all, we shall
conside he ounding o EITB (Basque Radio and Tele ision Se ice) wi h he
aim o iden i ying he main goals behind i ollowed by a s udy o he model ha
has been unde aken o e he las 30 yea s in o de o a i e a some conclusions.
The Founding o EITB
EITB (Basque Radio and Tele ision) was es ablished in 1982 as one o he main
ini ia i es o he newly cons i u ed Basque Go e nmen . The se ing up o a a-
dio and ele ision public sys em h ee yea s a e he passing o he s a u e o
au onomy mus be unde s ood as a consequence o wo main ac o s: on he
one hand, he long-s anding social demand o Basque-language media —wi h
ele ision being an essen ial pa o i — while, on he o he hand, he ad en o
he o ma ion o he Basque Au onomous Communi y as an ins i u ional and
poli ical en i y se up a e home ule was g an ed.
The demand o Basque-language media had in ensi ied du ing he 70’s and
i became a social mo emen (A ana, Amezaga & Azpillaga, 2006) which g ew
e y s ong un il inally, in 1982, he newly es ablished Basque Go e nmen se
up he Basque Radio and Tele ision Se ice (EITB). Thus, all o EITB, especially
ele ision, was de ined legally as an essen ial ool o he eco e y o he Basque
language, and ha was how i was pe cei ed socially (To ealdai, 1985; Mo agas,
Ga i aonandia & López, 1999).
The c ea ion o EITB was, on he o he hand, a di idend o poli ical change as
he Spanish Cons i u ion, which was passed in 1978, allowed o he s a e o be
di ided up in o au onomous communi ies. Wi hin ha con ex hose who we e
in cha ge o unning he new poli ical s uc u e in he Basque Coun y we e e y
clea abou he ole ha ele ision could ha e bo h in he es ablishmen o po-
li ical powe as well as a legi imiza ion o he newly es ablished poli ical en i y.
These wo con ex ual ac o s ( he demand o Basque-language media and he
demand o poli ical sel - ule) we e e y much p esen in he EITB Es ablishmen
Ac . Indeed, acco ding o wha was o ed on in 1982 and which is in e ec o
his day, EITB has wo main missions: “This cons i u es an essen ial ool ega -
ding in o ma ion o and poli ical pa icipa ion by Basque ci izens, as well as a
undamen al means o coope a ion wi h ou own educa ion sys em and o p o-
mo ing and sp eading o he Basque cul u e, bea ing in mind he p omo ion and
de elopmen o he Basque language” (The p eamble o he 5/1982 Ac ). I is ou
iew ha highligh ing his dual na u e is o g ea impo ance since, in he o he
Eu opean cases ha we ha e s udied, he ele ision se ice was mainly se up o
he sake o a language in which he desi e o poli ical ins i u ionaliza ion ha dly
appea s o does no appea a all (al hough, in he case o Sco land and Wales, he
con ex o his demand mus ce ainly be aken in o accoun ).
The 5/1982 ac does no de ine in de ail bo h goals and i ook 10 yea s o
he e o be mo e conc e e c i e ia in o de o he ule o ake shape as we shall
see below. As o he goals linked o language, le us say ha no one doub ed a
ha ime he impo ance ha ele ision would ha e in he p omo ion and no -
maliza ion o Basque. I was aken o g an ed ha Basque-language ele ision
would help Basque pe se, and, as in o he ields, i was done mo e acco ding o
an in ui ion o ac ion a he han o de ailed planning. Al hough he law a he
as u ely de ines he goal o ha law as “p omo ion and de elopmen o he Bas-
que language”, i mus be unde s ood wi hin he con ex o i s ime in which he
main man a was cen e ed on he “ eco e y” o Basque: i.e. wi h Basque being a
na i e language o he Basque Coun y, i was necessa y o he e o nu u e he
he i age o e e y Basque ci izen, wi h he goal o gaining a ully bilingual socie y.
In he law i sel , he e e ence made o he educa ional sys em is e y signi ican .9
As o he goal o omen ing poli ical pa icipa ion, he concep o legi imi-
za ion iden i y ha Cas ells p oposed may help us o unde s and he con ex
o he ime (Cas ells, 1997): i.e. he building up o a collec i e iden i y is, a he
same ime, he seeking o he legi imiza ion no only o he communi y bu also
he legi imiza ion o he powe s uc u e who is mean o ep esen i . Mo eo e
we mus conside ha i is no always easy o dis inguish be ween he legi imiza-
ion o he newly c ea ed poli ical subjec om he legi imiza ion o he poli ical
g oup guiding he p ocess. Such is he si ua ion in his case since i is he same
poli ical pa y ha had held on o i s hegemonic powe o nea ly 3 decades
since he e y beginning o he new poli ical eali y. The model o go e nance
chosen o EITB, along wi h he poli ical se up, sugges s ha he legi imiza ion
o he go e nmen o he day is a ac o o be aken in o accoun . Such model
o go e nance ollowed he Spanish model om he e y ou se while cas ing
aside o he models (e.g. he B i ish one). As a esul , public adio and ele ision
ell unde he con ol o he au onomous go e nmen o legisla i e majo i y
bo h in choosing he Boa d Council as well as how i would be inanced. This
dependency on a poli ical majo i y, on he o he hand, allowed he ollowing: in
i s hi y yea s he Di ec o Gene al o EITB has almos always had close ies wi h
he go e ning pa y o he day.
Thus, in keeping wi h his logic, he ele ision se ice ETB was launched by
b oadcas ing ou hou s a day en i ely in Basque, some imes wi h Spanish sub-
i les. Howe e , his model did no las long: wi hin a yea , ETB s a ed o b oad-
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cas news in Spanish among he es o Basque p og amming. The in oduc ion
o Spanish was undoub edly ela ed o he poli ical unc ion and he sociolin-
guis ic si ua ion men ioned abo e: only 21% o he Basque popula ion we e Bas-
que speake s a ha ime. The e o e, he Basque Go e nmen ’s objec i e o poli-
ical in eg a ion h ough ele ision —which included 100% o he popula ion as
a a ge — was no conside ed easible wi h Basque-only b oadcas s.
The in oduc ion o Spanish aised some ques ions: among o he s, he lack
o a clea language policy in ETB. Indeed, when ETB was se up, he sociolinguis-
ic si ua ion was all oo well known, as i was he ac ha , in such a con ex , a
Basque-only channel could ha dly mee he poli ical objec i es es ablished by
law. Was i a lack o a clea language policy o jus a hidden language policy? Ac-
co ding o some o he people in cha ge o EITB, i was clea om he beginning
ha , soone o la e , Spanish would be p esen on ETB. Thus, he in oduc ion o
Spanish in ETB was jus a ques ion o ime (Díez U es a azu, 2003).
A e ha ing en e ed ETB, he p esence o Spanish g adually gained he up-
pe hand un il 1986. In ha yea , he model ha hi he o had been in place
(i.e. he sup emacy o Basque) was done away wi h and i was decided ha he
channel should be spli up in wo di e en se ices. One, ETB1, was o ope a e
en i ely in Basque while he o he , ETB2, was o be in Spanish (e en hough, o a
while, some Basque-language p og amming was ai ed). I would seem ha was
he in en ion all long o easons al eady discussed abo e. Thus, ha is how ETB2
s a ed ou in 1986 wi h i s Spanish-language p og amming, he eby gi ing ise
o he dual model.
THE CHANGE TO A DUAL MODEL
The dual “Two Channels / Two Languages” model was o icially o malized in
1992. In o he wo ds, he law was unchanged and i was a c i e ion o he Pa -
liamen . Wi h he ad en o ETB2 he ini ial app oach had changed, and a Com-
mission was cons i u ed by he Basque Pa liamen o lend ins i u ional suppo
o such a change. The Depa men o Cul u e sen a whi e pape as a basis o
deba e in which a new model was explained (Depa men o Cul u e, 1992). Basi-
cally i s a ed ha he Basque-language media (TV and adio) should add ess he
goal o linguis ic no maliza ion while he Spanish-media should app oach he
objec i e o poli ical in eg a ion.
A e he deba e, a c i e ion was passed by he Basque Pa liamen in Janua y,
1993 (Basque Pa liamen , 1993) he eby making he dual model o icial and, in
he e y end, changing he in e p e a ion o he EITB Es ablishmen Ac . Indeed,
he Es ablishmen Ac , as men ioned abo e, commends bo h o hese p ima y
missions o Public Radio and Tele ision. Howe e , hese missions a e no di e-
en ia ed acco ding o language. Wha is mo e, gi en he con ex ha i was se
up as p ima ily a Basque-language channel, i s in e p e a ion was ha bo h mis-
sions would ha e o be ca ied ou p ima ily in Basque. Thus, he in e p e a ion
made by he Pa liamen 10 yea s a e i s ounda ion unde wen a o al ans o -
ma ion. E e since hen, his assump ion o a dual na u e o duali y, on he o he
hand, has enabled bo h channels o come unde he same managemen . Indeed
he Spanish-language channel did no come abou as ano he sepa a e ele ision
se ice bu , ins ead, i s a ed ou as ano he b oadcas o he Basque channel
ha had al eady been es ablished. As a esul , he managemen , adminis a ion,
esou ces, budge , s a and so on we e sha ed. This enhanced he end owa ds
mee ing he goals assigned o i by ha ing wo sepa a e channels.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF A DUAL MODEL
The spli ing o channels esul ed in a e hink o he goals se om he e y
ou se , specially ega ding he one seeking he no maliza ion o Basque: i wen
om in ending o omen he eco e y o Basque, which we ha e men ioned
abo e, o p o iding a channel o each g oup o he popula ion and hus he
Basque-language channel would a ge he Basque speake s and he Spanish-lan-
guage channel was o hose who knew no Basque, a leas so i migh seem. Ac-
co ding o hose who we e behind his new he o ic, such a doubling o e o s
would allow public ele ision o each a bilingual public: each g oup wi h hei
own language. Indeed, EITB wen , o a ce ain ex en , om wishing o change
he linguis ic eali y o accep ing he exis ing language eali y he eby accep ing
ha he e a e wo language communi ies and ha each communi y would be
se ed in hei own language.
In such ci cums ances, he mission o he Basque-language channel became
inc easingly es ic ed o being a single channel o Basque speake s. Tha is why
i is unde s andable ha hose unning EITB and a ew o he s we e conce ned
o a long ime abou how o come up wi h “a ele ision o 600,000 people” (in
e e ence o he numbe o Basque speake s and no he whole popula ion o he
Basque Au onomous Communi y o he en i e Basque Coun y: wo million
people and h ee million espec i ely). This conce n, o a la ge ex en , equa ed
de ining he o iginal mission o omen ing Basque as insu ing a single ele ision
o e ing o Basque speake s. The e ha e been excep ions o EITB’s dual model
h oughou i s his o y: ha ing all child en’s p og amming o spo s b oadcas s
only on he Basque-language channel had sugges ed ha he aim was o go
beyond jus eaching Basque speake s. The spo s b oadcas , a i s , p o ided
a means o EITB o each homes whe e only Spanish was spoken and such a
s a egy may be deemed as wholly adequa e in i s goal o expanding he ho i-
zons o a newly se up ele ision se ice. E en be e esul s we e achie ed in
child en’s p og amming on he Basque-language channel ( i s on ETB1 and la e
on ETB3)10 as Basque-language ele ision had a nea ly exclusi e hold on his au-
dience. These s a egies ha e been us a ed o e he las ew yea s: spo scas s
ha a ac iewe s ( oo ball) he mos ha e become ou o each o EITB on
accoun o he sha p ise in b oadcas ing igh s ees; and child en’s p og amming
has p oli e a ed hanks o hema ic channels a ising om digi aliza ion he eby
dep i ing EITB o many child en iewe s. In his way, wi h he excep ion o
hese impo an bu limi ed a emp s, ETB1 has p ima ily aimed a he body o
600,000 people men ioned abo e since he second channel was s a ed up.
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This he o ic has, howe e , dis o ed he ac ual sociolinguis ic si ua ion: he
Basque-speaking communi y, as i is de ined, is made up o people who a e bi-
lingual in Basque and Spanish o in Basque and F ench. No only do hese peo-
ple ha e he oppo uni y o swi ch o Spanish o F ench, hey also need o use
he mains eam language in se e al sphe es o hei li es as diglossia (Fe guson,
1959) wo ks agains Basque. This u ns hem in o membe s o he la ge Spanish/
F ench speaking communi y whe he hey like i o boa . Thus, he e a e no wo
sepa a e language communi ies. In he case o he Sou he n Basque Coun y,
he e is one la ge communi y, he Spanish-speaking one, and a smalle one, he
Basque-speaking one cons i u ed by membe s who a e a he same ime pa o
he mains eam communi y.11 Hence, while a channel ope a ing in Basque is
aimed only a a pa o he popula ion ha knows Basque, he one ope a ing in
Spanish is aimed a he popula ion as a whole, including Basque speake s.
The Spanish-language channel hus a ac s po en ial iewe s ha could also
wa ch he Basque-language channel. Fu he mo e, his is e en mo e appa en
i we ake in o accoun he demog aphic e olu ion ha Basque has unde gone
hanks o he educa ional sys em as well as o he ac o s. Indeed, when EITB was
ounded, 37% o he popula ion unde s ood Basque (pu ing oge he hose who
could speak plus hose who could unde s and i ). Today, ha pe cen age has
isen o a ound 52%.
In his way, pa o he iewe ship ha could be a ac ed o a Basque-langua-
ge channel is a ac ed o he Spanish-language as we can see in Table 1:
Table 1: ETB1 and ETB2 iewe s, as pe knowledge o Basque 12
Knowledge o Basque ETB 1 ETB 2 Popula ion
Speak, ead, and w i e 54% 30% 25%
Speak and ead 7% 4% 3%
Speak 7% 5% 4%
Unde s and (no speak) 11% 25% 20%
Don’ unde s and 21% 36% 48%
100% 100% 100%
As shown in he da a, 39% o hose who wa ch he Spanish-language channel
a e ully bilingual (i.e. a e also able o speak Basque). The e o e, i we add hose
able o unde s and Basque, ETB2 ge s 64% o i s iewe s om a po en ial Basque-
language iewe ship. Those iewe s who a e ully monolingual Spanish speake s
make up jus 36% o he iewe s
This low a ings sha e ha he Spanish-language channel manages o ge wi h
Spanish-language monolinguals, on he o he hand, may be compa ed o wha
ETB1 ge s which is 21% o he a ings sha e. The e is a di e ence be ween he
wo bu no as g ea as wha one migh hink. Fo a Basque-language channel o
a ac Spanish monolinguals is signi ican and shows ha he main language o
a ele ision channel is no a unique de e mining ac o . None heless, he a ings
pene a ion ha ETB1 ge s among hose who a e no bilinguals is much lowe
han wha BBC Alba, S4C o Yle Fem a e able o achie e in hei coun ies. In
ligh o he da a abo e, he belie ha ETB1 se es Basque speake s while ETB2
se es Spanish speake s is on a he shaky g ound, a leas he e is a need o
some kind o nuances.
Wha da a on Table 1 show is ha EITB ails when dealing wi h he sociolin-
guis ic e olu ion in he Basque Coun y. We mus bea in mind ha due o he
g ea e o made by he school sys em and he social mo emen o he eaching
o Basque o adul s, nea ly hal o oday’s bilinguals, 45%, ha e Basque as a se-
cond language. They usually li e in mainly Spanish speaking owns and ci ies, as
well as in linguis ically mixed households: i.e. 38% o ully bilinguals and 43% o
po en ial iewe s o ETB1 ( ully bilinguals plus passi e bilinguals) li e in homes
whe e no all he membe s can unde s and Basque (EUSTAT, 2006).
On he o he hand, he ypology o bilinguals has changed d ama ically in
he las decades. Fo many o he new speake s, Basque is associa ed wi h school,
a he han wi h o he con ex s (Soziolinguis ika Klus e a, 2013). In he case
o he passi e bilinguals, he e a e, mo eo e , di e en si ua ions o be ound
among hem, wi h di e en capabili ies in unde s anding. A his poin , he con-
cep o a “ ully Basque speake ” (i.e. somebody who can unde s and, speak, and
w i e Basque), when e e ing o a po en ial TV audience, alls a sho . Inso a
as ele ision is an audio- isual medium, i is no inapp op ia e o say ha i s
po en ial iewe s a e he ones who a e able o unde s and Basque.
EITB has gene ally ailed o espond o hese sociolinguis ic changes and has
con inued wi h he model launched in 1986; ha is o say, i has ailed o ake
in o accoun ha a g ea many new Basque speake s we e coming ou o school,
ha hose who we e able o unde s and Basque we e e e -g owing in numbe
o ha Basque speake s we e mo e and mo e sp ead ou .13 No did i espond
o o he changes e en hough he echnological changes ha ha e aken place
o e he las ew yea s ha e opened up g ea oppo uni ies o de elop o he
ways and means o eaching audiences. One o hese, hough by no means
he only one, is sub i ling aimed a hose whose le el o Basque is lowe o a
hose who unde s and no Basque and whose use would allow bilinguals who
li e among non-bilinguals a supe b ool o be able o wa ch Basque-language e-
le ision. The Basque Go e nmen had gi en he ecommenda ion in he 1992
whi e pape ha called o a hal o he hi he o sub i ling policy in he belie
ha i was causing mo e ha m o Basque speake s han good (Depa men o
Cul u e, 1992). In oday’s digi al ele ision b oadcas s, ne e heless, he iewe s
hemsel es ha e he powe o swi ch hem on o o acco ding o hei needs.
Fu he mo e, sub i les allow o a choice o mo e han one language. In con-
junc ion wi h ha , ele ision channels a e also able o o e dual audio which
is chosen by he iewe so ha he o she can ollow a p og am in one language
o ano he .
These wo esou ces doub lessly open up many doo s, all o which could
be expe imen ed wi h o a bilingual public. Ne e heless, EITB is no e y
ad anced in his ield. Table 2 shows he uses o sub i les and second audio
channels o he main gene al channels in he Sou he n Basque Coun y:
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Table 2: Language choice on Gene al TV b oadcas in he Sou he n Basque Coun y, 2012 14
Sub i les Second Audio Channel
ETB 1 13.37% 2.82%
ETB 2 75.61% 24.81%
An ena 3 64.93% 13.89%
Cua o 57.55% 34.61%
Tele 5 24.31% 3.06%
La Sex a 77.34% 36.19%
TVE 1 77.78% 9.86%
La 2 71.78% 36.09%
As we can see, al hough ETB2 o en makes use o sub i les, hey a e ha dly used
by ETB1 which is he one which makes he leas use o his esou ce o all he
channels (we should say ha hese sub i les a e in Basque on ETB1 and in Spa-
nish on all o he es o he channels). I s ands o eason ha , in iew o i s
language-o ien ed goals, i should be he Basque-language channel ha should
make he mos use o sub i les, e en mo e so in ligh o wha we ha e seen abo e
in some cases. Howe e , ha is no wha is happening and ETB1 is e y much be-
hind in his poin he eby lea ing new modes o bilinguals (whose wi h a limi ed
knowledge o hose su ounded non-Basque speake s) “un a ge ed”.
The p esence o a second audio is also wo hy o no e. On some channels, a
iewe may wa ch mo e han a hi d o he p og amming in a language o he han
Spanish by pushing a emo e con ol bu on. English is he second language mos o
he ime as i is he o iginal language o p oduc ion. E en he e, ETB1 lags a behind.
The choice o iewe s o choose a language (bo h audio and sub i les) begs
he ques ion: o wha ex en can he equa ion “one channel = one language”
be sus ained? Indeed, in iew o wha is on o e , i would seem ha equa ion is
b eaking down e en hough i could be a gued ( he e is s ill no da a a ailable on
audience choice acco ding o language) ha use o he second audio is low o
now. As he echnical capabili y is he e, he issue now lies wi h usage and habi s.
EITB, in u n, has played a e y conse a i e hand up o now.
CONCLUSIONS
Mino i y language ele ision se ices in some cases a e no solely mino i y lan-
guage ele isions; a he same ime, hey usually a e he unique ele ision se ices
a ge ing exclusi ely he e i o y whe e he language inds i sel . Taking in o ac-
coun he mos signi ican channels, ha would be he case o Ca alan, Galician,
Basque, Welsh, F isian, Luxembu gish, I ish, and Gaelic. The case o Swedish in
Finland is di e en as Swedish speake s a e no con ined o a single e i o y.
Fo some agen s, he coincidence o language and e i o y can make
ele ision a ac i e when a kind o poli ical p ojec exis s in ha coun y
wha e e ha p ojec migh be (be i cul u al au onomy o poli ical indepen-
dence). Indeed, ele ision and mass media a e usually ega ded as p omo e s
o he i s o de in he es ablishmen o a public sphe e.
In some o he cases ha we ha e s udied, when he main legal compe-
ence o ele ision does no lie wi h public en i ies pe aining o mino i y
language e i o ies (e.g. Finland and G ea B i ain), goals linked o building
up a poli ical communi y ake second place o e en do no exis a all, while
p io i y is placed on goals linked o he language and e en mo e so i i is
wi hin he con ex o a g ea and solid adi ion o public se ice. Ne e he-
less, as he deba e aging in Wales would sugges , as he egional au onomous
go e nmen gains in s eng h, ele ision can ouch o a deba e abou i s ole
in a poli ical se up ha goes om language goals o a ield beyond i , essen-
ially, o building up a public sphe e. Aside om language and cul u al ele i-
sion goals, poli icizing he goals can aise p oblems in he cases in which he
subjec o he poli ical p ojec and he language communi y a e no he same.
This means ha , o ins ance, in Ca alonia, Galicia, o F iesland, a ele ision
se ice ope a ing solely in a mino ized language and aimed a he popula ion
as a whole is iable on accoun o i s sociolinguis ic cha ac e is ics. In coun-
ies wi h di e en sociolinguis ic cha ac e is ics, on he o he hand, (e.g.
Sco land, Wales, o he Basque Coun y), i is ha de o b ing bo h kinds o
goals oge he . Indeed in he e y end, when we a e alking abou poli ical
p ojec s (wha e e hey migh be), we a e alking abou building up a public
sphe e: ha is o say, abou a space o communica ion ha will be open o
all o he popula ion in he coun y. Inso a as he public sphe e is a space o
communica ion, language is a undamen al elemen . As he mino ized lan-
guage is he language o a mino i y, i will un in o di icul ies o become he
main communica ion ool in he public sphe e which can ake in all o he
popula ion and he ein lies he p oblem: how o wo k o he no maliza ion
o he language while a he same ime s icking o o he goals ela ed o he
building up o a public sphe e.
The s udy o he case o public ele ision in he Basque Coun y has
shown us ha sepa a ing bo h goals (language no maliza ion and building
up a public sphe e) acco ding o linguis ic c i e ia —in o he wo ds a desi e
o ha e one goal se ed in one language while he o he is se ed in ano he
lan guage— wo ks agains he smalle language. In he e y end, he model
ec ea es he diglossia in socie y by s eng hening he la ge language and
weakening he smalle one —o by hinde ing i s s eng hening.
The s udy o he cases in Sco land, Wales, and Finland ha e shown us ha
he ela ionship be ween language no maliza ion and building up a public
sphe e can be channeled in a di e en way and by means o a ele ision in
which a mino i y language will be dominan and by o e coming a dual model
(using each language o a ce ain goal).
By ha ing he main a ge as going beyond he mino i y language and
by aking i o he e i o ial communi y, se e al s a egies may be de ised
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in o de o build b idges be ween linguis ic communi ies (specially needed
o monolinguals), in o de o a ac new speake s o he mino i y language,
in o de o help hose who a e lea ning i , in o de o help b ing he new
speake s o he language oge he and so on and so o h. To ha end, digi al
echnology o e s a my iad o oppo uni ies, such as op ional sub i les as well
as dual audio channels; and i is wi hin he ealm o imagina ion ha he e
will be new oppo uni ies in he u u e (au oma ic ansla ion echnology o
ins ance).
Fu he mo e, we canno disca d ano he ac , o wi : al hough he mass
media in gene al and ele ision in pa icula con inue o play an impo an
ole in building up he public sphe e and a poli ical communi y, i emains
o be seen whe he ha ole migh no be changing in hese imes wi h he
ad en o de egula ion o communica ions, ansna ionaliza ion o cul u al
indus ies as well as he de elopmen o new media. Indeed, we ough o be
asking ou sel es whe he a s ong and e icien na ional media sys em o an
e a can go on being so obus . As we ha e a gued elsewhe e (Amezaga, 2011),
he mass media may be losing hei impo ance as mains ays o a na ional pu-
blic sphe e. This being he case, in addi ion o e hinking he ole o na ional
ele ision, we should also e hink he ole ha mino i y language ele ision
se ices could play in building he public sphe e.
The G oup No is ecognized as a Resea ch
G oup by he Basque Go e nmen , made up
o senio lec u e s who ha e been wo king
join ly on p ojec s, as well as o some junio
esea che s. I s main esea ch in e es s a e:
he s uc u e o communica ion and local
ele ision in he Basque Coun y; ele ision
mino i y languages in Eu ope (bo h egional
as immig a ion languages); and communica-
ion and collec i e iden i y.
Josu Amezaga is a Full P o esso o he Uni-
e si y o he Basque Coun y, and coo dina-
o o he G oup. He has done much wo k on
bo h Regional and Immig an Mino i y Lan-
guage communica ion, wi h esea ch s ays in
Melbou ne and Glasgow among o he s.
Edo a A ana, Bea Na baiza and Pa xi
Azpillaga a e, oge he wi h he coo dina o
o he g oup, membe s o he Depa men o
Audio- isual Communica ion and Ad e i-
sing o he same uni e si y.
No es
1 This a icle is pa o a h ee yea esea ch
p ojec inanced by he Spanish Minis y o
Economic A ai s and Compe i i eness (Mul i
lingual TV, CSO2011-28060-C02- 01/COMU).
2 We a e no solely aking in o accoun e-
ga ding a mo emen seeking independence as
a na ionalis mo emen bu a he , gene ally
speaking, as a mo emen ha seeks bo h poli-
ical o cul u al au onomy in he e i o y.
3 Al hough he e m “mino ized langua-
ge” is sca cely used in English i is commonly
accep ed in o he languages om he Sou h
Eu ope (e.g. Basque, Ca alan, Galician o Spa-
nish) he dis inc ion be ween he ac o being
he language o a nume ically mino i y and
he ac o ha ing limi ed social unc ions, as
a consequence o a p ocess o “mino i isa ion”
(Co mack, 2007). In o de o keep he o igi-
nal meaning o his a icle, we use he e m
mino ized language when emphasizing he lack
o social hegemony a he han he nume ical
disad an age.
4 In he name o p ecision, we should also
add he e some Ca alan-language b oadcas s
o e ed by p i a e Spanish ele ision s a ions
al hough, in some cases, i is mo e anecdo al.
In any cases, we should no o ge ha he
case o Ca alan is ha dly ypical in he a ea o
Eu opean mino i y languages, whe he i be
on accoun o he dimensions o i s speake s
o on accoun o he sp ead and no maliza-
ion o he language which has been achie ed.
5 By 2012 he concession o se ices had
doubled his goal by se ing 500,000 iewe s
as i s a ge audience.
6 Fo example, John Whi ingdale, he
Chai man o he Cul u e, Media and Spo
Selec Commi ee o he Wes mins e Pa lia-
men , in cha ge o media inancing, inclu-
ding he BBC, openly and publicly came ou
agains he p ojec by a guing his e y poin
(Thomas, 2008).
7 Acco ding o he 2003 Communica-
ions Ac : “The Welsh Au ho i y shall ha e he
unc ion o p o iding ele ision p og amme se -
ices o high quali y wi h a iew o hei being
a ailable o ecep ion wholly o mainly by mem-
be s o he public in Wales” (Communica ions
Ac 2003, a . 204).
8 Tha is o say, hose who iewed a leas
15 minu es con inuously a week.
9 The p o agonism ha he educa ion sys-
em o he ime had in he eco e y o Basque
was widely accep ed in Basque socie y.
10 ETB3 was c ea ed in 2008 as a digi al
channel a ge ing he child en and he young
iewe s.
11 The same applies o he No he n Bas-
que Coun y and he F ench language.
12 A aba, Biscay, Gipuzkoa and Na a e,
popula ion o e 14. Sou ce: CIES 2011.
13 The idea o ele ision as a basis o “geo-
linguis ic egions”, applied by J. Sinclai and
o he s when s udying he use o he media
among diaspo as sp ead all o e he wo ld
(Sinclai , Jacka, & Cunningham, 1996), is
eally sugges i e o unde s and he ole ha
media can play o in eg a e he sca e ed new
sepake s in o he mino i y language commu-
ni y (Amezaga & Be iozabal, 2012).
14 Sou ce: A e ages o he moni o ing con-
duc ed by he au ho s on wo wa es in 2012:
i s week o June and hi d one o No embe ,
168 hou s pe week and pe channel.
Re e ences
Amezaga, J. (2011). “Media Globaliza ion
and he Deba e on Mul icul u ali y”. In P. Pa-
chu a (ed.). The Sys emic Dimension o Globali-
za ion. InTech. A ailable om: <h p://www.
in echopen.com/books/ he-sys emic-dimension-o -
globaliza ion/media-globaliza ion-and- he-
deba e-on-mul icul u ali y>.
Amezaga, J. & A ana, E. (2012). “Mino i-
y Language Tele ision in Eu ope: Commo-
nali ies and Di e ences be ween Regional
Mino i y Languages and Immig an Mino i y
Languages”. Ze : Re is a de es udios de comuni-
cación = Komunikazio ikaske en aldizka ia. (32),
p. 89-106.
