Llengua i noves tecnologies de comunicació

Resum

The Catalan Government has always regarded it as essential to be equipped with suitable means of communication as a tool for the linguistic normalization of the Catalan language. The Catalan Radio and Television Corporation (CCRTV), set up in 1984, has made an undeniable contribution to the revival of the language. At that time, television and radio were the basic tools for social communication. However, current developments in telecommunications and information technology are leading us towards a revolution in the world of communication, with changes that will determine a new communicational environment with new habits and new consumer standards. The great challenge for the Catalan language is be present on this new communications network, and the CCRTV will have to adapt accordingly. The Spanish State allows the autonomous governments to pass laws concerning the linguistic treatment of the various official languages, and this paper summarizes the objectives of the recent law (1996) regulating audiovisual programming by cable, and the measures it introduces for the protection of the Catalan language. In the major European States the overriding tendency is to consider that the language of the media should be the "official" one, despite most of these states having several language communities. Only Belgium and Switzerland, states which are defined as plurilingual, offer an alternative that tackles the issue of language diversity. The second part of the paper features a summary of legislation on cable television with regard to languages in countries such as Belgium, France and Canada (Quebec).