Documentare e salvaguardare le minoranze walser: il ruolo delle piattaforme digitali

In this paper, we highlight two recently developed, technology-enabled platforms for documenting the small Walser varieties spoken in northwestern Italy. These platforms address the urgent need to record linguistic varieties that are undergoing rapid erosion. Through four case studies, we show that they also support fine-grained analysis, revealing structurally significant and original features shaped by centuries of language contact. Because they are readily available and easy to use, these digital resources can motivate speakers – especially younger generations – to engage with their heritage and help slow, or even halt, the dissolution threatening these “small languages”.