Language diversity in a Mediterranean mediascape

Abstract

The article analyses a particular form of linguistic and cultural diversity performed in two radio magazines, Kantara and Mediterradio, produced as part of transnational media cooperation in the Mediterranean region. The analysis focuses on the interplay between language, discourse and journalistic practices, rooted in a specific journalistic and civic culture that aims at constructing a shared public sphere in opposition to mainstream media reports about the Mediterranean. The results demonstrate a particular polycentrism and mobility of media production, observable in language, discourse and journalistic features, in which localities traditionally considered “at the periphery” of global media flows, such as the Western Mediterranean islands Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, constitute crucial points. The article approaches the resulting multilayered transculturality by grasping the specific culture inspiring the work of the network, and the multiple identities related to it. To this aim, a transdisciplinary approach integrating sociolinguistics, discourse, media and cultural studies with a specific focus on mediatized transcultural communication is developed.