The Languages of Smaller Populations: Risks and Possibilities. Lectures from the Tallinn Conference, 16–17 March 2012. Urmas Bereczki

and some major delays on behalf of the institutions are completely overcome. However, while Law no. 482 can only help to slow down the decline of Friulian, it is not sufficient to guarantee its survival.

      About the Komi Language

      Nikolay Kuznetsov

      Tartu University, Estonian Literary Museum

The promotion of the Komi language

      The national elation and boost of national self-esteem of the 1990s raised the Komi language to a high status in the Komi Republic. Over the past two decades, specific measures have been taken to reinforce the position of the Komi language, to promote its usage in various spheres of life and to popularise it among young people by means of modern culture and information technology. The priority areas of the preservation and development of the Komi language are the use of information technology and support for children and youth projects. As of today, some electronic language learning tools and games have been developed, children’s fairy tales on an audio CD have been published, etc. Language competitions, intellectual games, song festivals, comedy shows, etc. are organised in order to promote the Komi language. One of the most significant achievements is, to my mind, the Komi people’s radio Коми йöзкостса радио’ (see: http://radio.krtk.ru/http://radio.krtk.ru/), which was launched in 2007 and is also accessible on the Internet. A recently launched online dictionary and other online language resources (see: http://giellatekno.uit.no/cgi/index.kom.eng.htmlhttp://giellatekno.uit.no/cgi/index.kom.eng.html) are also worth noting. One of the most delightful recent events was the campaign “We speak in Komi” on International Mother Language Day – the places where personnel could be addressed in Komi were marked with special stickers.

The Komi-speaking population is decreasing and ageing

      For all that, the prestige of the Komi language continues to be low and the number of speakers is falling. According to the 2010 Russian census data, 228,235 people identified themselves as Komi (293,406 in 2002) and three quarters of them said they spoke Komi.