The Digital (De)territorialization of Ladino in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Since the nineteenth century, the global diasporic community of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) speakers has enjoyed a number of opportunities to reclaim a territory for itself (Spain, Portugal, Israel). Devoid of a specific geographical home, in the twenty-first century this community has resorted to the creation of Sephardi online communities, also conceptualized as “Digital Home-Lands” following Held (2010). Drawing upon Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of “territory” (1980), I argue first, that the survival of Ladino in the twenty-first century is predicated upon the successful implementation of Digital Home-Lands that reterritorialize the nomadic Sephardi nation on the very deterritorialization of its Western State and language ascription. Second, that the proliferation of Sephardi online communities in the second decade of the twenty-first century, requires us to revisit the concept of “Digital Home-Lands” in two interrelated areas: (i) multimodal and multiliterate digital spaces, and (ii) new digital solutions to advance the learning and preservation of Ladino worldwide, particularly across generations. Third, in light of the significance of these recent developments, I conclude with the suggestion that we distinguish between basic Sephardi online communities, on the one hand, and enhanced Sephardi Digital Home-Lands, on the other.