The Case for a TLD for Wales

This article explores the rationales for creating specific top level domain (TLD) names to support minority languages and cultures, focussing specifically on the case for a TLD .cy or .cym for Wales. Some background information on domain names and Wales and the Welsh language is provided. Following on from this, the way identity may be constructed is explored and the importance of TLD’s in terms of enabling individuals to perform their identity is highlighted. The issues that arise with using the current .uk TLD in Wales is explored. Finally the rationale for a .cym TLD for Wales as opposed to any other is considered. THE CASE FOR A TLD FOR WALES Over the last few years a number of campaigns have sought to establish top level domain (TLD) names on the internet for the use of particular minority groups. Examples include the campaign run by puntCAT to establish a .cat TLD for the Catalan language and culture and the campaign run by dotCYM to establish a .cym TLD for the Welsh language and Culture. In September 2005, and as the result of a long campaign by puntCat activists, ICANN approved the first top-level domain to be dedicated to a particular language and culture when it registered the .cat sponsored TLD name for the Catalan community (Atkinson, 2006). According to Gerrand (2006) it came into being only after considerable political wrangling within Spain, Catalonia and the ICANN. That such a campaign was thought worthwhile will be baffling to many internet users. According to Edwards (1994) most majority language speakers remain unconvinced of the desirability of officially-supported minority cultural and linguistic programmes. This article explores the rationale behind such campaigns, focussing specifically on the rationale behind establishing a TLD for Wales. It begins with a brief outline of what domain names are and how they are allocated. Next, some background on Wales and the Welsh language is provided. Following on from this, the various debates concerning the significance of a domain name to a minority groups and culture are explored. How identity is performed and achieved and a domain name may be significant in this process is foregrounded. The problems that arise with using the current .uk TLD in Wales is then explored and finally the rationale for adopting a g-TLD for Wales such as .cym, as opposed to any other g-TLD is considered. TOP LEVEL DOMAIN NAMES Every computer on the Internet has a unique address called its Internet Protocol address and it comes either in the *Address correspondence to this author at the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education, School of Health, Social Care, Sports and Exercise Sciences, Plas Coch campus, Mold Road, Wrecsam, LL11 2AW, UK; Tel: 00 44 1978 290666; E-mail: [email protected] form of 32 binary digits (bits) written as a four part dotted decimal such as 207.151.159.3 or, more recently, 128 bits written as 32 hexadecimal digits such as 2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:0000:1428:57ab. A non-profit making independent international body called The Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN) manages these addresses through the Domian Name System (DNS). The DNS makes using the internet easier by allowing a familiar string of letters to be used instead of a numerical code. Part of the work of the ICANN is ensuring that all users of the internet can find a unique, valid and meaningful IP address and mnemonic to use so that internet users may surf the web and communicate with one another. There are two main types of domain names. Country code top level domains (cc-TLD) are two letter country codes e.g. .uk, .us, based, since 1984, upon a list of country codes (ISO-3166-1) established by ISO, an organisation founded in 1947 to produce and co-ordinate world-wide industrial and commercial standards. To be listed in the ISO country code a country must either be a member of the United Nations, a member of any UN specialised agency or party to the statute of the International Court of Justice. Some cc-TLD pre-date this requirement. Hence whilst the country code for the UK in ISO-3166-1 is GB, .uk continues to be used as the country code for the UK. Seven other country codes also exist which are not aligned with the ISO3166-1 codes. However once established, the power to grant permission to use a particular cc-TLD’s is often devolved to the country involved. Hence in the UK for example, Nominet registers domain names using the .uk cc-TLD (www.nominet.org.uk). Generic top level domain names (g-TLD) on the other hand are primarily three or four letter codes which are used by a particular class of organizations e.g .com (for company), .org (for organisations) or .net (for network groups). They are limited in number and whilst some g-TLD are not restricted in terms of their use and are hence termed unsponsored, others, such as .aero used by the aeronautical industry, .mil used by the military and .museu used by museums are sponsored and thereby backed by a community which holds the power to decide whether a body can register 137 The Open Communication Journal, 2008, Volume 2 Iolo Madoc-Jones a domain in that name. The terms and conditions under which this power is exercised are defined by ICANN. The number of cc-TLD and g-TLD has increased over the last few years but remains tightly controlled by ICANN. This is because a cc-TLD must be related to an ISO-3166-1 country and a new g-TLD must be backed by a sufficient number of people to make its creation viable. Because the DNS is organized hierarchically however non nation groups and other bodies may establish second level domain names emanating from a TLD. Hence, to take Wales or the Welsh language (Cymru and Cymraeg respectively in the Welsh language) as an example www.Cymru.co.uk, www.cymru.com, www.cymraeg.net may, and do, exist; but because Wales does not appear on ISO-3166-1 and activists have failed so far to persuade ICANN that a g-TLD for Wales is viable, www.cymraeg.cm for example or a www.cymru.cym do not. The newly established .cat is a sponsored generic top level domain name presently managed by the puntCAT foundation within Catalonia and is intended to serve the needs of the linguistic and cultural community of Catalonia (Jobins, 2006) According to Gerrand (2006) puntCAT initially aimed to establish .ct as the cc-TLD for Catalonia but this met with considerable opposition from those who were concerned that it gave impetus to those seeking Catalan succession from Spain. PuntCat therefore changed its aims to establishing a .cat g-TLD. The .cat g-TLD was established in 2005 with the support of the Spanish Government and partly on the basis that the linguistic population that spoke Catalan, and might therefore use the .cat TLD, was over one million world wide. Equally on the basis that the Catalan language and culture was not addressed by a single Spainish .sp ccTLD (Atkinson, 2006; Jobins, 2006). The success of puntCAT in getting a TLD created has given impetus to groups seeking similar domain names in other countries. This article considers the rationale behind such campaigns drawing on the situation in Wales. The aim of establishing a TLD in Wales has recently attracted political support in Wales. The Labour/ Plaid Cymru coalition in charge at the National Assembly in Wales since 2007 have pledged its support for such a TLD. Some of the rationale behind the desire to have such a TLD for Wales is explored next, necessitating an exploration of Wales and of national identity in Wales. Wales and the Welsh Language Hourigan (Hourigan, 2001) arues that people in Wales retain a “highly developed sense of nationhood linked to the language” (p.83). Drakeford and Williams (Drakeford, M., & Williams, 2001) contend that consideration of the Welsh language is central in any discussion of national identity in Wales. A survey commissioned by the Welsh language board suggested that in 2000 89% of Welsh people (Welsh and English speaking) considered that the Welsh language was important for the Welsh national identity (Bwrdd yr Iaith Beaufort Report, 2000). According to the Welsh Language Board. “The Welsh language has a special place in our history because it is one of the major factors which has made us what we are...few would deny that Welsh has played an important part in the formation of our national identity (7 p.1). The 2001 census identified that around 550,000 people in Wales described themselves as having ability in the Welsh language. 21.8% of the Welsh population therefore speaks Welsh. On a global level, because of the number of speakers, Welsh is in the in the top 1000 of the worlds 6000 or so spoken languages. (Crystal, 2000; Krauss, 1995). This prominent position in the world ranking suggests the Welsh language is in a strong position. Returns from census over the last two centuries however suggest that the proportion of Welsh speakers in Wales has been in decline. In 1801 80% of the population could speak Welsh. By 1851 this has reduced to 67%. According to the 1901 census 50% of the population of Wales reported having some ability in the Welsh language. By 1911 this figure had dropped to 43.5% and by 1991 to 18.7%. Despite this, compared to the 1991 Census, and to all other indigenous minority languages in the UK, the 2001 census showed an increase in Welsh speakers up from 18.7% to 20.5% of the population. A language use survey conducted by the Welsh Assembly Government suggested that by 2004 the figure was 21.7% (Iaith pawb and Welsh Language Scheme Annual Report 2005-2006).