6 M. THE-THITSAR For instance, Aitchison and Carter highlighted the revival of the Welsh language in Wales, which used to be vulnerable due to the fragmentation of Welsh speakers, through different advanced communication mediums that strengthen the virtual sense of community.41 In addition, minorities who are physically weaker in fighting against powerful oppressive regimes utilize the means of digital communication at their disposal to organize their strength as well as patronage from the international community. Thus, new digital communications, according to Appadurai, enable embattled groups to ‘create more effective national and global strategies of self-representation and cultural survival through the construction of virtual communities.’42 Some studies also show that the transformation in communication through digitalization of language and social media ‘provide [a] permissive environment for minority language use’ due to easily accessible communication tools and contents for learners and users.43 Crystal argued the internet is ‘the ideal medium for minority languages’ due to the relatively low cost and technical barriers to entry.44 Other scholars, however, have expressed concerns for endangered languages that have been marginalized by the spread of English as the global language, likening it to a homogenizing ‘cultural nerve gas,’ on global electronic media and broadcasting.45 In recent years, a new challenging question has emerged around availability of languages on social media platforms, especially Facebook. This raises the question of why certain languages have been selected as ‘Facebook languages,’ and the implications that Facebook’s language policies have on the maintenance of languages which are not given official support by the platform. Research questions While a growing body of literature has focused on the role of social media and virtual communities in the survival and revitalization of linguistic markets for minority lan­ guages, their findings are still inconclusive or contradictory. There has also been no analysis of the role and implications of Facebook language policies on minority lan­ guages, or how speakers of minority or non-Facebook languages have utilized Facebook to preserve and promote their collective identity. My research seeks to answer the following questions: What kind of benefits are enjoyed by ‘Facebook languages’? What are the effects of Facebook language policies that favor speakers of the majority language? How do ethnic minorities overcome limitations as non-Facebook language users and utilize Facebook’s other functions to promote their languages? What do such commu­ nication practices tell us about Facebook’s role in empowering or endangering minority languages? Methods The study is based on in-depth interviews with 26 respondents (half male and half female) from Myanmar. Most of the respondents are between 20–30 years old and are university graduates. Four out of 26 graduated from foreign universities, and two are high school graduates. They represent different ethnicities from 13 different ethnic groups: eight relatively large ethnic groups including Bamar, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan; and five other smaller ethnic groups, Pa-O, Danu, Ta'ang,