ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the sociolinguistic development of Ladino as part of the transition from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, focusing on two use cases, namely: the Metaverse and the network state. First, it introduces the Web 3.0’s record and potential apropos the preservation of endangered languages and cultural heritage. Second, it delves into the Metaverse as an emerging network of virtual worlds, arguing that it is likely to empower Ladino speakers and their allies qua end users and developers, increasing national consciousness and bringing community members closer together. Third, it tackles the conceptualisation of Sepharad as a network state (SNS), discussing how its hypothetical implementation would for the first time in history, involve independent forms of citizenship and governance for the global Ladino-speaking community, ultimately inaugurating Sepharad 5, i.e., a qualitatively different new stage of Sepharad in general and Ladino in particular that could bring both in full circle. Lastly, the chapter discusses Yiddish and Hebrew programs which could be replicated to assimilate elderly Ladino speakers into Web 3.0. These initiatives could partially revert Sephardic diaspora and foster an inverted form of intergenerational transmission, both of which are critical to the successful implementation of the Metaverse and/or the SNS.
