Euskera

Rai Furniss, Rosa Piñuel Vega, Mikel Galan Estefania, Laura Townsend, Sonia Moreno Pérez, Tara Lowe

Origins to Middle Ages: Language• Basque language is an inflected language

whose origin is still a mystery.• The Basques have occupied areas of northern

Spain and southern France, extending further eastward and northwards into Gascony and the Pyrenees.

• The Basque language is thought to be a language isolate and its prehistory cannot be reconstructed by means of the comparative method

• There are hypotheses that try to explain its existence

Origins to Middle Ages: Literature• There was a rich oral literature thanks to the

"bertsolarismo" which is the art of singing a song which is composed in an improvised manner and the pastorals.

• The “Glosas Emilianenses”:Iziqui dugu: we have lightedGuec ajutuez dugu: we don’t throw

ourselves• The first book written in Basque was Linguae

Vasconum Primitiae written by Bernard Dechepare

Middle Ages to 1936• A sense of separate cultural and political identity had

existed in the area for many centuries:Father Manuel de Larramendi (1690-1766)Augustin Chaho (1811-58)

• The Basque provinces had long kept their local laws and customary privileges intact, they were among the last regions of Spain to maintain their fueros.

• A small cultural revival took place in the Basque country before the emergence of nationalism. The renacimiento euskerista was centred in Navarre and Vizkaya.

Sabino Arana y Goiri• He formulated its first political programme, coined its

name, defined its geographical extent, founded its first political organisation, wrote its anthem and designed its flag

• Arana studied law in Barcelona at a time when Catalunya was experiencing a widespread cultural, economic and political revival.

• Arana and his followers weren’t trying to revive their language or encourage the spread of Euskara, but they tried to use it as an ethnic boundary.

• There had been a pride among many Basques in the unintelligibility of their language.

Basque language & Nationalism: The Franco

Years• Great resurgence of the use of Euskera • 1936 Autonomy Statute – • Robert P. Clark – Of all the acts of suppression, however, symbolically the

most damaging was the attempt of the occupation authorities to destroy the Basque language as a functioning communications medium. ( pg 81 )

• Policies of Franco’s government aimed at the Basque language:• 1937- mid 1950’s Severe- aimed at nearly complete suppression of the

language• Early 1950’s Ability to suppress its use starts to wane• Early 1960’s- regulation of its limited use, general slackening• Number of native language speakers in the Basque region• 1934- 570,000 of the Spanish Basque population of 1.2 million – 50+%• Early 1970s- 455,000 of the Spanish Basque population of 2.1 million -

19.2%

Basque nationalism under Franco“Basque nationalism must be ruined, trampled underfoot,

ripped out by its roots”(General Gil Yuste, Spanish military governor of Alava (a Basque province) during the SCW)

• 1939 Law on Political Responsibility- Between 4,000 – 7,000 Basque political prisoners at any given time

• Beginning in the early 1950’s there were two distinct strategic approaches:• Approach one- the creation of Basque National Front• Approach two fostered by Basque nationalist party (PNV)

• 1937- early 1950’s – dispersed, unorganized• 1950’s- durable, unified, co-ordinated

Basque after the Constitution of 1978

• Euskera is official depending on the local laws of each territory. It is spoken in Euskadi, Navarre and France.

• It is fully official in the Basque Country and the Basque-speaking part of Navarre.

• It is said to be partially official in Navarre.

• Euskera is also spoken in the Continental Basque Country which is located in France. French government only recognises French language as the official one.

Language planning measures put in place

• 1982, Basque Parliament,“Ley Básica de Normalización y Uso del Euskera”

• 1986, government of Navarre, “Ley del Uso del Vascuence”

• 1998, Basque government,“Plan General de Promoción del Uso del Euskera”

• These governments working with the Royal Academy of the Basque Language has resulted in the process of standardisation : the “Euskera batua” (standard variety)

Pre-Industrialisation

• The unconquerable ‘Vasconians’• Father Manuel de Larramendi and irredentism• Augustín Chaho

“...a history of national defence against outside encroachment.”

Industrialisation

• The bourgeoisie and the wage workers

• Euskaros & Euskalerriacos

• Sabino Arana y Goiri [?? Maybe take out?]• First Congress of Basque Studies & The Basque Language

Academy

• Nationalist Fragmentation

Density of Basque speakers

Education• In the Basque Autonomous Community• “A model”: Everything in Spanish with Basque as a subject (19,7 %)• “B model”: Spanish and Basque used in on a 50-50 basis (22,9 %)• “D model”: Everything in Basque with Spanish as a subject (57,3 %)

• In Navarre• “A model”: Everything in Spanish with Basque as a subject (19,2 %)• “B model”: Spanish and Basque used in on a 50-50 basis (0,2 %)• “D model”: Everything in Spanish with Spanish as a subject (22 %)• “G model”: Everything in Spanish (no Basque subject) (58,6 %)

Actual usage of Basque language• Use of Basque in the whole Basque Country (C.A.V.

+Navarre+Northern Basque Country): 14 %• Increase in the last 17 years: 3,4 %• Increase in the last 6 years: 0,7 %• Positive aspects:• There has been an increase in the use of Basque language between

all age groups except in the +65• The younger the speakers, the greater the use of Basque• Negative aspects:• There has been no increase in Basque in the biggest cities• There has been little increase in the zones where Basque was lost• In the territory of Biscay (Vizcaya) the usage has decreased even if

it is a Basque speaking area.

Bibliography Conversi, D, The Basques, The Catalans and

Spain http://taiwandna.com/BasquePage.html www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_language www.101languages.net/basque/history.html www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/55366/

Basque-language/75373/History-of-the-language

Clark, Robert P. (Robert Paul), 1935- The Basques, the Franco years and beyond . - Reno, Nev : University of Nevada Press, 1979 .