Restaurantes become jatetxeak coches become autoak. Due to their status as major tourist hubs for visitors from Spain and beyond, Spanish is overwhelmingly common in these urban areas as the everyday language, though you’ll certainly see plenty of things written in Basque, such as signs and menus.īut head a little further afield, out to the idyllic villages dotting the verdant Basque countryside, and things will start to change. If you’re visiting one of the Basque Country’s “big three” cities -San Sebastian, Bilbao, or Vitoria-it’s unlikely that you’ll hear much Basque being spoken out and about. Photo credit: Euskalakari AEK Where is Basque spoken today? If anything, the prohibition of euskara only served to give the Basque people an increased sense of pride in their language and culture.Ī family waves the ikurrina, or Basque flag, while participating in Korrika, a race throughout the Basque Country aimed at promoting knowledge of the Basque language. Those who dared to speak euskara in public risked being overheard by an informant, and penalties often included jail time, public humiliation, and a fine.įortunately, the language managed to survive these uncertain decades in the mid-20th century. Children learned their ancestral tongue in secret language schools, or ikastolak, which were set up in clandestine locations such as church basements. Less than a century ago, Basque was hovering on the brink of extinction as Spain’s fascist dictator, Francisco Franco, made an effort to snub the language completely in favor of Spanish during the nearly four decades he was in power.įrom 1939 until 1975, the use of the Basque language-or euskara-was effectively outlawed. While most modern European languages stem from clear Indo-European roots, Basque doesn’t-and as a result, its origins have stumped scholars for centuries.īut a language seemingly as old as the world itself is bound to run into a few bumps along the road over the course of several millennia. Part of the problem when tracing the roots of Basque comes from the fact that it shares no connection with any other known language. In fact, it’s one of the oldest European languages still in use-so old that even the most diehard language historians have found it difficult to pinpoint where, exactly, it came from. Though but a tiny blip on the linguistic radar of Europe, especially when compared with neighboring languages Spanish and French, the Basque language boasts perhaps a more fascinating history than nearly any other language on the continent. Ready to take a deep dive into one of Europe’s most fascinating languages? Here’s everything you need to know. Being able to say a few basic Basque phrases-or individual words-can even take your trip from ona (good), to handia (great)! The Basque Country is one such region that’s home to its own completely unique heritage, culture and language. A handful of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions have their own regional co-official languages, and the pride for these runs deep-so deep, in fact, that the people who speak them often hold their regional identity in the highest regard, despite officially holding a Spain passport and ID card. Yes, Spanish is the official national language, and in most of the country, it is what you should be making an effort to speak.īut that’s not always the case. Fun fact: you shouldn’t always speak Spanish when in Spain.
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