At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Basque language is
well on the way to recovery. Since the last two decades of the twentieth
century, major advances have been made in developing and
modernising the language and also in its use and social ambit. As a
result, UNESCO has removed it from its list of endangered languages,
reclassifying it as "vulnerable". Full standardisation of the language
continues to require the combined effort of society and
public institutions.
As well as being a language of communication for many, Basque is
a linguistic treasure, whose roots go back to prehistoric times. In its
original form, it is believed to have been spoken by the first groups
of Homo Sapiens to populate Europe. With no known relation anywhere
else in the world, Basque deserves to be treated as part of
World Heritage.
This short history look at the development of the language and the
many prohibitions and stumbling blocks it has faced, together with
the constant efforts by Basque society to overcome these obstacles
at each stage in history.
19. Basque is the heritage of all Basques and their most distinctive
cultural identifying feature. It is a treasure that has been handed
down from generation to generation. On occasions persecuted in
the past, it is now enjoying a cultural renaissance. Poster for a pro-
Basque festival at the Pamplona bull ring in 1979. 20. The Basque language predates the emergence of the Indo-
European languages in Europe. Its origins are unknown. It does not
form part of any semantic group and shares no common features
with any other language in the world. 21. The Aia Rocks. 22. Over the centuries, the borders of the Basque-speaking area
have gradually retreated.
Initially, it was pushed back by the spread of Indo-European languages
in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Subsequently, following the
introduction of Latin there came a period of recovery, with renewed
reverses in the face of pressure from the Romance languages. 23. Joaldunak from Ituren, during the pre-Lenten carnival celebrations
of Ituren and Zubieta. 24. The specific terms used to designate festive celebrations and
characters indicate that Basque solstice rites date back to the very
remote past. 25. In the twentieth century, successive persecutions, prohibitions
and sanctions reached their highpoint under the dictatorship of
General Franco. 26. The number of speakers declined to such an extent that Basque
came close to extinction. 27. In the last 40 years, more than 300,000 people have learnt
Basque as a second language (essentially at school and in language
academies (euskaltegis). Manual for learning Basque from
Itxaropena, Zarautz, 1969. 28. Poster of Eusko Ikaskuntza. 2005 Congress. 29. The Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea is the leading cultural centre in
San Sebastian, hosting a wide range of events throughout the year
as well as exhibitions in its two halls. It also houses the Library of
the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa. The centre is named after
Koldo Mitxelena Elissalt, the renowned linguist, researcher and
defender of the Basque language. 30. Thanks to a determined effort by the local population and public
institutions, the number of Basque speakers has stabilised and even
increased, in what has been described by UNESCO as one of the
best examples of linguistic recovery in the world. 31. Garabide, a non-government organisation based in the town of
Eskoriatza disseminates the Basque experience of language recovery
in other parts of the world. Working in collaboration with the
University of Mondragon, the organisation promotes identitary, cultural
and linguistic co-operation with minority language communities
from the southern hemisphere, particularly South America. 32. In 2002 the Martin Ugalde Culture Park was opened in Andoain.
Today it is home to around thirty organisations and companies related
to Basque Culture. Its aim is to harness synergies top achieve
more effective work. 33. The population pyramid of the Basque language has been inverted.
Today the base is wider than it was several decades ago, with
the majority of the 800,000 speakers aged under. 35. This group
mostly comprises children who have studied in the all-Basque educational
model (Model D) and in all-Basque schools (ikastolas) and
young people, now parents themselves, who learned the language
at Basque language academies (euskaltegis). About 300,000 of
today's speakers learned at school or in euskaltegis, and not from
their parents.
