EuskaraGina Sterling, Laura Stronach, Tessa

Baston, Andrea Alejandra Copil

History and OriginsO Euskera (Euskara), BasqueO Language spoken in Euskal Herria, the

mountain range that divide France and Spain

O The Basque-speakers call themselves Euskaldunak

O Last remaining descendent of the Pre-Indo-European languages of Western Europe

O It’s been spoken since prehistoric times, at least since 8,000 years ago

Various Theories About its Origin

O IberianO Georgian O Caucasian languages O Vasconian substratum

O 500 B.C. Celtic invasionO Roman Invasion in the 3rd century

A.D.O Visigoth invasion – 6th-9th centuryO Arabic invasion in the 10th century →

formation of the Spanish dialects while the the Basque language preserved itself because of the natural isolation

O End of the Reconquista in 1492

O 1545 – first book published in Basque- Linguæ Vasconum Primitiæ by Bernard Etxepare

O Poor literary pastO During the 16th, 17th and 18th

century Euskera began to be used as a written language, but it didn’t have as much prestige as Castilian and French, which were used in administration

O In the 18th century, nationalism appears along with industralisation

O In the 19th century –Renacimiento Euskerista, leader Arturo Campión

O 1840- Asociación Euskera founded in Pamplona

O 1885- Gramática Elemental del Euzkera bizkaíno by Sabino Arana y Goiri

O Opening of schools in Euskera called ikastolak

O Basque was not spoken in the urban centers, only in the countryside

AranaO Succeeded in “purifying” Euskera of

“Hispanicism”O Established an alphabetO Coined the term Euzkadi to refer to

the Basque countryO Promoted Basque as the sign of

identity of the Basque peopleO Established the Basque flag called

Ikurriña

20th CenturyO 1918- Eusskaltzaindia or Academia de la

Lengua Vasca was formed in Oñate to teach Euskera to children and adults

O During the dictatorship – prohibition of Basque language

O 1952- Ekin is formed-weekly meetings to discuss Basque history and culture. In 1952 they formed ETA (Basque Land and Freedom) – in favour of Aranist ideology

O 1963 – Vasconia by Federico Krutwig – the whole sum of the Basque ideology

O 1964 – standardization of Euskera: Euskara Batua

Sociolinguistic Survey 2006

O ·         Collected information on use of Basque in different sectors. Eg, at home with friends and family,  work and in formal public settings and the private sector.

O ·         Only 12.5% of the population aged 16 and above use Basque more than castillian.

O ·         70.4% of the population of the basque country speak only Castillian.

O ·         In 1991 15.3% were using Basque (as much as Castillian 5,3% and more than castillian 10,0%)

O ·         2001 when it was discovered that 17.2% were using Basque as much as Castillian 7.1% and more than Castillian 10.1%

O ·         Number of people just using Castillian descreased

O ·         Although Castillian remains the dominant language 77,7% in 1991, 73,6% in 2001, and  70,4% in 2006.

Age and Usage

O ·      The largest percentage of the population who use Basque as much as Castillian (10%) or more than Castillian (13.5%) = Young people aged 16-24, (23.5%) followed by peope 65+ (20.7%)

O ·    Evolution during last 15 years-  number of people aged 65+ speaking Basque = decreased. Comparison to 1991.

Use of Basque in Formal Environment

O ·         18% of people use Basque primarily in Municipal services

O ·         17% population use Basque in settings such as a bank

O ·         12% mainly use Basque in the public health sector.

O ·         In State Administration (eg, social security) Basque tends to be used less

Use of Basque in the Home

O ·         14% population always/mostly use Basque at home.

O ·         45% of bilingual people always/mostly use Basque in the home

O ·         When all members of household speak Basque, 76% of population use Basque.

O ·         However does depends on region/area

O ·         “La quinta medición de la utilización del euskara en las conversaciones en Euskal Herria constata y reafirma la tendencia que se apreció cinco años antes, en el estudio realizado en 2001: el uso de la lengua nacional aumenta, pero cada vez menos”.

O ·         Increase in use of Basque has been less than expected or desired.

O ·         There are large differences from area to area in the usage of the Basque.

Laws against the speaking of Basque

O Alfonso XIII (1902-1931) prohibición de uso en la enseñanza otra lengua distinta de la castellana

O II República (1931-1939) obligación de estudio del castellano, lengua de la enseñanza

O Dictadura de Franco (1939-1975) castellano, lengua de la enseñanza y la administración; prohibición de registrar nombres en otra lengua

Basque and Language Planning

O España: Comunidades Autonomas

O Constitución española (1978). Artículo 3.1. El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. Todos los españoles tienen el deber de conocerla y el derecho de usarla.2. Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas, de acuerdo con sus Estatutos.3. La riqueza de las distintas modalidades lingüísticas de España es un patrimonio cultural que será objeto de especial respecto y protección.

O Estatuto de Autonomía (1979). Artículo 6º.

“El Euskera, lengua propia del Pueblo Vasco, tendrá como el castellano, carácter de lengua oficial en Euskadi, todos sus habitantes tienen el derecho a conocer y usar ambas lenguas”. “Las instituciones comunes de la Comunidad Autónoma, teniendo en cuenta la diversidad socio-lingüística del País Vasco, garantizarán el uso de ambas lenguas, regulando su carácter oficial y arbitrarán y regularán las medidas y medios necesarios para asegurar su conocimiento”. “Nadie podrá ser discriminado por razón de la lengua”. “La Academia de la Lengua Vasca – Euskaltzaindia es institución consultiva oficial en lo que respecta al Euskera”.

O Ley Básica de Normalización de Uso del Euskera (1982):

Aim: To stop the decline of Basque usage

Proposed Action: To make Euskara present by way of the;

- Education system- Public Administration

- Mass Media

Education SystemO Modelo A: Castellano is the vehicle language,

Euskara is a separate subject. (8.1%)O Modelo B: Half and Half. (30.5%)O Modelo D: Euskara is the vehicle language

and Catellano is a separate subject. (61.4%)O It is the choice of the family as to which

model they would like their children to follow. O Basque education is available to adultsO (Statistics from 2004)

O Children who started their education outside of the Basque Country, or who are not permanent residents, are exempt.

Education System

Modelo A Modelo B Modelo D0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Porcentaje alumnos 2002-2007

2002-2003

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

2006-2007

Modelo

Po

rcen

taje

Adult Education- AEK (Alfabetatze

Euskalduntze Koordinadora)Coordinadora de Alfabetización y Euskaldunización

- HABE (Helduen Alfabetatze Berreuskalduntzerako Erakunde )Organismo para la Alfabetización y Re-euskaldunización de

Adultos

18%

12%

21%

4%8%

12%

3%

4%

18%

Adults in Basque Education

estudiante profesor

empleado público

profesión liberal

técnico t. especializado

t. no.esp. amo de casa

otra

Public AdministrationO Right to communicate with the Administration

either orally or written in either of the official languages

O When more than one individual is involved, the language chosen will be the result of a mutual agreement

O All administrative decisions must be written bilingually, unless a private party states otherwise

O Local administration may be carried out in Euskara, as long as there are no citizens whose rights are jeopardised

Public AdministrationO Each citizen can use their language of

choice in a court of lawO The Government will promote the use of

Euskara in the Judiciary O Place names/signs = decision of the local

governments and historical territoriesO Traffic signs = bilingual and respecting

international normsO Public Transport = bilingual O Political Propaganda = bilingual

Mass MediaO Bilingual, Euskara will be supported

by the governmentO Government will drive linguistic

normalisation in the RTVE broadcast centres to satisfy an appropriate presence of Basque in the media

O Promotion of Basque in the radio, press and publications, cinema, theatre…

O Encouragement of Basque in advertising

O The constitution immediately reduces the value of Basque. El deber vs el derecho

O Language isn’t used as a political tool for nationalism

O Importance on the right to express oneself in either one of the languages, without discrimination.

O Emphasis on BILINGUALISM. Basque isn’t forced on anyone

Importance of The Language

O - accepted that preservation of the language is absolutely essential for the preservation of the Basque nation and it's culture.

O - "the day that Basque ceases TI be a spoken language, the Basque nation will have died, and in a few years, the descendants of today's Basques will simply be French or Spanish." (ETA)

Weak ViabilityO - Juan Cobarrubias addresses the ideas of

weak and strong viability.O - very weak viability after the Franco yearsO - "weak viability is attained through the

survivability or maintenance of language use in a few language functions, such as primary interpersonal relations and the family." (Cobarrubias)

O - however a society needs and wants a language to be strongly viable.

Standardisation and Normailisation

O - standardisation and normalisation: attempts to revive the Basque language

O - euskara batua was developed by the Basque Language Academy during the 1960s

O - Normalisation Law of the Basque Language 1982O - language planning became the instrument to be

used in linguistic normalisationO - success of language revival can be measured in

three ways:O Functional spreadO Demographic spreadO Geographic spread

Basque in FranceO - Basque has no official standing in the Northern Basque

Country (ie. the French part of the Basque Country).O - usage of Basque in this part over the last 150 years has

decreased:O 1868: 48% of the population of Northern Basque Country

spoke BasqueO 1970: 36% spoke BasqueO 1996: 27% spoke BasqueO 2006: 22.5% spoke BasqueO (statistics from www.eke.org)O - in the Basque Autonomous Community, 82% think it is

essential that children learn Basque, whereas in the Northern Basque Country, this figure is only at 56%. (Encuesta sociolingüística 2006.)

What Needs to Be Done?

O - Basque language also lacks a harmonised linguistic policy for all Basque-speaking territories

O - a long way to go before Basque is a completely standardised language.

O - Basque needs to be more integrated, especially in terms of education.

O - communication: informative pluralism.

O - the number of bilingual people living is Basque-speaking areas has continually increased over the last couple of decades, with 137,300 more bilingual people than in 1991.

O - within the Basque Autonomous Community, this increase has been in the under 50s category, and within Navarra, the increase is in the under 35s.

O - in the French Basque Country, the biggest proportion of bilingual people is in the over 65s.

O - "La revitalización de una lengua utilizada por una minoría no es algo que se pueda lograr de la noche a la mañana" (prólogo de la Encuesta Sociolingüística de 2006)

BibliographyO http://www.hezkuntza.ejgv.euskadi.net/r43-5473/es/contenidos/i

nformacion/dif8/es_2083/adjuntos/gaztelera.pdf

O Eds. Gloria Totoricagüena, Iñigo Urrutia, The Legal Status of the Basque Language Today: One language, three administrations, seven different geographies and a diaspora.

O Pavlou, A., Linguistic habitus and language policy in the Iberian Peninsula.

O Haulde, J.I., Zuazo, K., The standardisation of the Basque Language.

O Beck, J.M., The place of language and the language of place in the Basque Country.

O Ed. Douglass W., Basque Cultural Studies, 1999, Basque Studies Program