Euskera, the Basque Language

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Euskera was once spoken in Aragon and West Catalonia as far back as the 7th century and, in the 9th and 10th centuries, through mass migration, it reached south of Alava. The author points out that the decline of this language was partly due to decisions made concerning the supremacy of Spanish during the Bourbon period of the 18th Century, which stigmatized Euskera as being only suitable for farmers and peasants whereas Spanish was used exclusively in education and instruction. The paper concludes that Euskera, the Basque language, is almost without monolingual speakers but whether it is doomed extinction is debatable. The paper includes some long quotations.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
An Historical Overlook of Euskera
Spanish and French Attitudes Concerning the Basque Language
Protecting Euskera
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Industrialization also played its part during the 19th century. The need for workers resulted in mass immigration and saw the arrival of so many monolingual Spanish speakers that their numbers far outweighed those of the Basque speakers. The fact that the Spanish speakers moved into several areas where the language had already been lost and the fact that the Franco government prohibited the use of Euskera, both helped to ensured that the language would become endangered."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Daniel L. Everett, From Threatened Languages to Threatened Lives, Online Article, 2007. http://www.yourdictionary.com/elr/everett.html
• Euskal Herria Journal, The Basque Language at Home, Online Article, 2007 http://www.ehj-navarre.org/blessons/blt(2).html
• SIL International, Endangered Language Groups, Online Article, 2007 www.sil.org/sociolx/ndg-lg-home.html
• Tovar, Antonio (1959). El euskera y sus parientes, p. 144-98, Madrid: Ediciones Minotauro.
• UNESCO Red Book on Endangered Languages: Europe, 1999. http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_index.html

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