The Survival of the

Basque Language
By: Mikyla Denney

Introduction
Sophomore at

MNSU, Mankato
Majors: Spanish

and International
Relations or
Anthropology
Minor: Math

Research

advisor: Dr.
Chelsea Mead,
Anthropology
and American
Indian Studies

Introduction cont.
Established

research project
in Anth 240:
Language and
Culture
Project

requirements:
research a global
issue related to
language and
present an
argument

Previous

research on
the Basque
language
Expanded

previous
research for
this project

Methods/Sources
c1997 The Basques, the Catalans, and
Conversi, Daniele

What is being done to

preserve and revitalize

the Basque language?
Looked at secondary

sources
Books, journal articles,

dissertations
Cenoz, Jasone

2012
Bilingual educational policy in
higher education in the Basque
Country. Language, Culture and
Curriculum 25(1):41-55.

Ciriza, Maria

2009 Dialect Divergence and

Identity in Basque Spanish. Ph.D.
dissertation, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign.

Spain: Alternative Routes to

Nationalist Mobilisation. Reno:
University of Nevada Press.

Echeverria, Begoa

2003 Schooling, Language, and Ethnic

Identity in the Basque Autonomous
Community. Anthropology & Education
Quarterly 34(4):351-372.
Gorter, Durk, and Jasone Cenoz

2011 Multilingual Education for

European Minority Languages: The
Basque Country and Friesland.
International Review of Education /
Internationale Zeitschrift Fr
Erziehungswissenschaft / Revue
Internationale De l'Education 57(5/6,
Quality Multilingual and Multicultural
Education for Lifelong Learning):651666.

Methods/Sources
cont.
Heiberg, Marianne
1989 The Making of the Basque Nation /. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Hualde, Jos Ignacio, and Koldo Zuazo

2007 The Standardization of the Basque Language.

Language Problems & Language Planning 31(2):143-168.
Urla, Jacqueline

1993 Contesting Modernities: Language Standardization

and the Production of an ancient/modern Basque
Culture. Critique of Anthropology 13(2):101-118.
Urla, Jacqueline

1988 Ethnic Protest and Social Planning: A Look at

Basque Language Revival. Cultural Anthropology
3(4):379-394.

Key Terms

Facts
Spoken in northern Spain

and southern France

About 660,000 speakers
Different from Spanish
Only Indigenous language

of Western Europe to
survive
Researchers looking at

mitochondrial DNA of the

Basque population

Shifting Cultural
Acceptance
Never used in administration or

government until recently

Basques Studies Society
Created in 1918
Goal was to assist with revitalization of

Basque by proposing strategies for

language revival

Nationalist
Movement
People of all professions working to revive it
Professionals
Artists
Parents
Students

Contributions vary
Teaching Basque classes
Participating in fundraisers
Working for Basque radio and television
Public lectures

Revitalization
through Education
Main revitalization method
Needed to undo damage from repression

under Franco
First official Basque school established in

1918 (Basque Academy; Euskaltzaindia)

Clandestine schools called Ikastolas

established in 1960s
1979- Recognition of a Basque Government

and Parliament
Private and public schools
Three different models

Revitalization
through Education
cont.

Model A: instruction in Spanish, Euskera

(Basque) taught as separate subject

Model B: bilingual
Model D: instruction in Euskera, Spanish

taught as separate subject

All models offered at primary and

elementary levels
Model B not offered at secondary level
Students must complete education in

Model A or D

Revitalization
through Education
cont.
Both schools stress language and identity
To be considered Basque, need to know

Euskera
Both schools characterized by

ethnolinguistic pedagogy
The practice of teaching in a cross-cultural

or multicultural setting
Stronger effect in Basque-medium

schools

Basque-medium
Schools
More likely to have Basque spoken at home
Reinforces skills learned at school

Students more likely to identify themselves

as Basque
Even if born in the Basque Country, not

fully Basque unless the language is spoken

Those who attend Spanish-medium schools

more likely to identify as equally Basque

and Spanish

Basque-medium
Schools cont.
D-model (instruction in Basque) is most

popular
Why?
More jobs require it
More teachers qualified to teach

Basque
Special training

Subsidized Basque learning materials

Basque-medium
Schools cont.
Higher proficiency
Does not affect first language skills or

academic growth
Students will learn Spanish through

socialization
Higher proficiency in Basque= more

balanced bilingualism
Number of students taking university

entrance exams in Basque, and passing, is

increasing

Conclusion
Many ways Basque is being revitalized
Most effective method is revitalization

through education; especially Basquemedium schools

Future research
Basque instruction at the university level
Relations between the Basque and

Spanish population
Looking into the Basque region in France
Basque revitalization efforts in the U.S.

Questions?