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A very interesting initiative started last Friday in the Basque Country.
While Basques in the U.S. were doing our Black Friday shopping, some Basques in the Basque Country were starting their days with an initiative called Euskaraldia.
What is Euskaraldia?
Euskaraldia is a project in which people in all 7 provinces in the Basque Country are encouraged to speak more Euskara, the Basque language, over an 11-day period.
Beginning November 23rd and ending on December 3rd, Euskaraldia has seen thousands of participants sign up on their website. People either commit to being an Euskara speaker, Ahobizi, or an Euskara listener, Bellariprest, during these 11 days.
Ahobizi commit to starting all of their conversations and social interactions in Euskara. They can of course switch to another language if the person they are speaking to doesn’t understand Euskara, but just starting a conversation in Euskara sets the tone.
Bellariprest during these 11 days are asking Euskara speakers to speak to them in Euskara. This way, they can better practice their comprehension and support the use of Euskara in everyday life.
Who can join Euskaraldia?
People of all abilities in Euskara from very beginners in learning the language to native speakers are able to participate. The only requirement is that participants be over 16-years-old and speak and/or understand Euskara.
These instances of using Euskara are happening everywhere — at work, school, in public, at home, in interactions with friends and family, everywhere! The point is to encourage the use of Euskara in all parts of life.
Participants have pins to wear during these 11 days to clearly identify their involvement in Euskaraldia.
People are even changing their profile pictures to match!
Check out my beautiful Facebook friends, Christina Irigoyen Etcheverry, Tony Huarte, and Xabier Berrueta:
(Sidenote: Is it any coincidence that all 3 are Basque Americans with roots in the valley of Baztan in northern Nafarroa? Making the people of Baztan proud!)
What is the goal of Euskaraldia?
The goal of Euskaraldia is to change the tendency to prioritize French or Spanish in social and professional life in the Basque Country, to rather use Euskara as much as possible.
This is important because a 2016 study found that only 25% of Euskara speakers in the Basque Country use the language regularly. Nearly 70% of Euskara speakers stated that they use another language always or almost always.
The hope is that in participating in Euskaraldia, people will see that Euskara is relevant in more situations than they may have realized. Perhaps people understand Euskara far more than people are aware of.
Euskaraldia encourages people to use Euskara more often, and that’s a beautiful thing. With roughly 750,000 people speaking and understanding Euskara in the Basque Country to some degree, this is a fantastic project to bring these people together and to promote the use of one of Europe’s most unique minority languages.
A number of media outlets in the Basque Country are also supporting Euskaraldia, and members of the Basque diaspora have been encouraged to get involved.
Euskaraldia and the Basque Diaspora
In San Francisco a couple weeks ago, a group of Euskara speakers and learners gathered to show their support for Euskaraldia after their regular Euskal Brunch.
Photo: Aitor Inarra / NABO
I’m heartened to learn about this initiative to promote Euskara. People in the Basque Country are working hard to preserve their language and make sure it thrives for generations to come, and that’s a beautiful thing.
Zorionak to all of the Ahobizi and Bellariprest this year! I hope Euskaraldia is a success.
CONTINUE READING:
- How Many People in the Basque Country Actually Speak Euskara?
- Why This Basque American Walked the Camino de Santiago
- Basques Are Unique: It’s In Our Blood
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