I honestly don’t understand why too many people think Basque language is doing good. It’s not. Sure, the language has seen revival efforts but its still a severely endangered language overall (especially in France). Even in Spain, its a minority language (vulnerable in Spain, severely endangered in France, overall combined, definitely endangered). Even after revival efforts, there is no surge in increase at all. The Basque language was suppressed by the Spanish and French government together and although, it has seen a resurgence of interest in recent years, the growth in the number of speakers has not guaranteed that the social use of the language will increase in the same proportion, and the quantitative and qualitative differences between the territories where Basque is used, a cross-border language that depends on three different governments, have not only not been reduced but, in some respects, seem to be accentuated.Although previous editions of the Sociolinguistic Survey provided some encouraging data, Basque continues to lose its weight in the French Basque Country. If in 1996 it was estimated that 26.4% of people over 16 years of age who at that time resided in the three provinces of Iparralde, Lapurdi, Baja Navarra and Zuberoa, spoke Basque, by 2021 that percentage had fallen to 20%, establishing the number of Basque speakers in the Northern Basque Country at 51,500. There has been a decrease in the number of speakers, but the decrease in their proportional weight has been even greater because of the increase in the population of a territory that approaches 320,000 inhabitants in recent years. Next, not only does Basque have relatively fewer fluent speakers but majority of them are passive speakers. According to the census, there are 750,000 speakers of the language, with 434,000 passive speakers and 6000 monoglots. The rest have some knowledge of the language but majority of them are passive speakers. Passive speakers are speakers have no interest in the language despite learning so much of it. In fact, the seventh edition of the Survey once again shows that where the use of the Basque language is increasing the most is in the most populated and a priori less Basque speaking areas. On the contrary, the most pronounced decline has occurred in areas with a Basque speaking majority, in towns and regions that are considered the ‘lungs’ of Basque. And this is not to be taken lightly since the decline is almost ten points. Experts attribute this to a sum of factors more social than linguistic: mobility; the progressive urbanization of the rural environment; the increase in the population of foreign origin, common to all territories and all sociolinguistic areas. As you can see, the basque language isn’t doing as good as it is expected, something that many people don’t realize. Even in Spain, it is only spoken in rural areas and in French, it’s pretty much extinct or close to extinction. I’ve been to reddit and they keep claiming “Basque is doing well”. It’s not! Outside of Schools, it’s rarely used! And then those redditors will claim, “Well it’s good in Spain”. Except, that’s only in rural areas. In modernized areas, basque is rarely used. Anyway, that’s my rant.
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Don’t lesser used languages eventually die off if they are no longer used? I understand it’s about the Basque culture, but if a language is not being used even when it’s taught in schools, eventually there will only be a handful of speakers left, much like many of the small remote Native American tribes in the US. There they teach it to their kids in hopes that a few will keep it alive, although it’s an uphill battle, and once the last speakers die these languages will likely be gone forever.
Yes that’s true! But that’s not my main focus. I’ve been and browsed through reddit and people keep claiming that “Basque is out of extinction”, overlooking the challenges its facing. It’s just awful. It’s as if one person’s grades declined from A to D and then made it to C again and declared it “good enough”. Its not enough. In the bigger picture, the use of basque is rather shrinking. Agreed?
@Jagraze1, welcome to the Dope!
Just a piece of friendly advice: You’ll get more responses to your posts if you break up your text into paragraphs. Many readers struggle with the Wall-O’-Text approach to posting.
I hope you get some informative responses to your concerns about the Basque language.
Ok! Thanks!
Functionally, there’s no real good thing that arises from the existence of multiple languages except - maybe - some ideas are easier/better expressed in one language versus another.
But, if you want to find information about how to deal with lung cancer…you’d better hope you’re an English speaker. If you want to know about history, as crowdcompiled by the Internet onto the Wikipedia, you’d be much better knowing English.
If you’re limited to Basque, then you’re limited to the knowledge and writing interest of all of the other Basque speakers - and that’s not much. You’re basically walled off from most of humanity’s discoveries and experience. And once you learn one of the more widespread languages well…there’s really not much there for you back in your home tongue past sentimentalism.
By all means, we should have a complete record of Basque for future generations so that anyone who wants to can learn it and say anything that they want in it. But that’s a different prospect from keeping the world divided and banked in mist by the separation of languages.
Bro can’t read. But that’s not my main focus. I’ve been and browsed through reddit and people keep claiming that “Basque is out of extinction”, overlooking the challenges its facing. It’s just awful. It’s as if one person’s grades declined from A to D and then made it to C again and declared it “good enough”. Its not enough. In the bigger picture, the use of basque is rather shrinking.
Why is it awful?
You could perhaps stop reading about it on reddit. That sounds more snarky than intended, but the point is valid I think. The people on reddit cannot be trusted to accurately define the problem nor the solution. Ignore them.
Which point?
If people are not considering on the challenges?
That you’ll feel better by staying away from reddit.
If you want to have a discussion about the Basque language here at the SDMB, you’ll probably get some intelligent and insightful responses. You don’t get that started by saying “I disagree with what people are posting somewhere else.”
@Sage_Rat. His point seems to be that something on the verge of extinction is being mischaracterized as being in rapidly recovering good health. Lots of people would argue that such mischaracterizations are unhelpful; mistakes at best and lies with an agenda at worst. Regardless of whether we’re talking about snail darters, spotted owls, Monty Python’s parrot, or a language.
I get the point that multiple human languages are a barrier to global human understanding and cooperation. They’re also, still, a large part of the colorful tapestry (or is that mosaic) of human experience. Someday we’ll all speak Chinglish. But not yet.
ETA: for the the regulars I’ll point out that our OP is a) new, and b) almost certainly not a native English speaker. Our full firehose may be more than our new friend can take.
Ok thanks for the advice. But as a question, you think I made valid points?
Yes that’s my point!
Any particular reason you’re repeating yourself? And why is the first post identical to one posted on Reddit?
Sorry! Also that’s my Reddit account!
I neither missed nor misunderstood his point.
Yes, people should be truthfully informed about reality. But, that includes the truthful reality of what the practical value is of a given initiative and the practical demerits.
Too bad it didn’t get exported to the western-hemisphere colonies during the colonial period. It was only ensconced in a narrow geographic area with little hope of expanding beyond it.
Well, I suppose that’s what comes of placing all of one’s Basques in one exit.
I take it that you mean it’s going to be a challenge to save Basque.
Why save Basque? Do you want the Basque regions to become their own separate country from Spain and France?