Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
So just who are the Basques? Even for Basques, that's a difficult question.
According to traditional stereotypes, Basques are thought of as having long noses,
heavy eyebrows, floppy ears, stout bodies, and a penchant for wearing berets. But
widespread Spanish and French immigration has made it difficult to know who ac-
tually has Basque ethnic roots. (In fact, some of the Basques' greatest patriots have
hadnoBasqueblood.)Andsotoday,anyonewhospeakstheBasquelanguage,Eus-
kara, is considered a “Basque.”
Euskara, related to no other surviving tongue, has been used since Neolithic
times—making it, very likely, the oldest European language that's still spoken.
With its seemingly impossible-to-pronounce words filled with k's, tx's, and z's (re-
stroomsare
komunak:gizonak
formenand
emakumeak
forwomen),Euskaramakes
speaking French suddenly seem easy. (Some tips:
tx
is pronounced “ch” and
tz
is
pronounced “ts.” Other key words:
kalea
is “street,” and
ostatua
is a cheap hotel.)
Kept alive as a symbol of Basque cultural identity, Euskara typically is learned
