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Eskuara, The Basque Language

Euskaldun (Basque) culture is defined as the culture that has the Eskuara (Basque language) as its linguistic vehicle. Thanks to the oral tradition in Basque culture, verbal compositions in Euskara were preserved and transcribed in the 16th and 17th centuries. These transcripts are the only evidence of medieval Eskuara. The oldest text in Eskuara that is known is a collection of poems written by a Benat Etxepare published in 1545.

Some foreign ancient texts have words and phrases in Eskuara, eg. texts written by Roman and Greek writers who have written about the Basque language in their chronicles. But so far the collection of poems known as `Linguae Vasconum Primitiae,' written by Benat Etxepare, is the oldest text in Euskara.

According to Jokin Apalategi, the poetry of Benat Etxepare has been described as one that «doesn't pretend to be a reflection of a beauté nue but one which is troubled and striving; a turbulent torrent that carries with it the pain and grief of the body and spirit.» The merit of Etxepare, says Apalategi, resides in his initiative to take the Basque language outside the home and into the streets; the need to write in Eskuara in order to bring the Basque language to the same level achieved by other languages and to compete with other cultures.» Some deceniums later, Manuel Larramendi, wrote the first Euskara grammar book.

Etxepare's concern was shared by other Basque writers north of the Pyrenees. The masterpieces of Basque literature (written in Eskuara) belong to those writers of the 16th and 17th centuries: Joanes Leizarraga (16th century), Pierre de Agerre, "Axular," Joanes Etxeberri, Stephane Materre, Joanes Haranburu, P.D. Argaignarats and Kristobal Arizmendi, Arnaut Oihanarte, Juan Tartas and Bernard Gazteluzar (17th century). Axular's Gero, a literary version of the writer's parish preaching, is considered the most important work in Basque literature.

No similar linguistic awareness is found until a century and a half later when Euskaldun literature made its debut in the Basque territories in Spain in 1712. Although they did not possess neither the magnitude nor the beauty of the northern Basque writers, they share a place in the history of Euskaldun literature: Joan Bariain, Martin Otsoa Kapanaga, and Rafael Mikoleta.

But the growing centralization of government, along with the spontaneous competition among languages, presented greater threats to the Basque language and culture than opportunities to flourish. Historian Roger Collins notes:

«On both sides of the frontier pressure was exerted to make the Basques either more fully French or more fully Spanish. Government-inspired attempts to undermine the continued use of the Basque language in the Spanish Basque regions was reported even in the nineteenth century: this was not just a phenomenon of Spain after the Civil War. »

In the Basque territories under Spanish jurisdiction, a university professor, Manuel de Larramendi, wrote the remarkable work "El imposible vencido. Arte de la Lengua Bascongada" (The impossible is overcome. Art of the Basque language), published in 1729. In this book Larramendi explained Basque grammar. The book had at least two goals: to challenge the opinion that it was impossible to systematize into rules a language such as Basque and to contribute something towards a way of standarizing and learning the language. Larramendi reaffirmed his own conviction that Basque should aim for a new social and cultural status, fighting against old prejudices, reclaiming its rights, and at the same time suggesting lon-term sociolinguistic aims. The influence of a dedicated Larramendi brought about the first literary school in the Basque territories within Spain. Among its members were Agustin Kardaberaz, Sebastian Mendiburu, Joaquin Lizarraga de Elcano, Juan Antonio de Ubillos, Antonio Añibarre, Juan Bautista Agirre, Fr. Bartolome de Santa Teresa, Juan Ignacio Iztueta, and others, who kept it going well into the 19th century.

The work of Larramendi also influenced Basque writers north of the Pyrenees, among them, Jean Philippe Bela of Zuberoa. But the Basque bourgeoisie which had the power to promote and cultivate the use of Eskuara, ignored the efforts made by Larramendi and others. They simply chose the Spanish language and culture and treated Eskuara as an ancient relic.

Source: Jokin Apaletegi, Euskadi en guerre (Ekin, 1987); Roger Collins, The Basques (Blackwell, 1987); Marianne Heiberg, The Making of the Basque Nation (Cambridge University Press, 1989); Towards the Liberation of Euskadi (Ekin, 1992).