There is a saying in Irish, “Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarle cliste!” (broken Irish is better than clever English), perhaps just a little chauvinistic but the idea is that people shouldn’t be embarrassed to speak Irish even if they do make mistakes. AEK would, I`m sure, quite happily adapt the situation to Basque, as would “Euskaraldia” (initiative in favour of the Basque language). Of course, in Basque the equivalent expression is “Hizkuntza bat ez da galtzen ez dakitenek ikasten ez dutelako, dakitenek hitzegiten ez dutelako baizik.” ( A language isn`t lost because those who don`t know it don `t learn, but because those who do know it, don`t speak it.) Well, AEK may not agree with J.A Artze famous saying but the fact is that the Basque language, like Irish or any other minority language, dies out for both reasons.
Sadly, despite all the efforts to maintain the language, it`s easy to note that in Mungia and the villages around it (as well as many other places), young people in particular use Spanish to communicate with their friends. Not surprisingly there are more and more calls for “arnas-guneak” (breathing-spaces) for the Basque language, in other words, ensuring that pupils who habitually use Basque are put together in groups. Well, we `re not going to go into the merits or defects of this policy but the fact is that the future of the Basque language is still not safe and it is not just the fault of young people, adults and our institutions too are very much responsible for this situation.
Last year BBT actively supported the “Euskaraldia” and encouraged our members to be “Belarri Prest” (Ready Ear, people who haven`t got a high level of Basque but want to practise it) or “Aho Bero” (Hot Mouth, people who are quite fluent). This year there is no “Euskaraldia” but we are conscious of the fact that next year the “Korrika” (non-stop 24-hour relay run for the Basque language) will run from Amurrio on the 30th March to end up in Donostia on the 10th April and we will be again taking part in it. In the meantime, on the 3rd December, the day of the Basque language, we will take part in the ceremony organized by Mungia Town-Hall in Olalde in which the Lauaxeta poetry prizes will be presented and the Euskara Prize 2021 will be awarded to the Basque language enthusiasts Gentzane Ormaetxe and Edu Iriondo. Finally, we would like to encourage all our members to use Basque whenever possible, be supportive of people who are learning, buy books in Basque and support our writers (and local book-shops), and watch
ETB 1 and ETB 3 with our children-grandchildren. Many of our members were not born here but are making a special effort to learn the language so let`s all do what we can to encourage them and help Europe`s oldest language to survive. 365 days a year in Basque! It`s in our hands!
