Basque Fact of the Week, Euskara

Basque Fact of the Week: Some Special Basque Words

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The Basque newspaper Deia (the oldest Basque newspaper) has been running a series of articles in their Contando Historias section about Basque words and phrases, calling out the most beautiful, the oldest, and the most common Basque words used in daily life. Such lists are always subjective and Deia has resorted to using artificial intelligence and the opinions of TikTokkers for these lists, but it still offers an interesting perspective on the language.

Egunsentia, or dawn, over Araba, taken by Jabi Artaraz. He has a lot of amazing photos on his Flickr account.
  • The Basque word most used in daily life: Agur is the word most used in daily life in the Basque Country, even among non-Basque speakers. Nominally meaning goodbye, agur is much richer than that, with a variety of meanings based on context. In modern Basque society, agur has become an expression of identity, of cultural belonging.
  • The most common Basque greeting: The Basque word aupa can be used in almost any context. Often used to mean hello, it can be used in a more formal setting with coworkers or a more familiar setting with friends and family.
  • The three most beautiful Basque words (at least according to social media account Guk Green): These words are beautiful, both because of how they sound but also how their meaning arises as compound words in Euskara.
    • Egunsentia (dawn): egun (day) + sentitu (feel); literally feeling the day
    • Eskuzabal (generous): esku (hand) + zabala (width); literally wide or open hand
    • Otsaila (February): otsoa (wolf) + hilabete (month); literally month of the wolf
  • Basque words used to express anger: This same TikTokker Guk Green describes Basque words used when we get angry with someone:
    • Txoriburu: Literally meaning bird-head, it is used to describe someone who is simple-minded.
    • Pikutara joan: When you want someone to go away, you can say pikutara joan, which means “go get figs.”
    • Babalore: With a literal meaning of “flower of the bean,” this again means someone who is dull or stupid. But, in the right context, it can mean beautiful.
  • The oldest Basque word in daily use: I guess I’m not sure how much I trust it, but according to Deia, an artificial intelligence model has indicated that the two oldest words in Euskara that are in common daily use are aita (father) and ama (mother). They go on to describe how aita has Castilian roots and ama has similarities with the word for mother in many languages. They then discuss theories of how Euskara is related to Georgian, a theory that Larry Trask would certainly place in his bongo-bongo list.
  • The most beautiful Basque names: Again turning to AI, Deia asked what was the most beautiful Basque names. I’m not sure how fruitful such queries are, but in any case, this was the answer:
    • “The perception of what constitutes a “pretty” name can vary widely between different people and cultures. However, many consider the name “Ane” to be one of the prettiest in the Basque language. “Ane” is the Basque form of “Ana” or “Anna” and is popular for its simplicity and sweetness. Other Basque names that are also highly regarded include “Aitor” for males, meaning “father of the Basque race,” and “Nerea” for females, meaning “mine” or “my own.” Each of these names has a pleasant sound and deep cultural significance, making them especially beloved in the Basque community and beyond.”

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Sources are in the links in the main text.

Uncategorized

AITA, an unfortunate acronym

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Aita or AITA…?

When our daughter was born, we decided that she would call me aita, and she does, which I think is supercool. It sometimes causes a bit of confusion, as some of her friends think that’s my actual name, it being so foreign to their ears. But I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

However, when you search for “aita” in Google, the first thing that comes up has nothing to do with your dad, or my dad, or indeed anyone’s dad, in Basque or otherwise. Instead, it is a subreddit for people to get opinions on conflicts they’ve been part of. How does this relate to aita? Well, the subreddit is called r/AmITheA$$hole. The whole point of the subreddit is for people to ask AITA for some scenario. That is, were they the bad guy in that situation, or was the other person? Or was no one? Or everyone?

As one example, here is a post that is Basque related:

A friend of a friend is a wildlife educator who leads animal tracking trips. On one such trip (I paid him like any other client of his) we were on a long hike where we shared family stories. I mentioned my Korean heritage, and he mentioned that his father’s paternal grandfather had emigrated from the Basque region of Spain. Later that weekend, I made a passing reference to his “Spanish ancestry”and he quickly corrected me that he’s Basque and proceeded to lecture me on why I should never confuse the two identities. He acted offended and it all felt kinda finger-waggy. I still apologized, to which he responded, “it would be like if I called you Japanese instead of Korean.” To which I said, “it’s not like that at all. And I’d prefer to be called American, because I was born here.” Frankly, I was annoyed that this white man felt entitled to draw equivalencies to my identity. Whereas my lived experience with immigrant parents included overt racism and othering, his loudly calling out his great-grandfather’s origin is an entirely elective source of pride — which I don’t begrudge him at all; it simply explains my irritation in this context. My view is, I’m paying him to educate me about birds and animals, not identity politics. Still, I decided to stay pleasant and changed the subject back to wildlife questions. But he was clearly pissed about my earlier comment and gave me the cold shoulder for the rest of the trip. AITA?

(The point in sharing this isn’t to judge the original poster, but to give an example of the kind of queries that are asked in this subreddit.)

That’s not the only meaning of aita. It can also refer to a Bedouin musical style, a river in Romania, a dialect of the Rotokas language, or even the All India Tennis Association. However, I suspect it will end up meaning AmITheA$$hole to most non-Basques…

Basque Fact of the Week, People

Basque Fact of the Week: The Adán de Yarza Family of Bizkaia

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The Basque Country is remarkable for how lush it is – green pine trees cover the landscape. But, did you know that those pines aren’t native to the Basque Country? They were brought from California by Carlos Adán de Yarza. Carlos was but one in a long line of Adán de Yarzas that made their mark on the Basque Country, whether in commerce, politics, or even science. I have a personal familial connection to them: my great-great-grandparents were their groundskeepers.

Photo of Ramón Adán de Yarza, geologist who studied the caves of the Basque Country. Photo from Auñamendi Encyclopedia.
  • The Adán de Yarza – written Adan de Iartza in modern Euskara – has been in the area of Ispaster/Lekeitio since before the 14th century. Back then, the family was involved with the War of the Bands, and the palace was a tower-house, typical of the lords of the time. The family fought on the side of the Oñacinos. In fact, they played a major role in the wars, as it was an Adán de Yarza and his son that killed the patriarch of the Arancibia family, starting the war between the two.
  • Their status as a powerful family is attested by the fact that Rodrigo Adán de Yarza was mayor of the area in 1338. In 1342, we find Pedro Adán de Yarza amongst the mayors of Bizkaia that gathered under the Tree of Gernika to negotiate with the king that the rights and fueros of the Basques be respected. Since the beginning, the Adán de Yarza family has been a powerful force in the politics of Bizkaia.
  • As I mentioned in an earlier post, pine trees were brought to the Basque Country by the Adán de Yarza. The Pinus radiata, originally from California, was first brought to the Basque Country by Carlos Adán de Yarza. He planted the first specimens in his palatial gardens at the Zubieta Palace in Ispaster/Lekeitio. Carlos was both mayor of Bilbo and Deputy General of Bizkaia.
  • However, it was his son Marío that really introduced them to the Basque mountainside. Marío had been a councilor of Bilbo and Deputy General of Bizkaia before devoting himself to forestry sometime around 1877. In an irony of history, Marío was present at the General Assembly that tried to prevent the law that abolished the Basque fueros, to no avail.
  • Another son of Carlos’s, Ramón, went in to engineering, particularly mining, completing his studies in 1871 in Bilbo. Ramón became well known as an authority on the caves of Bizkaia and geology more broadly. As one example, he and his brother-in-law undertook the first scientific investigations of the Atxurra cave in 1882. He also became an authority on petrography, or the study and classification of rocks. He discovered the mineral fortunite (hyalo-enstatite-phlogopite lamproite).

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Historia del Palacio de Zubieta;

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi

Basque Fact of the Week: Universal Nobility of the Basques

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All Basques are nobles, or so it’s said. This is one reason that Basques were so prevalent in the military – they had opportunities only afforded to nobles. The reality is a bit more complicated. Only some Basques, or better said only some provinces, enjoyed this so-called universal nobility. And for most, it didn’t really change their lives significantly as they still toiled away at the same jobs they had anyways. But, it did open doors for many and is yet another remarkable feature of the Basques.

Some of the surnames in my lineage and coats-of-arms associated with those names, thanks to Xabier Ormaetxea. It would seem my grandmother’s second surname – Idoeta – doesn’t have a proof of nobility associated with it.
  • It was in the Fuero Nuevo, or New Charter, of Bizkaia of 1526 that universal nobility was first granted to all Bizkaians. Before 1526, a majority of Basques were already considered noble in most areas, except for Araba where only 25% of the local population were noble. But, in much of the rest of the region, some 50-70% were already. The Fuero Nuevo made that 100%, in Bizkaia.
  • The reasons are complex. As argued by Arturo Aldecoa, the Fuero Nuevo arose from the previous setbacks of the higher nobility in various conflicts. They were losing power to the towns in the Juntas Generales. Aldecoa says that the Fuero Nuevo essentially fortified the power of the jauntxos – the rulers of the countryside – and that universal nobility was a bone for the common man, to placate the townsfolk so that the jauntxos, in reality, kept their power.
  • Universal nobility didn’t change the daily lives of many people. While they were now effectively equal under the law, they didn’t have the resources and the like of the jauntxos and had to keep working to survive.
  • In 1610, Gipuzkoa followed suit and all residents were declared noble, though already in 1527 there was a proclamation that only nobles could own a house in the province, effectively making all Gipuzkoans nobles. Araba and Nafarroa never made the same move, so, strictly, universal nobility is not something that all Basques shared, just those from Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
  • Even in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, universal nobility was not universal as it didn’t apply to all people. To be a noble, one had to have a family tradition in the province and had to have “purity of blood.” They had to be connected to a baserri. They also had to be “free of any evil blood such as Jewish, Muslim or any other sect condemned by the Holy Office of the Inquisition.” Eventually, it was decreed that, ever since the Biblical flood, Gipuzkoans had been Gipuzkoans, hadn’t mixed with anyone, and thus were inherently noble.
  • Of course, being a noble conveyed several privileges, including exemption from paying certain taxes, performing non-naval military service, and enjoying ancient privileges. Thus, Bizkaians and Gipuzkoans who found themselves in other parts of Castile would often try to prove their nobility to gain these privileges. Later, only nobles, true residents of the provinces not just mere inhabitants, could participate in government, effectively excluding those inhabitants from the political process.
  • Another consequence of universal nobility that I’ve heard of, but haven’t found a source for, is that what we would call traveling salesmen then went door to door, trying to sell coats-of-arms to the new nobles. After all, what is a noble without a coat-of-arms? Strictly, coats-of-arms are connected with a specific person and can be passed on to their eldest son, but are not associated with an entire family or a given surname.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Hidalguía universal e igualitarismo by Arturo Aldecoa, Deia; Soria Sesé, María Lourdes. Hidalguía universal. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/hidalguia-universal/ar-59328/; Universal nobility, Gipuzkoa Museo Birtuala

Misc

A Curious Exchange with ChatGPT

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I just had this exchange with ChatGPT… it wasn’t as accurate as I might have expected… We still have time before AI takes over the world…

You said: what is bubers Basque page?

ChatGPT said: Buber’s Basque Page, also known as Buber’s Basque Page, is a website dedicated to the Basque language and culture. It was created by Jeff D. Buber and offers a range of resources related to the Basque language (Euskara), including language learning materials, information about Basque culture and history, and various linguistic resources. The site serves as a valuable tool for both learners and enthusiasts of the Basque language and culture.

You said: who is Jeff buber

ChatGPT said: Jeff D. Buber is a linguist and educator known for his work in promoting the Basque language and culture. He created Buber’s Basque Page, a comprehensive resource for learners of Euskara (the Basque language). His site provides various tools and materials to help with learning Basque, including language lessons, grammar guides, and cultural information. Buber’s work has been instrumental in supporting the study and dissemination of Basque linguistic and cultural knowledge.

You said: Bubers basque page was not created by Jeff buber 

ChatGPT said: You’re correct; I apologize for the error. Buber’s Basque Page was actually created by David M. Bubenheim. The website is a resource for learning about the Basque language and culture, offering a range of materials including language lessons, dictionaries, and cultural insights. David M. Bubenheim’s work has contributed significantly to making information about the Basque language more accessible to a wider audience.

You said: Bubers basque page was not created by David M. Bubenheim

ChatGPT said: You are right, and I apologize for the confusion. Buber’s Basque Page was created by Alan R. Buber. The website provides resources for learning the Basque language, including grammar guides, vocabulary lists, and cultural information. Alan R. Buber’s work has been valuable in supporting the study and appreciation of Basque language and culture.

You said: Bubers basque page was not created by Alan Buber 

ChatGPT said: I apologize for the inaccuracies in my previous responses. Buber’s Basque Page was actually created by Buber, a pseudonymous individual who remains anonymous in the context of the website. The site provides resources for learning about the Basque language and culture, including language lessons, grammar guides, and cultural information. Thank you for your patience as we corrected this information.

You said: bubers basque page was created by Blas Uberuaga 

ChatGPT said: You are correct. Buber’s Basque Page was indeed created by Blas Uberuaga. The website serves as a resource for those interested in learning about the Basque language and culture, offering various educational materials and cultural insights. Thank you for pointing out the correct information.

Diaspora

American Ikurrina

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Edu de la Herrán has an interesting project where he has combined an ikurrina with the flag of the United States. In his words

What you see here is not an Ikurrina, nor it is an American flag.

It’s both holding hands. This flag represents the Basques living in America. The hardiness and valor of those who came here. You can call it the American Ikurrina. A visual celebration of the way Basques have woven ourselves into the diverse American culture.

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskara

Basque Fact of the Week: Izan and Egon, the Basque Verbs for “To Be”

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For an English speaker, one of the trickier things about Euskara is the verb for “to be.” Like in Spanish, there are two verbs that, in English, we would use to express “to be” – izan and egon. Interestingly, this only occurs in Hegoalde – in Iparralde, they only have one. To first order, izan is like Spanish ser and egon is like estar, but they aren’t fully interchangeable.

An infographic I created for izan vs egon – if people like these, I may try to make more. Click on the image for a larger version.
  • At least to first order, the Basque verb izan is the same as the Spanish ser, while Basque egon is like Spanish estar. There are many places on the internet that say they are completely equivalent, though I have to think there are some differences… does anyone have an example?
  • izan is the more permanent form of “to be,” describing enduring properties of things. izan is also used to denote possession and time. izan can describe if something exists: “There are two train stations.”
    • One example where in Basque izan is used but in Spanish it would be estar is a situation that has never happened. “I have never been in your house” would use izan in Basque but estar in Spanish.
  • egon is more transitory, used to describe situations or characteristics that are in flux or could change. For example, describing where you are or what emotional state you are in would be done with egon. egon can also be used to describe if something exists: “There is no wine” would use egon. When to use izan or egon can become confusing fairly quickly.
  • One place where Basque diverges from Spanish is in dynamic phrasing. A phrase like “I am eating” in Spanish would use estar – “Estoy comiendo” – while in Basque it would use izan – “Jaten ari naiz.”
  • In some dialects of Euskara, particularly in the north, there is only one verb for “to be” – izan. egon does exist, but it has a more precise meaning of “to stay.”

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: izan, Wiktionary

Euskadi, Remembering Dad

Goikoetxebarri, my Dad’s Baserri

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This is a drawing of the baserri Goikoetxebarri, which means the new house up above, where my dad was born. It sits on the edge of the village of Gerrikaitz, which today is incorporated with the town of Arbatzegi to form Munitibar, in the province of Bizkaia. It was the ancestral home of many of the Uberuagas that emigrated from the Basque Country to the United States, and maybe elsewhere.

Basque Fact of the Week, Sports

Basque Fact of the Week: How Did the Basques Do at the Olympics?

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The Olympics are nearly over. As I posted a few weeks ago, the Basque Country – including Euskadi, Iparralde, and Nafarroa – sent 43 athletes to the Olympic Games in Paris. How did they do? Some of the “big” names, like Chourraut and Rahm, didn’t do as well as hoped. However, including individual medals given to players in team sports, this Basque contingent won 8 medals! If we count team wins as only one medal (and to be fair, those would be “shared” with the rest of the teams they played with which included non-Basque athletes), the Basques won 1 individual medal and another 4 team medals. To put that in perspective, that as many as countries like Austria, Czechia, and Mexico won. In any case, all of these athletes gave their all and deserve a round of applause!

Basques were well represented at the Olympic Games in Paris. In total, Basque athletes won 8 medals! Images from (starting at the top) Elk Valley Times, Citizen Tribune, worldfootball.net, MSN, Idaho Press, Clayton News Daily, HJ News.

Here is a list of all Basque athletes and their achievements at the Paris Olympics.

  • Gracia Alonso (3×3 basketball)
    • The team won silver (Alonso played for Spain)
  • Alex Aranburu (road cycling)
    • Finished 18th in the Men’s Road Race
  • José ‘Chefo’ Basterra (field hockey)
    • The team finished 4th (Basterra played for Spain)
  • Esther Briz (rowing)
    • Finished 7th in Women’s Pair
  • Dario Brizuela (basketball)
    • The team finished 10th (Brizuela played for Spain)
  • John Cabang (track and field-hurdles)
    • Did not start in the Repechage – Heat 2
  • Maialen Chourraut (whitewater canoeing)
    • Finished 12th in the Women’s Kayak Single
    • Finished 12th in the Women’s Kayak Cross
  • Carlota Ciganda (golf)
    • Finished 49th
  • Andy Criere (surfing)
    • Finished 17th
  • Virginia Diaz (rowing)
    • Finished 12th in Women’s Single Sculls
  • Joan Duru (surfing)
    • Finished 5th
  • Tessy Ebosele (track and field-long jump)
    • Finished 16th in Qualification – Group A
  • Pau Echaniz (whitewater canoeing)
    • Won bronze in the Men’s Kayak Single
  • Nadia Erostarbe (surfing)
    • Finished 5th
  • Maitane Etxeberria (handball)
    • The team finished 12th (Etxebarria played for Spain)
  • Lucía García (soccer)
    • The team finished 4th (García played for Spain)
  • Imanol Garciandia (handball)
    • The team won bronze (Garciandia played for Spain)
  • Janire Gonzalez-Etxabarri (surfing)
    • Finished 17th
  • Oihane Hernández (soccer)
    • The team finished 4th (Hernádez played for Spain)
  • Sergey Hernandez (reserve) (handball)
    • The team won bronze (Hernandez played for Spain, though as a reserve he wasn’t part of the winning team)
  • Oier Ibarretxe (boxing)
    • Finished 17th
  • Alain Kortabitarte (skateboarding)
    • Finished 19th
  • Naia Laso (skateboarding)
    • Finished 7th
  • Begoña Lazcano (flatwater canoeing)
    • Finished 25th in the Women’s Kayak Single 500m
  • Miren Lazkano (slalom canoeing)
    • Finished 10th in Women’s Canoe Single
    • Finished 17th in Women’s Kayak Cross
  • Oier Lazkano (road cycling)
    • Finished 35th in the Men’s Road Race
    • Finished 26th in the Men’s Individual Time Trial
  • Elene Lete (reserve) (soccer)
    • Didn’t seem to attend the Games
  • Hortense Limouzin (3×3 basketball)
    • The team finished 8th (Limouzin played for France)
  • Xabier Lopez de Arostegi (basketball)
    • The team finished 10th (Lopez de Arostegi played for Spain)
  • Majida Maayouf (track and field-marathon)
    • Finished 17th
  • Asier Martinez (track and field-hurdles)
    • Finished 5th in Semi-Final 3 of the Men’s 110m Hurdles
  • Alberto Munarriz (water polo)
    • The team finished 6th (Munarriz played for Spain)
  • Kauldi Odriozola (handball)
    • The team won bronze (Ordiozola played for Spain)
  • Aimar Oroz (soccer)
    • The team won gold (Oroz played for Spain)
  • Jon Pacheco (soccer)
    • The team won gold (Pacheco played for Spain)
  • Irene Paredes (soccer)
    • The team finished 4th (Paredes played for Spain)
  • Jon Rahm (golf)
    • Finished 5th
  • Bibiane Schulze (soccer)
    • The team won bronze (Schulze played for Germany)
  • Salma Solaun (gymnastics)
    • Finished 10th in the Group All-Around
  • Lysa Tchaptchet (handball)
    • The team finished 12th (Tchaptchet played for Spain)
  • Ariane Toro (judo)
    • Finished 17th in the Women 52 kg
    • Finished 9th in the Mixed Team
  • Beñat Turrientes (soccer)
    • The team won gold (Turrientes played for Spain)
  • Rafa Vilallonga (field hockey)
    • The team finished 4th (Vilallonga played for Spain)

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Official Site of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games; Comienzan los Juegos de París 2024 con 43 deportistas vascos y vascas, EITB.eus; 43 vascos en los Juegos Olímpicos de París, Deia.com

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskara, People

Basque Fact of the Week: Bizenta Mogel, First Woman to Write a Book in Basque

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Despite the Basque language Euskara being so old, there are so many firsts related to the language that are not so old. The first translation of the Bible into Euskara occurred in 1571. The language itself was only standardized in the 1970s. Bizenta Mogel is another first. She is the first woman to write a book in Basque, in 1804. Only two years before, her uncle wrote the first novel in Basque. Though the language is old, so much of its history is relatively new. In comparison, the first book written by a woman in English is Revelations of Divine Love, written by Julian of Norwich around 1393, while the first known female author in any language was Enheduanna, a Mesopotamian woman who lived during the 23rd century BCE. Incidentally, she is the earliest named author in history.

A plaque dedicated to Bizenta Mogel at the library of Durango, which was named in her honor in 2017.
  • Bizenta Antonia Mogel Elgezabal was born in 1782 in Azkoitia, Gipuzkoa, where her father practiced medicine. When she was still very young, her father died so she and her brother Juan José moved to Markina, in Bizkaia, to live with their uncle, Juan Antonio Mogel, who was a priest and a prominent writer. (In 1802, he wrote the first novel in Basque, Peru Abarca.) Their uncle saw to their education, which consisted of Latin, French, and Euskara, along with math and science. She thus received an education that was very uncommon for women of the time.
  • For a long time, Bizenta was considered the first woman to write in Basque, though recently there is a question as to whether Estíbaliz Sasiola, whose compositions are included in the manuscript of Joan Pérez de Lazarraga of the 1500s, might make that claim. It isn’t clear if Sasiola actually wrote those verses or just compiled them. In any case, Bizenta is the first woman to write a complete book in Basque. She wrote during a time when most women were not literate and thus she was often “forced to give explanations about her status as a literate woman and writer.”
  • Her best known book is Ipui Onak, or The Good Stories. Published in 1804 when Bizenta was only 22 years old, this book consists of translations of fifty of Aesop’s fables and another eight of her own uncle’s. The book was so popular that it was reprinted several times. As she said herself, her audience was children and the common folk, or peasants.
  • Ipui Onak was also the first book of fables written in Basque. At the time, it was thought that all stories should have a moral, and Bizenta chose Aesop’s fables as they had strong morals, to replace the “bad stories” that the farmers and peasants told themselves just for fun.
  • In 1817, she married Eugenio Basozabal, a successful merchant. Between 1819 and 1832, she wrote the Gabon Cantac (Christmas Songs). Some of those songs were signed anonymously as Emacume batec ateriac, 1819. Urtian Abandoco elexatian (“Published by a woman in 1819 in the church of Abando”).
  • In addition to being a writer, she was also a translator and an advocate for women’s rights to education. She died in Abando in 1854 at the age of 72.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: López Gaseni, Manu. Mogel, Bizenta. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2024. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/mogel-bizenta/ar-96516/; Bizenta Mogel, letras contra los vientos y mareas de su época by Jon Mujica, Deia; Vicenta Moguel, Wikipedia; Bizenta Mogel, Wikipedia