Way back in 1991, in between my sophomore and junior years at the University of Idaho, I took a year off to study both Basque and Spanish in the Basque Country through the program offered by the University Studies Abroad Consortium — USAC. I was more interested in Basque, but both my dad and my […]
Paul Etxeberri alerted me to the .eus campaign to create a Top Level Domain for the Basque Country. From puntueus.org, the website promoting this effort: “An endangered language will progress if its speakers can make use of electronic technology” David Crystal [ Cambridge University, 2004 ] “languages without social prestige will disappear” Amadeu Abril i […]
Buber’s Basque Page has been silent a while, as I’ve had work travel and of course Jaialdi (which I hope to write about soon) during the last couple of months. That said, I’d like to break the silence with a new series, entitled “Nor Naiz, Gu Gara”, roughly translated as “Who I Am, We Are.” […]
1407: Pedro II López de Ayala, politician and writer born in Vitoria, dies in Calahorra. He originally supported Pedro of Castille in his claim to the throne before switching sides to support the pretender to the throne, Henry of Trastamara. He fought with Henry at the Battle of Najera (Navarette) in 1367 and was captured […]
At the time of its closing, in 2003, Egunkaria was the only daily newspaper published solely in Euskara. It had been in operation for 13 years. In 2003, however, Spanish authorities raided the offices of Egunkaria, confiscating computers and equipment, and arresting many of the leading figures of the newspaper. The charges were association with […]
Mikel Morris, an American with dual US/Spanish nationality living in Zarautz, Spain, has written the definitive Basque-English dictionary and is currently working on the Morris Magnum which promises to be the largest bilingual Basque dictionary in existence. In the first part of this interview, Mikel shared his thoughts and hard-hitting observations on the status of […]
My Euskara is very poor. I have a basic understanding of the grammar, but my vocabulary is very limited and I don’t have the declensions nor the conjugation of the verbs in my head. Even so, I’d like to pass what little I can on to my daughter, to at least give her an exposure […]
