Basque is a language spoken in Basque country and beyond within the Basque diaspora. Most native speakers exist in the Spanish side of the Basque Country, though some also exist on the French side. Across all territories, it is a language with very small numbers when compared to others; as of 2016, there were only 750,000 speakers of Basque worldwide, many of whom are not fully fluent speakers.
The following facts are some of the most interesting details and numbers about Basque as a language. Learning them is a good way to help keep the language alive!
1. Of the 750,000 speakers, only a few are unilingual speakers
6,000 people speak Basque as their only language. Meanwhile, 434,000 are passive speakers who have native-like understanding due to exposure in their youth, but don’t have full command of the language. The rest are bi- or multi-lingual people.
2. As well as Standardized Basque, there are five historical dialects.
In Spanish provinces, these are Biscayan, Gipuzkoan, and Upper Navarrese. In French provinces, you can find Navarrese-Lapurdian and Souletin. Standard Basque is called Euskara Batua and was created for every Basque speaker to understand each other.
3. Like Korean, Basque is a language isolate
Although it is surrounded by Romance languages, it does not belong to any other linguistic group.
4. Over 40% of Basque words are loan words from Romance languages
This includes Spanish, French, and others. This happened due to the location of the Basque Country and the later reconstruction of the language from Proto-Basque.
5. Even in the Basque Autonomous Region, most people don’t speak Basque
Only around 30% are fluent, while around 20% are passive speakers and just over half can’t speak Basque. These numbers are generally on the rise.
6. In Basque Country, Basque is used as the language of commerce
This is also the case in areas where Basque people have immigrated over the years.
7. Spanish has actually borrowed many words from Basque
It borrows words directly, changes them to fit, and also borrows from Proto-Basque
8. Proper nouns and names have different declensions depending on how a person is referred to by the speaker.
For example, let’s use a person named Danel. With Danel would be rendered as Danelekin, to Danel would be Danelengana, and Danelen is of Danel.
9. There are six personal pronouns in Basque
The following are these pronouns in base, indefinite, relative, reciprocal, and reflexive form.
| Pronoun | English Equivalent | Person Referred |
| Ni | I | Self |
| Zu | You | Second person |
| He | Hura / Bera | Male third person |
| She | Ura / Bera | Female third person |
| We | Gu | Self-plural |
| They | Haiek | Third person plural |
| Pronoun | English Equivalent | Person Referred |
| Me | Me | Self |
| Duzu | You | Second person |
| Him | Zuen | Male third person |
| Her | Bere | Female third person |
| Us | Gurekin | Self-plural |
| Them | Horiek | Third person plural |
| Pronoun | English Equivalent | Person Referred |
| Nirea | Mine | Self |
| Zurea | Yours | Second person |
| His | Berea | Male third person |
| Hers | Berea | Female third person |
| Ours | Gurea | Self-plural |
| Theirs | Haiena | Third person plural |
10. Several hypotheses exist to relate Basque to other languages
Some of the commonly included languages in these theories include: Pre-Roman Ligurian, Ancient Iberian, Old Vasconic languages, Georgian, Northeast Caucasian languages, Dené-Caucasian languages, and Indo-European languages.
11. Erromintxela or Basque Caló, is a mixed Romani-Basque language
The speakers of this are descendants of the Kalderash Roma people who entered Basque Country from France.
12. The Basque language has 27 letters and a few letter variants used in foreign words.
All of these letters and their pronunciations are listed below. The second column refers to a word in English with the equivalent sound.
| Letter | Basque name | Pronunciation | IPA pronunciation |
| A | a | Similar to trap | /a/ |
| B | be | Similar to ball or volley | /b/ or /β/ |
| C | ze | Skate or seat | /k/ or /s/ |
| Ç | ze hautsia | Only used in Spanish loanwords like Curaçao | /s/ |
| D | de | That or dog | /d/ or /ð/ |
| E | e | Wet | /e/ |
| F | efe | Foot | /f/ |
| G | ge | Gab | /ɡ/ or /ɣ̞/ |
| H | Hatxe | Deux or ham | /∅/ or /ɦ/ |
| I | i | See | /i/ or /i̭/ |
| J | jota | Loch or yawn or gyno or similar to gold | /j/ or /x/ or /ʝ/ or /ɟ/ |
| K | ka | King | /k/ |
| L | ele | Lick | /l/ |
| M | eme | Mate | /m/ |
| N | ene | Night | /n/ |
| Ñ | eñe | Lanyard | /ɲ/ |
| O | o | Row | /o/ |
| P | pe | Pin | /p/ |
| Q | ku | Unique | /k/ |
| R | erre | Rule or burr | /r/ or /ɾ/ |
| S | ese | Hiss | /s/ |
| T | te | Start | /t/ |
| U | u | Too or do | /u/ or /u̯/ |
| V | uve | Similar to ball or volley | /b/ or /β/ |
| W | uve bikoitza | Who | /u/ |
| X | ixa | Shore | /ʃ/ |
| Y | i grekoa | Yell or leave | /i/ or /i̭/ or /j/ |
| Z | zeta | Tames | /s̻/ |
Of these, six (C, Ç, Q, V, W, and Y) are not a part of traditional Basque, but adapted in for loan words and foreign words. H is mostly silent except in some dialects.
13. Basque also has seven diagraphs
Diagraphs are when combination letters make a single sound, such as the English ch (chin), th (thick) and others.
In Basque, these are:
| Diagraph | IPA | Example word |
| DD | /ɟ/ | Similar to gold |
| LL | /ʎ/ | Billiards |
| RR | /r/ | Rudder |
| TS | /t͡s̺/ | Similar to cats |
| TT | /c/ | Racket |
| TX | /t͡ʃ/ | Church |
| TZ | /t͡s̻/ | Similar to tzatziki |
14. The Basque linguistic diaspora spreads over continents
Some of the most relevant major Basque communities include:
Europe: United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, previous countries of the Soviet Union including Russia.
South America: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Uruguay
North America: Canada, Mexico, United States of America, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, Cuba
Asia: The Philippines
15. The Basque name for the language is Euskara.
The territory itself is Euskadi.
Final Thoughts
Basque and the Basque Country as a whole are a small but important cultural part of the world. With languages and cultures dying out and forgotten, it’s very important to learn more about these marginalized nations and peoples and dedicate ourselves to keep them alive for future generations.