(38-40) If you visit Spain, you will hear people
speaking Spanish most of the time. But if you go
north to the Basque Country, you will also hear
a language that is only spoken there: Euskara.
Nobody knows when people began to speak
Euskara, but one thing is for sure: It was already in
Europe before any other language arrived.
Although Euskara has been around for
thousands of years, it experienced its worst time in the 1990s, when it almost died out. From
1939 to 1975, when Spain was in Francisco Franco’s hands, everyone had to use Spanish
only. Under this rule, people who were heard speaking other languages would be stopped
by the police. And the police were always around, so the Basque people were afraid to
speak Euskara in any public places. They felt that even the walls were listening. Over time,
the Basque people spoke Euskara less and less, and some families even stopped teaching
their children the language. To save Euskara, some people set up language schools to teach
Euskara. Because of their hard work, Euskara was not “killed” but lived on long after
Franco died.
Although Euskara is heard and seen across the Basque Country today, Spanish is still
more commonly used in Spain. However, many people who know Euskara still choose to
speak Spanish in public places. For this reason, some people have started to worry again
about the future of Euskara. How long can it live?