A language learners’ forum

Some poems from Joxantonio Ormazabal.

esker milak
amodioaren geltokian
hartu ninduen trenari

I thank
The train that picked me up
From the station of love

ilun-ilun ez
argi gutxi bai,
zuk luzatu didazun
eskua ikusteko lain

Completely dark, no
Not much light, yes
Enough to see the hand
That you stretched out to me.

Ez eutsi,
Utzi joaten
denborari
eguzkiari
ibaiko urari.
Ez izan presarik
zoriontsu izateko
Zoriontasunaren bila
zabiltzan bitartean
ez baituzu aurkituko.

Edan ur garbia
bizitzaren iturritik.
Dastatu eguzkiaren argia
zauden lekutik.
Zoriontasuna dator
konturatu gabe zoriontsu izatetik.

Don't hold on
Let go
Time
Sun
The water of the river
Don't run
To be happy
Because while you go
Looking for happiness
You won't find it.

Drink the clear water
From the spring of life
Taste the light of the sun
From the place where you are.
Happiness comes
From being happy without realising you're happy.

Datorren urtean (eta urte honetan ere bai) euskaltegietan B2 mailara arteko ikastaroak dohain izango dira. Hegoaldeko gobernuak (nire irakaslearen arabera, behintzat) dirulaguntza samarra ematen diete iparraldeko ikastolei (Frantziako gobernuak ez dielako ezer ematen). Iparraldeko egoera ikusita argi eta garbi dago ez dela nahikoa, baina euskara Iparraldean ere sustatzeko ahalegina egiten ari dira.

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Classes in the Euskaltegis up to the B2 level will be free this coming year. The Hegoalde government (according to my teacher) gives a good amount of grant money to the ikastolas in the north (as the French government doesn't give them anything). It's obvious that it's not enough looking at the situation in the Iparralde, but they are making an effort to promote Basque in the north as well.

Thanks to the Euskara Satorra Youtube channel, I was introduced to a poem by Harkaitz Cano, called Hirugarren Mugimendua. He calls on the listener to learn 100 words in Basque.

In the poem he says something that is actually simple and obvious, but no less surprising for the speaker of an official language of a sovereign nation.

Namely, we enjoy an honour that is limited to the speakers of perhaps only a hundred or less languages in the world. The speaker of a Mexican Mayan language like Ch'ol will live and die without hearing their language used on an official basis at Tuxtla Gutiérrez International Airport, serving the state of Chiapas. What does it feel like to have your language never used in those 'decision-spaces that are linked with modernity, travel, delocalisation (literally, no-places, he says)'?

Here you can hear Harkaitz Cano read out loud as part of a performance the relevant part of the poem in this video.

Ez daukagu denak orain aukeratu beharrik
baina presa pixka bat badugu:
euskal hiztunak zulo beltzak topatzen baititu etengabe.
Bete behar dira gune horiek urgente.
Gure herrian oinez joan ahala,
inolako indarrik ez duen grabitate eremuetan
erortzen gara
Exiliatu intermitentearen fenomenoa,
sarritan gertatzen da,
nazkatu gara horretaz ere,
kasu, aireportu eta hegazkinetan,
hoteletan, administrazio kontseiluetan,
modernitatearekin, bidaiarekin, ez-lekuekin
lotutako erabaki guneetan,
sinbolikoki zein ekonomikoki garrantzitsu
diren lekuetan.

We don't need to choose all the 100 words now
But we are a bit pressed for time.
For the Basque speaker finds themselves constantly confronted with black holes
And those spaces need to be filled fast.
As we walk through our country
We fall into spaces of gravity where the speaker has no power
The phenomenon of being intermittently exiled
Happens often
And we are disgusted by that as well
For example, in airports and on planes
In hotels, in administration boards
In the decision-spaces that are linked with
Modernity, travel, delocalisation
In the places that are important
Symbolically and economically.

Euskal hiztunak badaki, adibidez,
hainbat esaldi sekula euskaraz entzun gabe hilko dela.
Kasu: “El equipaje de mano puede haberse desplazado” edo
“¿Ha consumido usted algo del minibar?” (“No, el minibar me ha
consumido a mí”). Kezkagarria da hori.
Iberiako lurreko langile batek
Loiun ekipajea pisatzean galdetuko baligu
“Aldean badaramazu maletarik batere?”
libidoa disparatuko litzaiguke,
“izan ditzagun seme-alabak orain eta hemen!”,
gurekin ezkontzeko erregutuko genioke.
Ba ote dakite Iberiako erdal hiztunek
zein ahulak eta konbentzitzen errazak garen?

The Basque speaker knows for example
That they will die without ever hearing many sentences in Basque
Like: 'Your hand luggage may have been moved' or
'Sir, have you drunk something from the minibar?' ('No, the minibar has consumed me).
This is worrying.
If a groundcrew member for Iberia Airlines were to ask us
While weighing the baggage, 'Aldean badaramazu maletarik batere?'
Our sex drive would shoot through the roof
'Have my babies right here and now!'
I wonder if foreign language speakers of Iberia Airlines know
How weak and easy to win over we are?

'Aldean badaramazu maletarik batere?' - Are you carrying any suitcase with you?

crush wrote:Datorren urtean (eta urte honetan ere bai) euskaltegietan B2 mailara arteko ikastaroak dohain izango dira.

Hala bada, aurten sartuko naiz euskaltegi batean eta ez dut hutsik egingo! Nabaritzen dut ez dudala aurre egiten nire mailarekin edota ez nahi dudan bezain azkar.

Horrela da:
https://www.naiz.eus/en/actualidad/noti ... -gipuzkoan

guyome wrote:Interesting posts, thanks! The one about Etxebarria's experience reminded me of more recent attacks on Basque language newspapers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egin_(newspaper).

Here are some bertsoak from the bertsolaria Aitor Mendiluze on 2013-12-15, collected from the town of Barakaldo, where he was competing in the 2013 Euskal Herriko Txapelketa (he finished in fourth place). Just to show how making bertsoak works. In this case with an individual format, where a moderator gives a topic to the bertsolaria and he or she has to make up the verses on the spot. The melody he sings and composes to is a conventional one 'Orain hasi bihagu' and the verse structure is also a conventional one 'Zortziko txikia', where each complete verse contains 13 syllables (there's a cesura after the seventh syllable, here marked in writing by moving to a new line). Also note the rhyming.

Puntua:
Kazetari ugari,
bada kartzeletan.

Aitor Mendiluze:
Egia kontatuta
sartu dira bertan
askatasuna aipatu
ohi da berrietan
badutela sinisten
al dugu benetan?

Theme:
Many journalists
Are in prison.

Aitor Mendiluze:
Having told the truth
They entered into jail
Mentioning the word freedom
Is common place in the news
Do we really believe
That they have freedom?

Puntua:
Idaztea bihurtzen
denean delitu

Aitor Mendiluze:
Egiarekin ezin
gintezke aritu
baina gezurrarekin
nahiz eta kunplitu
bide horrek aurrera
pauso gutxi ditu

Theme:
When writing
Becomes a crime

Aitor Mendiluze:
We could not speak
With truth
But although we complied
With lies
That way has
few steps forward

Puntua:
Zuk ematen al duzu
zure iritzia?

Aitor Mendiluze:
Inoiz ez ukatzera
nago iritsia
nahiz eta ez nagoen
denetan jantzia
benetan esateak
dauka garrantzia

Theme:
Do you always
Say what you think?

Aitor Mendiluze:
I've never been lead
To deny what I think
Though I am not informed
In all maters
To really speak
Has importance.

Thanks, nooj!
For those interested in hearing the verses, here is a link to a video of Aitor Mendiluze's performance: https://bertsoa.eus/bertsoak/10885-goiz ... -mendiluze.

(Just listening to it makes me want to go back to my copy of the Bakarka books and start studying Basque again. Hopefully soon!)

Aupa zu! Euskara zure zain egongo da prest zaudenean.

Here's something that occurred to me today. It's about the Basque word for jealousy bekaiz . More commonly found in the compound bekaizkeria, where -keria is a suffix used to create usually negative-sounding words. I suspected its etymology was begi 'eye' + gaitz 'evil', i.e. the evil eye.

And indeed, looking around now, it seems that it used to be pronounced bekaitz in the 16th century which confirms my intuition. The reduction of begi to be- is quite normal, c.f. bekain 'eyebrow' from begi 'eye' + gain 'over, above'.

Gaitz 'evil' also forms part of the Basque expression gaitz erdi 'thank goodness', which comes from gaitz 'evil' + erdi 'half', i.e. 'half bad'.

Umea bizirik atera da, gaitz erdi!
The child escaped alive, thank goodness!

While we're on philological matters, I've been collecting different ways to say hangover and also unfortunately experiencing different intensities of hangover. Here is a small list.

Heard in Donostia:

ostea 'after'
ajea 'ailment, sickness'
biharamuna 'the day after'

Heard in Azpeitia

astelehena 'Monday'

Heard in Tolosa

melakotoia 'peach'

Also I'll throw in one from where I want to go this week, the Valley of Baztan in Nafarroa:

bestondoa - from besta 'party' + ondo 'after'.

I'll see if if I can collect this word in the field, so to speak.

nooj wrote:Aupa zu! Euskara zure zain egongo da prest zaudenean.

Eskerrik asko! Hopefully it will!

The local governments of four towns in the Oarsoalde region (Errenteria, Lezo, Oiartzun and Pasaia) in Gipuzkoa have joined forces to promote the use of Basque in their towns. One initiative is this one, where inhabitants take a public commitment of some kind to use more Basque.

Here is one such person called Aintzane Toledo Lardi, who has ticked all the boxes. Unsurprisingly she studied Basque Philology and Linguistics and so can be expected to be a highly motivated social agent for promoting her language. The dream of all Basque language initiatives is to create social agents who are aware of their linguistic habits so that they can consciously change said habits.

The following list of 'I shall, I shall not' reminds me of what Foucault wrote about the act of confession, or technologies of the self that Christianity used to create a new subjectivisation of the self. When one confesses, either publicly or privately, there's the purely verbal meaning of what one is admitting 'I have sinned in such and such ways', but the ritual act itself of listing actions, thoughts and behaviours to another person has another meaning: a transformative one. Confession is meant as a practice to change the person, so that the admitting of the wrong becomes a motive to promise not to do these things in the future.

When new adult language learners are talked about in the context of minoritised languages, people who have consciously adopted a language that was not their own, the terminology used is quite undescriptive. They 'acquire' or 'learn' a language, they become 'proficient' speakers etc. I think a more interesting comparison would be religious conversion, with all the consequences that follow: creation of new social networks (friends, workplace), new places of worship (the new places to speak in said language, the piligrimages to places where the language is spoken) and new behaviours. Also notice the extra commitment to 'bring people closer to Basque'. Have you heard that phrase, 'if you want to change the world, change yourself'? Well once you have changed yourself, you can proselytise the good word...

1. Kotxean noanean euskarazko irratiak entzungo ditut
2. Kotxean noanean euskarazko abestiak entzungo ditut
3. Parrandan euskarazko musika eskatuko dut
   
4. Tabernan euskarazko musika jarriko dut
   
5. Korrikan parte hartuko dut
   
6. Abizenak euskaratuko ditut
   
7. Dendetan euskaraz eskatuko dut
   
8. Lehenengo hitza beti euskaraz egingo dut
9. Aurten libururen bat euskaraz irakurriko dut
   
10. Urtean antzerkiren bat euskaraz ikusiko dut
    
11. Nire haurrei euskarazko ipuinak irakurriko dizkiet
    
12. Mugikorrean euskarazko sistema eragilea jarriko dut
    
13. Euskarazko filmak edota euskarazko azpitituluekin ikusiko ditut
    
14. Sare sozialetan euskaraz arituko naiz
    
15. Koadrilakoekin euskaraz egingo dut
    
16. Euskarazko hedabideak kontsumitzen hasiko naiz
    
17. Euskaraz hasitako esaldiak euskaraz amaituko ditut
    
18. Atzo baino gehiago hitz egingo dut euskaraz gaur
    
19. Euskal Herriko jatetxetara noanean, karta euskaraz eskatuko dut
    
20. Ahobizi izango naiz: ulertzen dutenei euskaraz egingo diet beti, eta beraiei gaztelaniaz erantzuteko lasaitasuna transmitituko diet
    
21. Nire haurrarentzat aisialdi edota kirol jardueretan begirale euskaldunak eskatuko ditut
    
22. Finantza eragiketak euskaraz izateko eskatuko diot nire entitate finantzariari
    
23. Nire buzoian gaztelania hutsean publizitatea jasotzen dudanean, nire kexa adieraziko dut udal euskara zerbitzuan
    
24. Udalari, nirekiko komunikazio guztiak, euskaraz izateko eskaria egingo diot
    
25. Nire enpresa, komertzio edota lantokian jendaurreko idatziak euskaraz (ere) jarriko ditut
    
26. Errenta aitorpena euskaraz egingo dut
    
27. Unibertsitate eta lanbide heziketako ikasketak euskaraz egingo ditut
    
28. Euskarazko wikipedia elikatuko dut

Bestelako konpromisorik

Euskalduna naiz eta hala izan nahi dut. Orain arte bezala segiko dut nire bizitza euskaraz egiten. Horrez gain, jendea euskarara hurbiltzen saiatuko naiz. Euskaraz ulertu baina egiten ez dutenekin, gutxienez, elkarrizketa elebidunak edukiko ditut.

I will listen to the radio in Basque when I'm in the car
I will listen to songs in Basque when I'm in the car
When I'm in a party, I'll ask for Basque music to be played
I will put Basque music on in the bar
I will take part in the Korrika initiative
I will write down Basque last names in the Basque orthography (I will Basquify Basque names)
In shops, I will order in Basque
My first word to another person will always be in Basque
This year I will read a book in Basque
I will see a theatre performance this year in Basque
I will read Basque stories to my children
I will set up the operating system of my mobile phone in Basque
I will watch Basque films or with Basque subtitles
On social media, I will use Basque
With my group of friends, I will use Basque
I will start to consume Basque news media
I will finish in Basque sentences that I started in Basque
I will speak more Basque today than I did yesterday
When I go to a restaurant in the Basque Country, I will ask for a menu written in Basque
I will be an 'Ahobizi' in the Euskaraldia initiative. To those who understand Basque, I will always speak in Basque and to those who answer in Spanish, I will act in a calm manner.
I will ask for Basque speaking minders for my children in sports or recreational activities.
I will ask my bank to do my financial transactions in Basque.
When I receive publicity in my letterbox only in Spanish, I will address a complaint to the town's Basque language department.
I will ask the town hall to send all of their communication with me in Basque.
I will write all my public messages in my business, commerce or work place (also) in Basque.
I will do my tax forms in Basque.
I will do my university studies and career training in Basque.
I will feed Basque Wikipedia with content.

Other commitments:

I am a Basque speaker and I want to be as such. I will continue to live my life in Basque as I have done up until now. On top of that, I will try to bring people closer to Basque. With those who understand Basque but don't speak it, at the very least, I will have bilingual conversations with them.