On November 18, the “Euskaraldia” began, an initiative that aims to promote the use of Euskera among Basque speakers and non-Basque speakers for two weeks. Although I believe that this initiative has shortcomings in some contexts and there is no better veneer than “Good morning!”, I would say that Euskaldia is useful and that the objective is often misunderstood.

First of all, I would like to respond to those who in recent days “Eukaraldia is a provisional issue” or with similar statements question the effectiveness of Euskaraldia.

Even if you are right, I think you have misunderstood the aim of the initiative, because the key is there: having a point issue makes it easier than “Euskaldunizar habitually”. That is, I excuse those who want to Euskaldunize to speak in Basque or to ask them to speak in Basque.

And no, although Euskaldunization does not take place in two weeks, it is an impulse to start that process, which must then be followed.

For this reason, I question its usefulness for the “Euskaldunzaharras” and “traditional speakers”. And no, I do not mean those who speak “Basque and Spanish 50/50”, those who “speak Basque*”, nor do I mean those who have just studied Basque or are learning Basque. I refer to the Basques that we speak Euskera in daily and naturally, and I question their influence in these contexts. And that is, for those of us who usually speak in Euskera without a veneer, I do not see the utility of Euskaraldia. On the contrary, the usual Basque speakers are useful for Euskaraldia, because we are for Euskera, that is, because we help the new Basque speakers and listeners to introduce Euskera in daily life, if we speak Basque, of course.

But we will do this on November 18 or April 18. Having said that, I am in this last group. Although I prefer to speak in Basque in the option and speak in Basque in a normal way, I often speak in Spanish with friends who understand it. Although when I realize the situation I begin to speak in Basque, for these situations Euskaraldia is not worth it. There are many Basques in this situation, and putting a veneer does not protect us from these situations, because we know that the other understands or knows how to speak in Basque and yet it is imposed on Spanish.

And when I leave in Basque, the grammar in Spanish and the influence of the dictionary is great. The calcos of the erdal grammar or the erroneous calcos of the dictionary are present in my Basque country, and to improve them Euskaraldia is worth little, because it serves to promote the use of the Basque country, and although to some extent it serves to improve the quality of the Basque country, by overcoming this barrier it does not serve.

In short, although Euskaraldia is an effective initiative, it is often misunderstood and criticized. The objective is another, according to the organizers of Euskaraldia: “it’s a massive social exercise to change oral language habits among speakers who understand Basque.” That is, to spread the Basque language, not to go deeper.