I have in my hands the Gara of 18 July. The heading reads as follows: “Cities not only endure but also lay the foundations for the Basque Country to rise” I have received a lot of attention. That is not the perception I have, but, well, I am nothing more than an ordinary vasophile of a cowardly people… what do I have to know!
Curiosity has led me to look for information: It appears that the presence of Euskera in the street began to be measured in 1989, and in 2006 the highest level was measured (13.7%); after declining in the next ten years (2006-2016), the 2021 measurement indicates that the 2016 data has been maintained, that is, that there has been a decrease. Gaitzerdi… From the capital to the capital, in San Sebastian the use is in little more than 15%, since 2011.
Bilbao was the highest in 2001 (4.6%), lowest in 2016 (2.5%) and 3.5% in 2021. In Pamplona since 1997 “stable”, 3% cannot be reached. Baiona 2.5% (below the Spanish usage). In Vitoria-Gasteiz the use of Euskera in the street has returned to the levels of 2006: 4.1%. It's not data to start playing the Txistu, in my modest opinion, even in the capital of the CAV.
“We are laying a very solid foundation for the survival of the Basque Country and to allow some growth… The efforts we are making have brought that recovery, unlike other places” I read in a press to an expert, and among me, what is it that says “to revive”?
In the same interview, another expert: “It’s been invented so far and we’re going to do it now. One point of disgrace is that we have nowhere to look. Catalonia is not a model for us.” For it seems to me that it has been invented in some areas, and in others not, if it is not daring: Has it been invented in EiTB management? In the audiovisual field in general? On Internet networks? In the digital sphere? In the linguistic models of Vocational Training? In linguistic policy with the world of work?... Furthermore, I think it is appropriate to point out what he has done: the administrations, the parties, the Basque cultural activity of popular initiative and other actors have and follow very different, often contradictory behaviors.
I was surprised at the mention of Catalonia. Why is it not an example for us? Because we depend on the same States and on the same legislation! For us, Catalonia should be a model, I believe, in many aspects related to language. Bilbao is then considered an “example of invisible power.” To me, however, it seems to me to be an example of invisible linguistic policy (in favour of the Basque Country). Every time I go to visit I find myself more and more Castilian speaking, the Basque is barely seen, nor heard in the signs of ads of bars, restaurants and shops in general, while the Spanish and English in any place, instead of ours. It does not seem that the City Council of Bilbao is looking at the Basques, or it conceals perfectly, if not. Has Bilbao “invented”?
And later on, "Children and young people, in addition, depend largely on adult society. When a young man who has studied in Euskera throughout his life is going to work, he meets a world that is mostly Castilian and parasitic,” said one of the experts. He is absolutely right, but also before going to work, the Basque offer is null in most activities of television, radio, mobile content, internet networks, books, comics and other leisure activities. In Spanish (and more and more in English) there are endless possibilities of enjoyment. On the other hand, in Basque…
More general conditions, “In education, prestige, legal rank, officialdom, main media... The language must be broken at institutional and formal levels. Social media also has a lot of weight in our lives and you have to integrate into them,” they are decisive. Use should be made on a daily basis, provided that the minimum requirements are met.
The formal and legal factors, the media, the offer of leisure, etc., that is, all those in the hands of the authorities, also condition the use made of friendships. I do not think that in recent years the authorities of the CAV are being invented, and, as the experts have said, only wood comes from the authorities of Navarra and Iparralde (France). If there are no radical changes, I don’t see the basis for optimism… But what do I have to know!