The work Migraciones erdalduna en los pueblos euskaldunes, prepared with the research scholarship Iñaki Arrangi, has been presented today, Thursday, in the hall of events of the Plaza del Mercado —read the research work here—. The study analyzes the reflections of the erdaldunes of the municipalities of Uema on the Basque Country, and the Azpeitiarra Enara Eizagirre is one of the authors of the study. The work was carried out with Edurne Urrestarazu and Ekhi Zubiria.

The research work has been presented in the Plaza de Abastos by Eizagirre and Urrestarazu, and in it has also been present the president of Uema, Iraitz Lazkano. Lazkano has pointed out that the work of the trio is a work carried out with “academic rigor” and “accessible to the general public”, and has congratulated the authors of the study in their presentation on the work done.

The work has consisted of investigating the relationship, experiences and opinions of the Castilian and Spanish people who have arrived in the municipalities of Euskaldunes since 2005 and who are originally from outside the Basque Country, identifying their needs, limitations and possibilities with regard to the Basque country. Urrestarazu explained that the research was carried out in thirteen municipalities: In Azpeitia, Oñati, Orio, Ikaztegieta, Berastegi and Mutriku (Gipuzkoa) in Baztan, Etxarri-Aranatz and Igantzi (Navarra) and in Dima, Lekeitio, Muxika and Ondarroa (Bizkaia). According to the researcher, the choice of these peoples has been motivated by the “high knowledge and use of the Basque Country”, as well as by the “significant migratory movement” that has occurred in these peoples in recent years.

Eizagirre, Urrestarazu and Zubiria have interviewed a total of 23 people – 12 women and 7 men – four of whom are Basque and socio-linguistic experts, and the other 19 are citizens from different backgrounds such as Paraguay, Senegal, Morocco, Pakistan or Sardinia. The trio has analyzed how these people have reached these Basque municipalities, their social life, their networks of relationships, their daily life, their linguistic trajectory and their plans for the future.

“The plural reality of Castilian speakers”

The researchers have drawn some conclusions from the interviews conducted throughout the year, and Eizagirre has highlighted in the presentation some of them, such as for example that the Castilian speakers have a “plural reality”: “It is a plural reality that is behind the word Castilian speakers, also with regard to the knowledge of the Basque Country. On the other hand, linguistic competence is dynamic, and there too there is a lot of diversity. Some are learning Basque.”

In addition, the Azpeitiarra has pointed out that the relationship with the Basque Country influences more variables than the original language itself, such as the contact networks, the children, the expectations of work and the desire to stay in the village or to leave the village. In fact, Eizagirre has recognized that as these variables change, movements in attitudes and practices towards language are observed: “The relationship of newcomers with the Basque Country is very dynamic and changing when it is affected by these factors, both to get closer to the Basque country and to get away from the Basque country.”

Two awarded projects

The call for the Iñaki Arrangi scholarship has been launched with the aim of collecting concrete and viable proposals for the development of the Basque municipalities. Uema has created the scholarship, with the support of the Vice-Ministry of Linguistic Policy of the Basque Government, and in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Council and the UEU. Last year, two projects were awarded: a study to gather the reflections of the Castellanospeakers of the Basque municipalities around the Basque Country, presented today in the Plaza de Abastos, and a research on the conceptual framework, architecture and methodology for the construction of strategies for local economic development. This latest research, carried out by the Doctor of Economics and professor at the UPV/EHU, Joseba Garmendia, will be presented in January.

Here is the video of the study presentation: