Altuna has analyzed the linguistic changes of adolescents in their work. To do so, it has used a different methodology than usual. The adolescent makes them researchers and protagonists of their work. Adolescents are often talked about, but they are rarely allowed to speak.

María Castaño, Ainhoa Melero, Monika De Albiños, Elena Fonseca, Olatz Egia and Xuban Ceccon, students of the Ikastola Zurriola of San Sebastián, were in charge of investigating the adolescents. We have talked to five of them about research and language practices.

They welcomed the opportunity to be a researcher. Altuna gave them a few notebooks: “For ten days we had to write the activities carried out and in what language each one of them was doing.” It was an exercise never performed for young people, as according to their words they change "automatically" from one language to another and have never started to think about how and when these changes are made.

Egia considers that it has been a nice experience, as young people are given the voice “too little”: “We have been very grateful for Jaime’s research, because he has listened to us; many times the big people talk about us without asking us anything.” It sets an example: “No one asks us anything about LOMCE, although we are the main victims.” Truth has explained that they don’t talk about “the great people,” so they shouldn’t talk about teenagers, “at least without considering our opinion.”

Moving from language to language

The research was welcomed and conclusions were drawn. “We never speak only in one language,” they explained. “We speak very easily in both languages and switch from one language to another without realizing,” Melero explains. He thinks it's about talking to who and in what space. “I always work with some in Basque and with others always in Spanish.”

In the class they speak in Basque, in that they have all joined together. Despite the fact that leaving the corridor the Basque country “loses”. “I think it’s a matter of the body, that is, when we are in class the body asks us to speak in Basque; and when we leave class not so much,” explains Egia.

Everyone has mentioned the figure of the professor. “In class, the professor gives us the opportunity to speak in Euskera, but when the professor is not in front of us, we head faster to Spanish,” says Fonseca. However, Melero believes that the group of friends also long ago: “We in the group speak mostly in Basque, but other groups of friends play more in Spanish”.

Outside school, on weekends, for example, they work in two languages. “According to the group of friends, that is, if I go out with the colleagues of the ikastola I do more in Basque, but I am with the friends of other schools, perhaps in Spanish,” explains Egia. Castaño and Fonseca, for their part, have explained that they are the ones who speak the most in Spanish on weekends.

The language of the house is also important, although Egia has recognized that her parents are Castilian and that even if her first language is Spanish, she is easily developed and uses the Basque language.

Consumption

Today, we talk as much as face-to-face via the internet. As for Whatsapp, young people say they use the same language they use: “I speak whatsapp in the same language I speak differently to my friend.” In any case, the use of Euskera on social networks is very scarce: “On Instagram, for example, I mainly use Spanish and English,” explains De Albiños.

They think it's important to highlight what they see on television. In the opinion of De Albiños, for example, at ETB, there are hardly any offers for them: “In Euskal Telebista there are two options, or you see Doraemon or documentaries about ancient things.” The Truth agrees: “Monica is right, you see Herri People and Azpimarra or cartoons.”

They all consume television in Spanish, despite the fact that in music they have greater linguistic diversity. “I listen to music mainly in Euskera, not especially by the letter, but the music makes me more dancing,” said Egia. De Albiños explains: “When I’m happy I hear songs in Basque and when I’m sad I hear songs in Spanish.” Castaño and Fonseca, for their part, have recognized that they are the ones who listen the most in Spanish and English.

Weight of labels

The weight of labels may be higher in these ages. The young people interviewed explained that people from other centers call them “euskalduneros” because they speak in Basque, although with them they speak in Spanish. “We’re often told that we’re moving with Altus brand clothes and bush boots, but it’s not true.”

After the study, they have stated that for a while they were "more aware" of linguistic changes, but that they have already been forgotten: “When the theme comes up, we remember it again, but in daily life language changes are very internalized.”

Altuna considers that they did a very serious job in the research and that they also drew interesting conclusions.

“We’ve realized that they often do research about us from the outside, and not about us,” Egia explains. In addition, after the study we have been told that they are more “aware” of linguistic trends: “We’ve realized that we speak in one language or another depending on the person and place.”

However, everyone is clear that they never speak in one language: “We always mix at least two languages, even in the same phrase,” explains Egia. De Albiños explains: “It’s hard for me to do translations of Euskera into Spanish and vice versa, so I echo it as it comes out”. Thus, the six young researchers of Zurriola Ikastola speak “how it comes out and the body”.