The latest research by the Cluster of Sociolinguistics has shown that the use of Euskera in the street remains stable, and has underlined the need for a “deep recovery” to get out of it and revitalize the language. In other words, “adaptations” and “innovations” must be applied, among other things, in the linguistic policies and in the actions of the institutions and cultural movements of the Basque Country.

The use of Euskera in the streets has been measured since 1989, and the final result is that it has barely changed from 2016 to 2021: one in eight people speaks Basque (12.6%). By far, Gipuzkoa is the territory that has heard the most interviews in Basque (30.6%), followed by Bizkaia (9.4%), and in the other countries it is the same: Navarre 5.9%, Northern Basque Country 4.9% and Álava 4.8%. According to the trend of recent years, use has decreased in the Northern Basque Country

However, the report highlights that in the most Euskaldunes the use of Euskera has decreased. “We must follow carefully the changes that occur in these municipalities in the factors that affect the life force of the language,” they warn. In fact, these areas are strategic for the revitalization of the Basque Country, as “the Basque Country is transmitted, reproduced and fed naturally”. On the contrary, in the most Castilian and Spanish zones there is an upward trend in street use, and in those places where Euskera was not heard before, an upward trend has been observed.

Gender and age

The research has taken into account variables such as the age of the interlocutors and gender. In fact, they value positively that the “Basque Country has been rejuvenated”, with the younger age groups being the ones who listen the most and the older the ones who least. In minority languages, it is common for only the elderly to speak in that language.

Regarding gender, they conclude that women speak more in Basque than men, except in the case of the elderly. The authors of the report indicate that the relationship between the use of Euskera and gender roles needs to be further analyzed, since in recent years women have seen a leading role in the revitalization of the language and in the initiatives related to it.

Over 200,000 interviews

In 1989, the use of Euskera in the street began to be measured. In 2021 they observed colloquia from 145 countries, with a total of 215,396 interviews and 603,497 interlocutors. Since they began to be measured, the use of Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Álava has increased, but the use of Iparralde has decreased. In Navarre, on the contrary, the use of Euskera in the street has been uneven.