The use of Euskera has decreased significantly even in the Basque people and have called for measures
- According to the report published by UEMA, the biggest loss occurred in the most Basque countries, from 81% of domestic use to 59% in thirty years. Municipalities outside UEMA have improved the socio-linguistic situation of the Basque Country. In presenting the data, the examiners have called for structural measures to ensure that the situation does not worsen.
In recent decades, the Basque municipalities have suffered a significant loss of knowledge of the Basque Country in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, with an even greater decrease in its use. The Commonwealth of Basque Municipalities (UEMA) published on Wednesday the report containing these data and expressed concern about the danger of the disappearance of the localities in which the Basque country breathes. Knowledge is reduced, domestic use is reduced and the percentage of first language Basque is reduced.
In the Basque localities, knowledge has remained around 73% since 1991, but domestic use has decreased from 54% to 41%. It is further aggravated in respiratory areas, where knowledge has decreased considerably, from 81% to 59%. That is, more and more Euskaldunes about 30 years ago, the greater the loss of knowledge and domestic use.
Last May, the Cluster of Sociolinguistics published data on the use of Euskera in the street, highlighting the decrease in the most Euskaldunes.
The UEMA considers them Basque when more than 70% of the population dominates the Basque country. It also establishes another level, the respiratory zone of the Basque Country:It consists of people with knowledge above 80%. They have analyzed the sociolinguistic situation of the Basque Country in 2021, and for this purpose it has been based on the Population and Housing Census of Eustat. Therefore, these data are limited to CAPV. Compared to 1991.
Basque is also the first language
The first language rate has followed the same trend. The Basque population has less and less Basque as the first language. According to the report published by UEMA on Wednesday, the change in the socio-linguistic situation of the Basque Country is due, on the one hand, to the fact that the Basque people live more Castilian than before, who do not know Euskera, and, on the other, to the change in the linguistic and social customs of the Basques.
On the contrary, in the least Basque countries, knowledge and use have grown in recent years. Thus, 70% of the population dominates the Basque country, so they are considered Euskaldunes:They are 129, slightly more than half of the Basque municipalities. The populations that have experienced a rise are located in Álava, Western Bizkaia and in the vicinity of San Sebastian.
In line with these data, Iraitz Lazkano, president of UEMA, considers that the conclusion is clear: that the respiratory systems of the Basque Country are "fragile", so it cannot be relaxed. Lazkano considers it essential to establish structural measures and to adopt sound language policies covering all areas.
I think it will have to do with the hangover of the profession, but I have to acknowledge that I look at the linguistic landscape of the places I visit. Signs that stick on the walls, hanging from streetlights, billboards, and supports that appear in shops or companies (signs,... [+]
