From now on, Euskaldunes who speak in Basque will be people who develop well in two or three languages. Often, those who develop better in Spanish than in Euskera. They will do so in Basque, but not necessarily as in the time of monolingual Euskaldunes, but because they want it. Unless things change.

Many of us, not all of course, will prefer to speak in Basque with two options, because we want to. Perhaps not all of us would express this desire or feeling in the same way, as there could be very different impulses: ideological, cultural, of comfort…

I'm not discovering anything, and that reader knows everything. I suspect, however, that many do not smell this obvious matter for us. That is, we want to speak in Basque because we feel better, it is not a whim. Despite the small and small conflicts generated by the support of the Basque Country on many occasions, we want to do so in Euskera, precisely because in one or the other we do not feel the same.

Do we try, for example, to explain to the Castilian speakers that inner feeling? I remember a specific and usual situation and I shall refer to it: seven Euskaldunes + one erdaldun = eight erdaldun. For the only erdaldun not to feel bad or uncomfortable, we feel bad, desperate, in Spanish with those who always speak Basque with us, in a strange sense between ridicule and impatience.

Because we are not used to linking the use of language with emotions and feelings, as we will complete the discourse on the Basque language with formal and ideological contents, sometimes I think we are missing an opportunity to activate the empathy of the Castilian speakers. We can do it in Basque, of course, and it seems to me that we have to do it in this octet situation. And we can do that without giving explanations to anyone, we too have the right to act normally.

But perhaps we could more easily overcome the complexes and impediments of speaking in Euskera in those situations if we see the resistance of our neighbours falling – I am referring to the Castilian speakers of our environment – and I believe that it is a weapon that we do not use enough to express our feelings from time to time. Of course, when you deserve it, it's not always the case! When you deserve it, then explain it, talk and, from there, stay quiet.