Basque language "normalization" and its difficulties

[Harold Schiffman]

Saturday, August 9
Basque language "normalization" and its difficulties

Arantxa Etxebarri writes today in Gara an essay named Eight wrong
ideas on Basque language normalization. It is a long article but it is
also quite interesting, so I'll try to summarize her ideas, the eight
wrong concepts and why they seem to be wrong, here:

1. The real problem of Basque language is that those who know it speak
it rarely. The reality is that it is too common that Basque speakers
(all bilingual, with the odd elderly rural exception) cannot use the
national language, either in the public services or in daily life. Out
of almost 3 million Basques only 700,000 are fluent in Basque language
and the rest are very likely to consciously or unconsciously impose
their language.

But stats indicate that the Basque speaker tends to use Basque
language as much as they can. The problem is that there are way too
many monolinguals (Spanish or French monolinguals with little
knowledge of Basque) and that each time one of them gets in any social
circle the language is switched for courtesy or mere need of
communication.

2. Linguistic policies are dependant on the social and political
consensus and of free will. Etxebarri claims that, even at risk of
being politically incorrect, this cannot be the case; that the
survival and normalization of the Basque language demands a policy
with capital letters; that there are linguistic rights that cannot be
negotiated. The Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights states that
everybody has the right to get information in their native tongue,
that means that everything, including product tags must be in Basque
language, not on voluntary basis but by law. Nobody has done anything
to guarantee that right. Neither product tags, nor publicity, nor
instruction manuals, nor movies offer have seen significatively
increase their offer in Basque language on voluntary grounds in the
last 25 years.

3. The advance of Basque language in the last years has been a
success. Etxebarri says that way too much has been left undone, that
administrations systematically vulnerate the rights of
Basque-speakers, that such an important institution as the public
health service Osakidetza (Western Basque Country only) has been left
without a language normalization process until four years ago. She
says that if this would have been done early on, when it was being
formed, the situation would be much different.

She directly attacks right-wing "nationalist" politician Azkuna,
current mayor of Bilbao and previously director of Osakidetza for this
wrongdoing. But she also denounces that under his rule, Bilbao, the
largest Basque city, lacks of translation of the municipal ordinances
to the Basque language. Unbelievable!

4. The legal frame that regulates lingusitic normalization is the
appropiate one. No private institution is legally bound to guarantee
any service in Basque language. Neither companies nor religious sects
are obligued to provide their services in Basque at all (they must do
in Spanish though) and therefore all complaints in this regard are
dismissed.

Etxebarri demands a POLICY with capital letters in this regard, so the
rights of Basque speakers are protected properly.

5. Basque language must be normalized basically on public grants. She
claims that rules must be at least parallel to them, that voluntarism
is not enough. That without clear specific rules, the linguistic
rights are not guaranteed even by the public institution dedicated to
Basque language, Elebide.

6. Basque language can be normalized without defined deadlines,
progressively. Etxebarri protests that "progressively" means nothing
and that this term is used as excuse for going slowly, much more
slowly that it is possible. She claims that clear deadlines and goals,
both final and intermediate, must be defined in order to measure the
success or failure of the actual policies.

7. The demand of knowledge of Basque language in the public
administration is discriminatory. Etxebarri states that it is exactly
the opposite, that the lack of that demand discriminates against
Basque speakers, forcing them to change to Spanish.

There is an apaprent conflict between labor rights and linguistic
rights but apparently this conflict is always solved against the
latter. Some labor unions work hard to make sure that the demand of
knowledge of Basque language for public servants is kept at minimal
levels, that way they assure that their affiliates, who mostly don't
speak Basque and have no interest in learning it, are not
"discriminated".

She says: I cannot speak German, I admit it, and, if the German
goverment doesn't hire me for that reason, they are not discriminating
against me, they are just informing me that I cannot attend their
citizens with minimal guarantees.

In other words: speaking Basque fluently should be a requirement for
Basque public servants.

8. The increase in knowledge of the language assures its
normalization. The great bet in this aspect has been the younger
generations, as many adults have considered themselves (because of
Fascist persecution) a lost generation. The result is that the social
and laboral spaces has not seen any major increase in the use of
Basque language. Etxebarri suggests that the only way to achieve this
normalization is by bringing the Basque language back to these social
spaces, making easier to Basque speakers to live their lives in the
old language. This, she insists, cannot be done by mere voluntarism
but by serious policies.

She concludes that, in spite of the inistitutional marketing, living
in Basque language is still a pain, full of obstacles an unsurmontable
difficulties.

...

As for me, I can only say that I agree with her: that the recovery of
the ancient language can only be achieved by political means. We
certainly need our own sovereignity in order to be able to create laws
independently of France and Spain, which have different interests and
objectives, but we also need a political class that is not shy and
reluctant of making clear advances towards the recovery of Basque
language and the defense of linguistic rights.

-- http://leherensuge.blogspot.com/2008/08/basque-language-normalization-and-its.html
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