It happens to most of us often, even though we live in towns where Basque is widely spoken: the substitute doctor at our clinic asks us to speak in Spanish (the regular doctor speaks Basque, but is on sick leave); the police officer who stops us at a traffic checkpoint demands that we speak Spanish; the South American who is now working in place of the Basque-speaking waiter in a bar does not understand us when we ask for a white coffee (kafesnea)… Those of us who want to live through Basque, who have made a conscious choice in favour of Basque, often suffer these and other situations. This is not just a problem affecting people who live in cities or areas with a low density of Basque speakers, because in Basque-speaking areas (even where the Basque language is predominantly hegemonic) we suffer from the same problem. We want to live through the Basque language, and we cannot.
In the Basque Country, there are many monolingual Spanish speakers, but there are no monolingual Basque speakers. Therefore, Basque speakers often hesitate between speaking Basque or Spanish when they meet someone new. When this happens repeatedly, it creates stress ,something that Spanish speakers do not experience. Needless to say, linguistic stress is greater when Basques have a clear preference for Basque and prioritise the use of their language. That is why many Basque speakers always say the first word in Spanish to avoid linguistic stress, or immediately switch to Spanish when they hear ‘I don’t understand Basque.’ The same thing happens to Basques under French rule, in that case with regard to French.
As a result of centuries of repression and colonisation, we Basques have become accustomed to always obeying Spanish speakers, and we have learned to speak Basque only in safe spaces. In other words, we will only use our language when we are sure that we will be understood. It is difficult to guess what lies behind this capitulation to Spanish speakers: whether it is the submissive attitude we have adopted as an oppressed nation, or a defence mechanism to avoid linguistic stress. The result, in any case, is the same: giving up our language and adopting correct linguistic behaviour (from the oppressor’s point of view, of course).
The Basque Wikipedia defines linguistic stress as follows: “In the field of sociolinguistics, linguistic stress refers to the tension experienced by bilingual speakers who wish to use a minority language.” After hearing “No te entiendo, háblame en español” (“I don’t understand you, speak to me in Spanish”) or “je ne comprends pas, parlez-moi en français” several times, Basques who are not linguistically aware become discouraged and prefer not to hear the same thing again because it makes them uncomfortable. Therefore, they decide to play it safe with a stranger and consequently start the conversation in Spanish (or French, in the Northern Basque Country).
Needless to say, we Basques experience much more linguistic stress than Catalans or Galicians, because the linguistic distance between Basque and Spanish is enormous. In fact, linguistic stress increases considerably when our interlocutor does not understand us at all, and when bilingual conversations are impossible. Almost the entire Galician and Catalan populations understand their languages, although many do not speak them. In Catalonia, for example, the initiative “Mantinc el català” has been launched to encourage Catalans to speak Catalan always and everywhere, even if the person they are talking to does not. In other words, the aim is for Catalan speakers to speak Catalan consistently. In the Basque Country, it would be impossible to launch a similar initiative, because for many Spanish speakers our language is as incomprehensible as Russian.
Is ours the only case of linguistic stress? No. Speakers of other European minority languages with similar linguistic characteristics also suffer the same linguistic stress as we Basques do. In Europe, this occurs in Wales, South Tyrol and Flanders, among other places. In fact, the indigenous languages of these countries, although official, are very different from the main languages of their states (i.e. Welsh and English are very different; German and Italian are also very different; and Dutch is very different from French). The three nations mentioned have intercomprehension problems like us, which creates linguistic tension.
South Tyrol is an autonomous German-speaking region under Italian rule. German is the language of most of its inhabitants, but around 28% of the population speaks Italian and does not understand German. This is particularly true in the capital, Bozen (Bolzano in Italian). Although both German and Italian are official languages, many German speakers cannot live in their own language because Italians do not understand German. This, as in the Basque Country, creates linguistic stress and linguistic conflict.
South Tyrolean psychologist Tobias Holbling is well aware of the linguistic situation in his country. As he tells NAZIOGINTZA, although public employees in his country are required to know both official languages, this is often not the case, and German speakers have to speak Italian to enable dialogue. This is particularly true in the healthcare sector, because many of its doctors go to work in Austria (where working conditions are better) and, conversely, doctors who do not know German move from Italy to South Tyrol. In local commerce and in the private sphere, the situation is worse, because no one is required to know both languages. To avoid linguistic stress, most German speakers, like the Basques, speak Italian when their interlocutor asks them to.
Holbling tells us that a few years ago, the Office of Languages and Civil Rights was created — a public government institution to collect reports of violations of linguistic rights. Despite receiving 134 complaints in the last four years, this institution has never imposed fines on violators of linguistic rights, which calls into question its effectiveness.(https://www.rainews.it/tgr/tagesschau/articoli/2024/05/zweisprachigkeitsverletzungen-werden-nie-bestraft-1ae286af-c6f7-4c4d-bf2a-65ca1f69cc22.html)
Although viewed from the Basque Country Flanders enjoys a privileged linguistic situation, the Flemish have difficulty using their language in Brussels (and in some towns around Brussels). Bernard Daelemans, a Dutch teacher in Brussels, is very familiar with the situation in the Flemish capital. “Although Brussels is a French-speaking city,” he tells us, “a quarter of the population also speaks Dutch. Unfortunately, most Brussels residents do not understand Dutch very well. As a result, it is very common here for Flemish people to be unable to speak Dutch, even if they want to.” Brussels is the only bilingual area in Belgium, as the state is divided into two monolingual areas (plus a small German-speaking area).
Daelemans tells us some things that are very familiar to us Basques:
- “Sometimes in Brussels, when I speak Dutch, people look at me as if I were an alien.”
- “Public servants in Brussels must respond in Dutch if someone asks them to, but this is often not enforced.”
- “The linguistic situation in Brussels hospitals is deplorable. Almost no doctors know Dutch. I have witnessed terrible situations where children and elderly people, who are almost monolingual, have a very hard time. If someone insists on being treated in Dutch, they are called all sorts of names: fanatic, racist or fascist. In a vulnerable situation such as that experienced by people in hospital, in the end everyone gives up and speaks French (if they know it).”
- “I have been radical in my linguistic practice, but I must admit that linguistic stress exhausts me. And I don’t ask for too much — just that they understand me, that they don’t make me change languages. Now I am more practical: in Brussels, I mainly go to places and shops where they will serve me in my language.”
- “Forty years ago, the language conflict here was more intense than it is now. Today, the conflict has lost intensity and many Flemish people, tired of the struggle, have adopted a more pragmatic attitude. And there are quite a few Flemish people who never come to Brussels, precisely to avoid the linguistic stress.”
The linguistic situation in Wales and the Basque Country, as we have often said, is very similar. The linguistic distance between Welsh and English is, moreover, as great as that between Basque and Spanish, which works against Welsh because most English speakers living in Wales do not understand Welsh. “Although Welsh is the dominant language in north-west Wales, there are also problems living through Welsh there,” Rhys Tudur, a Welsh solicitor and member of the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, tells NAZIOGINTZA. In Wales, it is also common, even in the most Welsh-speaking areas, for people to want to speak Welsh but be unable to do so. This occurs both in public services and in the private sphere, such as commerce. Although Welsh is an official language, there is no guarantee that Welsh speakers will be attended to in their own language in public services.
And just as in the Basque Country, the linguistic distance between Welsh and English, which belong to different language families, does not facilitate bilingual conversations. The result: as in the Basque Country or South Tyrol, Welsh speakers almost always switch languages when talking to others because, as Tudur tells us, not switching causes unnecessary delays and inconvenience. Another thing is the linguistic attitude of the Welsh solicitor: living in a very Welsh-speaking region, he always speaks Welsh at public meetings and institutional assemblies.
Since we share the same problem, the Welsh, Flemish, South Tyroleans and Basques agree that we should draw up a protocol to combat linguistic stress — so that we don’t always have to give in when our interlocutor doesn’t understand us and tells us to change languages, and so that we can use our language without creating an embarrassing situation. Because it is unfair that those who don’t understand us should transfer their linguistic problem onto us. If we want to live through Basque in our nation, it is urgent that we find a solution to this issue. Any ideas?
