The Basque language

There are four recognized languages in Spain. They are Spanish, Catalonian, Galician and Basque. The Basque language is the only one without Romanesque roots. It is spoken in the Spanish-French border area. Around 800,000 people speak Basque. Basque is considered the oldest language in Europe. But the origin of this language is still unknown. Therefore, Basque remains a riddle for linguists today. Basque is also the only isolated language in Europe. That is to say, it isn't genetically related to any other language. Its geographical situation could be the reason for this. The Basque people have always lived in isolation due to the mountains and coasts. In this way, the language survived even after the invasion of the Indo-Europeans. The term Basques goes back to the Latin vascones. The Basques call themselves Euskaldunak, or speakers of Basque. That shows how much they identify with their language Euskara. Euskara has been passed down primarily orally for centuries. Therefore, there are only a few written sources. The language is still not completely standardized. Most Basques are bi- or multi-lingual. But they also maintain the Basque language. Because the Basque region is an autonomous region. That facilitates language policy processes and cultural programs. Children can choose between a Basque or a Spanish education. There are also various typically Basque types of sports. So the culture and language of the Basques appear to have a future. Incidentally, the whole world knows one Basque word. It is the last name of ‘El Che’ – … yes, that's right, Guevara!

Guess the language!

The Spanish language is counted among the most-spoken world languages. Thus it is worth it to take a Spanish course and learn Spanish as a foreign language! It is widely used in regions far away from where it originated. Spanish spread to the New World through the conquering of America. It is the dominant language in Central and South America! Presently about 338 million people speak Spanish as their native language worldwide. Of these, approximately 45 million live in the USA alone. Spanish is spoken in Mexico as well as in Spain.

Furthermore, Spanish is the native language in a large part of Central and South America. Likewise, Brazil's 200 million people understand Spanish very well. The linguistic proximity to Portuguese is quite large. Incidentally, Spanish is counted among the Romance languages. The language originated from the spoken Latin of the Late Antiquity. Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian also belong to the Romance language family. Many words are similar to each other in these languages and therefore easier to learn. You can find everything worth knowing about the language at the institute of Spanish culture called Instituto Cervantes.