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103-597: The ikurrina flag (in Basque ) or ikurriña ( Spanish spelling of the Basque term) is a Basque symbol and the official flag of the Basque Country Autonomous Community of Spain. This flag consists of a white cross over a green saltire on a red field. The name is a neologism by Luis and Sabino Arana , from ikur 'mark, sign' (itself a neologism extracted from irakurri 'to read'), comparable to

206-840: A Basque radio/TV station . These and only some of the powers acknowledge in the Gernika Statute have since 1980 been transferred to the Autonomous Community by the Cortes Generales under the Gernika Statute . The seats of the Basque Parliament and Government are in Vitoria-Gasteiz , so this is the capital city de facto , but the Basque Autonomous Community has no capital de jure . The Parliament

309-582: A large majority of that Parliament in January 2005. Since the first autonomic cabinet, the Basque Nationalist Party has held office in the Basque Autonomous Community except for a 2009–2012 term, led by Patxi López (PSE-PSOE). The current Basque prime minister is Iñigo Urkullu , also a member of the Basque Nationalist Party . Despite ETA 's ceasefire in 2011, this autonomous community shows

412-400: A limited area ( Gascony and Old Castile ) that corresponds almost exactly to areas where heavy Basque bilingualism is assumed, and as a result has been widely postulated (and equally strongly disputed). Substrate theories are often difficult to prove (especially in the case of phonetically plausible changes like /f/ to /h/ ). As a result, although many arguments have been made on both sides,

515-604: A modest comeback. In the Spanish part, Basque-language schools for children and Basque-teaching centres for adults have brought the language to areas such as western Enkarterri and the Ribera del Ebro in southern Navarre, where it is not known to ever have been widely spoken; and in the French Basque Country, these schools and centres have almost stopped the decline of the language. Historically, Latin or Romance languages have been

618-508: A percentage slightly higher than the EU average (10.8%), but still ahead of the Spanish overall unemployment rate of around 16.55%, the second highest in the EU. Unemployment rate (December data) (%) In regards to GDP performance, 2017 was a remarkably positive year for the Basque Autonomous Community. It underwent an increase in GDP of 3.0%, close to the Spanish increase, 3.1%. In the last term of 2013,

721-780: A population of 2,634,800 over 16 years of age (1,838,800 in the Autonomous community, 546,000 in Navarre and 250,000 in the Northern Basque Country), 806,000 spoke Basque, which amounted to 30.6% of the population. Compared to the 1991 figures, this represents an overall increase of 266,000, from 539,110 speakers 30 years previously (430,000 in the BAC , 40,110 in FCN , and 69,000 in the Northern provinces). This number has tended to increase, as in all regions

824-590: A significant step towards the legalization of the flag. The Basque flag was legalised again in 1977 during the Spanish transition to democracy . Two years later, the Basque Government adopted it as the flag of the Basque autonomous community . It is also used as an unofficial flag for some sectors of Basque society in other provinces. Basque language France Basque ( / ˈ b æ s k , ˈ b ɑː s k / ; euskara [eus̺ˈkaɾa] )

927-411: A sole mother tongue has decreased from 19% in 1991 to 15.1% in 2016, while Basque and another language being used as mother language increased from 3% to 5.4% in the same time period. General public attitude towards efforts to promote the Basque language have also been more positive, with the share of people against these efforts falling from 20.9% in 1991 to 16% in 2016. In 2021, the study found that in

1030-572: Is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country , a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque is classified as a language isolate (unrelated to any other known languages) and the only language isolate in Europe. The Basques are indigenous to and primarily inhabit the Basque Country. The Basque language

1133-403: Is about 1200 mm. The middle section is influenced more by the continental climate , but with a varying degree of the northern oceanic climate. This gives warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The Ebro valley has a pure continental climate: winters are cold and dry and summers very warm and dry, with precipitation peaking in spring and autumn. Due to the proximity to the ocean however,

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1236-434: Is challenging since written material and documentation only is available for some few hundred years. Almost all hypotheses concerning the origin of Basque are controversial, and the suggested evidence is not generally accepted by mainstream linguists. Some of these hypothetical connections are: The region where Basque is spoken has become smaller over centuries, especially at the northern, southern, and eastern borders. Nothing

1339-602: Is composed of 25 representatives from each of the three provinces. The Basque Parliament elects the Lehendakari (President of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country) who forms a government following regular parliamentary procedures. Until 2020, except for the 2009–2012 period, all Lehendakaris (even those in 1937 and during the exile) have been members of the Basque Nationalist Party (Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea) (moderate and Christian-Democrat ) since 1978. Since 1982 until

1442-438: Is distinguished from atso "old woman". In the westernmost parts of the Basque country, only the apical ⟨s⟩ and the alveolar affricate ⟨tz⟩ are used. Basque also features postalveolar sibilants ( /ʃ/ , written ⟨x⟩ , and /tʃ/ , written ⟨tx⟩ ). Basque Country (autonomous community) The Basque Country was granted the status of nationality , attributed by

1545-565: Is ethnically Basque. The Basque Government used the " Laurak Bat ", which included the arms of Navarre, as its symbol for many years. The Navarrese Government protested, and tribunals ruled in their favour. The Basque Government replaced it with an empty red field. Navarre is one of the historical Basque territories and even claimed by the Basque nationalists as the core of the Basque nation. There are also two enclaves surrounded by Basque territory— Treviño (Basque: Trebiñu ) and Valle de Villaverde (Basque: Villaverde-Turtzioz )—which belong to

1648-566: Is generally referred to as Aquitanian and is assumed to have been spoken in the area before the Roman Republic 's conquests in the western Pyrenees . Some authors even argue for late Basquisation , that the language moved westward during Late Antiquity after the fall of the Western Roman Empire into the northern part of Hispania into what is now the Basque Country . Roman neglect of this area allowed Aquitanian to survive while

1751-679: Is known about the limits of this region in ancient times, but on the basis of toponyms and epigraphs, it seems that in the beginning of the Common Era it stretched to the river Garonne in the north (including the south-western part of present-day France); at least to the Val d'Aran in the east (now a Gascon -speaking part of Catalonia ), including lands on both sides of the Pyrenees ; the southern and western boundaries are not clear at all. The Reconquista temporarily counteracted this contracting tendency when

1854-489: Is known of its origins, but it is likely that an early form of the Basque language was present in and around the area of modern Basque Country before the arrival of the Indo-European languages in western Europe during the 3rd millennium BC. Authors such as Miguel de Unamuno and Louis Lucien Bonaparte have noted that the words for "knife" ( aizto ), "axe" ( aizkora ), and "hoe" ( aitzur ) appear to derive from

1957-559: Is no official capital in the autonomous community, but the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz , in the province of Álava, is the de facto capital as the location of the Basque Parliament , the headquarters of the Basque Government , and the residence of the President of the Basque Autonomous Community (the Palace of Ajuria Enea ). The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country has its headquarters in

2060-630: Is one strong loanword candidate, ezker , long considered the source of the Pyrenean and Iberian Romance words for "left (side)" ( izquierdo , esquerdo , esquerre ). The lack of initial /r/ in Gascon could arguably be due to a Basque influence but this issue is under-researched. The other most commonly claimed substrate influences: The first two features are common, widespread developments in many Romance (and non-Romance) languages. The change of /f/ to /h/ occurred historically only in

2163-505: Is spoken by 806,000 Basques in all territories. Of these, 93.7% (756,000) are in the Spanish area of the Basque Country and the remaining 6.3% (50,000) are in the French portion. Native speakers live in a contiguous area that includes parts of four Spanish provinces and the three "ancient provinces" in France. Gipuzkoa , most of Biscay , a few municipalities on the northern border of Álava and

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2266-515: Is widely known as Greater Bilbao . With 28.2% of the Basque Country population born outside this region, immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most of this immigration came from other parts of Spain, typically from Galicia or Castile and León . Over recent years, sizeable numbers of this population have returned to their birthplaces and most immigration to the Basque country now comes from abroad, chiefly from South America. As of 2018, there were 151,519 foreigners in

2369-482: The 2012 Basque parliamentary election , the PNV obtained a plurality of the votes, followed by the left-wing nationalist coalition EH Bildu ( Eusko Alkartasuna , Sortu , Alternatiba ). In 2016 the Basque regional election was held on 25 September to elect the 11th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, which left a hung parliament , with the combination of Basque nationalist parties (PNV and EH Bildu ) representing

2472-655: The Algonquian peoples in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Strait of Belle Isle . The Basque language features five vowels: /a/ , /e/ , /i/ , /o/ and /u/ (the same that are found in Spanish , Asturian and Aragonese ). In the Zuberoan dialect, extra phonemes are featured: There is no distinctive vowel length in Basque, although vowels can be lengthened for emphasis. The mid vowels /e/ and /o/ are raised before nasal consonants. Basque has an a-Elision Rule, according to which

2575-555: The Asturian Xíriga . Part of the Romani community in the Basque Country speaks Erromintxela , which is a rare mixed language , with a Kalderash Romani vocabulary and Basque grammar. A number of Basque-based or Basque-influenced pidgins have existed. In the 16th century, Basque sailors used a Basque–Icelandic pidgin in their contacts with Iceland. The Algonquian–Basque pidgin arose from contact between Basque whalers and

2678-523: The Ecofin , with a full membership, in order to defend Basque interests in line with Basque reality and fiscal status, and not as a Spanish subsidiary. The strategic geographical location of the Basque Country as a link between the northwest and centre of Spain and the rest of Europe makes this territory heavily transited. The main backbones of road transport are the AP-8 motorway which links Bilbao, San Sebastián and

2781-463: The European Union and 30% higher than Spain's average in 2016 at €34,400. In 2019, the community showed a surplus in public finances, at 0.3% of the GDP. Industrial activities were traditionally centred on steel and shipbuilding, mainly due to the rich iron ore resources found during the 19th century around Bilbao. The Estuary of Bilbao was the centre of Euskadi's Industrial Revolution during

2884-636: The French Basque Country , Basque was still spoken in all the territory except in Bayonne and some villages around, and including some bordering towns in Béarn . In the 20th century, however, the rise of Basque nationalism spurred increased interest in the language as a sign of ethnic identity, and with the establishment of autonomous governments in the Southern Basque Country , it has recently made

2987-635: The Iberian and Tartessian languages became extinct. Through the long contact with Romance languages, Basque adopted a sizeable number of Romance words. Initially the source was Latin, later Gascon (a branch of Occitan ) in the north-east, Navarro-Aragonese in the south-east and Spanish in the south-west. Since 1968, Basque has been immersed in a revitalisation process, facing formidable obstacles. However, significant progress has been made in numerous areas. Six main factors have been identified to explain its relative success: While those six factors influenced

3090-521: The Latin script is used for the Basque alphabet . In Basque, the name of the language is officially euskara (alongside various dialect forms). In French, the language is normally called basque , though euskara has become common in recent times. Spanish has a greater variety of names for the language. Today, it is most commonly referred to as vasco , lengua vasca , or euskera . Both terms, vasco and basque , are inherited from

3193-480: The Provincias Vascongadas since 1833 . The political structure of the new autonomous community is defined in the Gernika Statute , which was approved by a majority in a referendum held on 25 October 1979. Nowadays it is one of the most decentralised regions in the world; in this regard it has been described as having " more autonomy than just about any other in Europe " by The Economist . As regards

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3296-512: The Spanish Constitution of 1978 . The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country , a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Southern Basque Country . Parallelly, Navarre , which narrowly rejected a joint statute of autonomy in 1932, was granted a separate chartered statute in 1982. Currently there

3399-557: The Spanish language is the official language of the nation, but allows autonomous communities to provide a co-official language status for the other languages of Spain . Consequently, the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Autonomous Community establishes Basque as the co-official language of the autonomous community. The Statute of Navarre establishes Spanish as the official language of Navarre, but grants co-official status to

3502-587: The Union Jack , the flag was designed by the founders of the Basque Nationalist Party EAJ-PNV, Luis and Sabino Arana , and is commonly regarded as the national but unofficial symbol of the Basque Country ( Euskal Herria ). It is widely seen in the French Basque Country and forms part of the unofficial flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , the French overseas community in North America that

3605-634: The Urdaibai estuary and the Bidasoa-Txingudi Bay that forms the border with France. Between the two mountain ranges, the area is occupied mainly by a high plateau called Llanada Alavesa (the Álava Plains), where the capital Vitoria-Gasteiz is located. The rivers flow south from the mountains to the Ebro River. The main rivers are the Zadorra River and Bayas River . From the southern mountains to

3708-445: The voiceless apicoalveolar fricative [s̺] is written ⟨s⟩ ; the tip of the tongue points toward the upper teeth and friction occurs at the tip (apex). For example, zu "you" (singular, respectful) is distinguished from su "fire". The affricate counterparts are written ⟨tz⟩ and ⟨ts⟩ . So, etzi "the day after tomorrow" is distinguished from etsi "to give up"; atzo "yesterday"

3811-464: The "NO" vote in this referendum was also higher in the Basque Country than in the rest of the state. All in all, many Basques believe that they are not bound to a constitution that they never endorsed. The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country is an organic law but powers have been devolved gradually during decades according to re-negotiations between the Spanish and the consecutive Basque regional governments to reach an effective implementation, while

3914-462: The 14th century when a law passed in Huesca in 1349 stated that Item nuyl corridor nonsia usado que faga mercadería ninguna que compre nin venda entre ningunas personas, faulando en algaravia nin en abraych nin en basquenç : et qui lo fara pague por coto XXX sol —essentially penalising the use of Arabic, Hebrew, or Basque in marketplaces with a fine of 30 sols (the equivalent of 30 sheep). Although

4017-583: The 19th and the first half of the 20th century. These activities decayed during the economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, giving ground for the development of the services sector and new technologies. Today, the strongest industrial sectors of the Basque Country's economy are the manufacturing sector , present in the valleys of Biscay and Gipuzkoa; aeronautics and logistics in Vitoria-Gasteiz; and finance and energy , in Bilbao. The biggest companies in

4120-482: The 20th century due to heavy immigration from other parts of Spain, the virtual nonexistence of Basque-language schooling, and national policies implemented by the different Spanish régimes (see Language policies of Francoist Spain ). After the advent of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country in 1982 following Franco's death, this reductive trend was gradually reversed thanks to the Basque-language schools and

4223-705: The Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The highest point of the range is in the Aizkorri massif (1551 m). The three areas are: Formed by many valleys with short rivers that flow from the mountains to the Bay of Biscay , like the Nervión , Urola or Oria . The coast is rough, with high cliffs and small inlets. The main features of the coast are the Bilbao Abra Bay and the Estuary of Bilbao ,

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4326-623: The BAC, when both parents were Basque speakers, 98% of children were only communicated to in Basque, while 2% were communicated to in both Basque and Spanish. When only one parent was a Basque speaker and their first language was Basque, 84% used Basque and Spanish and 16% only Spanish. In Navarre, the family language of 94.3% of the youngest respondents with both Basque parents was Basque. In the Northern Basque Country, however, when both parents were Basque speaking, just two-thirds transmitted only Basque to their offspring, and as age decreased,

4429-452: The Basque Autonomous Community, 33.9% were fluent Basque speakers, 19.1% passive speakers and 47% did not speak Basque. The proportion of Basque speakers was again highest in Gipuzkoa (50.6%) and lowest in Álava (19.2%). The 2021 sociolinguistic survey found that 36.2% of the population above age 16 spoke Basque, 18.6% were passive speakers and 45.3% did not speak Basque. In Gipuzkoa 51.8% spoke

4532-497: The Basque Country are: BBVA , one of the largest financial institutions in the world and Spain's second largest bank; the multinational energy company Iberdrola (both of them have their headquarters in Bilbao); Mondragón Cooperative Corporation , the largest cooperative in the world; railway vehicle manufacturer CAF and Gamesa , the world's second largest wind turbine manufacturer. Eight out of ten Spanish municipalities with

4635-585: The Basque Country outperformed Spain in several parameters, but economic overall figures were highly variable. Spanish figures are subject to conspicuous seasonal fluctuation, relying on its tourist and services sectors, while Basque performance is rather based on mid- and long-term results, according with its more industrial focus. In the last quarter of 2017, unemployment in this autonomous community rose to 11.1% (8.43% in Gipuzkoa ), second lowest in Spain after Navarre , at

4738-639: The Basque Country still perform tax collection in their respective territories, but with limited margin in decision making under the Spanish and European governments. Under this intricate system, the Diputaciones Forales (Basque: Foru Aldundiak ) administer most of each of the provinces but are coordinated by the autonomous Basque Government (Spanish Gobierno Vasco , Basque: Eusko Jaurlaritza ). The autonomous community has its own police force (the Ertzaintza ), controls Education and Health Systems, and has

4841-412: The Basque Country, excluding the southern part of Navarre, the south-western part of Álava , and the western part of Biscay, and including some parts of Béarn . In 1807, Basque was still spoken in the northern half of Álava—including its capital city Vitoria-Gasteiz —and a vast area in central Navarre, but in these two provinces, Basque experienced a rapid decline that pushed its border northwards. In

4944-443: The Basque country, 7% of the population. Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Basque Country. In 2019, the proportion of Basques that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 60%, while it is one of the most secularised communities of Spain: 24.6% were non-religious and 12.3% of Basques were atheist . Spanish and Basque are co-official in all territories of the autonomous community. The Basque-speaking areas in

5047-451: The Basque language could be used—and easily understood by all Basque speakers—in formal situations (education, mass media, literature), and this is its main use today. In both Spain and France, the use of Basque for education varies from region to region and from school to school. Basque is the only surviving language isolate in Europe . The current mainstream scientific view on the origin of

5150-457: The Basque language in the Basque-speaking areas of northern Navarre. Basque has no official status in the French Basque Country and French citizens are barred from officially using Basque in a French court of law. However, the use of Basque by Spanish nationals in French courts is permitted (with translation), as Basque is officially recognised on the other side of the border. The positions of

5253-481: The Basque language is geographically surrounded by Romance languages , it is a language isolate that is unrelated to them or to any other language. Most scholars believe Basque to be the last remaining descendant of one of the pre-Indo-European languages of prehistoric Europe . Consequently, it may be impossible to reconstruct the prehistory of the Basque language by the traditional comparative method except by applying it to differences between Basque dialects. Little

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5356-519: The Basque political process . A specific approach to the national realities in Spain was eventually diffused by a legal provision allowing for the establishment of autonomous administrations and parliaments to any region in Spain (e.g. Castile and León , Catalonia , the Valencian Community , etc.), while the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians were acknowledged historic specificity. The provinces in

5459-564: The Basques and of their language is that early forms of Basque developed before the arrival of Indo-European languages in the area, i.e. before the arrival of Celtic and Romance languages in particular, as the latter today geographically surround the Basque-speaking region. Typologically, with its agglutinative morphology and ergative–absolutive alignment , Basque grammar remains markedly different from that of Standard Average European languages. Nevertheless, Basque has borrowed up to 40 percent of its vocabulary from Romance languages, and

5562-654: The Catalan Senyera and Faroese Merkið . In Basque, it has the generic meaning of 'flag', but specially the one of the Basque Country , as defined by the Euskaltzaindia (Royal Academy of the Basque Language). The original Biscayne spelling of the Aranas was ikuŕiñ (the final -a is the Basque definite article , in singular). The modern standard Basque spelling is ikurrin . Similar in pattern to

5665-454: The Catalan independence referendum and lashed out at the Spanish government's stance on the issue, denouncing any measures it may take against the vote or 'democracy' altogether. Besides supporting the vote, Basques of this community showed a preference for further self-government (43.5%), with independence and present-day status quo ranking as second and third options (22.6% and 18.9%). In 2016,

5768-469: The Christian lords called on northern Iberian peoples — Basques, Asturians , and " Franks " — to colonise the new conquests. The Basque language became the main everyday language , while other languages like Spanish , Gascon , French , or Latin were preferred for the administration and high education. By the 16th century, the Basque-speaking area was reduced basically to the present-day seven provinces of

5871-563: The Ebro is the so-called Rioja Alavesa , which shares the Mediterranean characteristics of other Ebro Valley zones. Some of Spain's production of Rioja wine takes place here. The Plaiaundi Ecology Park is a 24-hectare coastal wetland lying where the Bidasoa River meets the sea in the Bay of Biscay . The nature of Plaiaundi consists of a wide variety of flora (visitors view them mainly in

5974-412: The Ebro part of the Basque Country is moderate compared to areas further inland. Almost half of the 2,155,546 inhabitants of the Basque Autonomous Community live in the Bilbao metropolitan area , almost the entirety of the province of Biscay. Six of the ten most populous cities in the region form part of Bilbao's conurbation (Bilbao, Barakaldo , Getxo , Portugalete , Santurtzi and Basauri ), which

6077-669: The French border and the A-1 motorway which links San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz with central Spain. Other important routes include the AP-68 motorway which links Bilbao with the Mediterranean. Euskal Trenbide Sarea ( Basque Railway Network ) is the Basque Government-owned company that maintains and creates the railway infrastructure in the autonomous region. Euskotren is the Basque Government-owned narrow gauge rail company that operates commuter services in Bilbao and San Sebastián, intercity Bilbao-San Sebastián service, and Euskotren Tranbia tram services in Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz. Metro Bilbao operates two metro lines that serve

6180-415: The Latin ethnonym Vascones , which in turn goes back to the Greek term Οὐάσκωνες ( ouáskōnes ), an ethnonym used by Strabo in his Geographica (23 CE, Book III). The Spanish term Vascuence , derived from Latin vasconĭce , has acquired negative connotations over the centuries and is not well-liked amongst Basque speakers generally. Its use is documented at least as far back as

6283-414: The Spanish Congress from this autonomous community in the 2019 November general election in contrast with their rise and important presence in the overall Spanish results. The statute, insofar as it is addressed and provides an administrative framework for the Basque people, provides the mechanisms for neighbouring Navarre to join the three western provinces if it wishes to do so, since at least part of it

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6386-416: The age group most likely to speak Basque was those between 16 and 24 years old. In the BAC, the proportion in this age group who spoke the language (74.5%) was nearly triple the comparable figure from 1991, when barely a quarter of the population spoke Basque. While there is a general increase in the number of Basque speakers during this period, this is mainly because of bilingualism . Basque transmission as

6489-415: The autonomous community: The Basque Country borders Cantabria and the Burgos province to the west, the Bay of Biscay to the north, France ( Nouvelle-Aquitaine ) and Navarre to the east and La Rioja (the Ebro River ) to the south. The territory has three distinct areas, which are defined by the two parallel ranges of the Basque Mountains . The main range of mountains forms the watershed between

6592-405: The bounds to the Spanish Constitution, Basque nationalists cite the fact that in the 1978 Spanish Constitution referendum, which was passed with a majority of votes and a poor turnout in this area, the Basque Country had the highest abstention (the Basque Nationalist Party had endorsed abstention on the grounds that the Constitution was being forced upon them without any Basque input). To this,

6695-454: The city of Bilbao . Whilst Vitoria-Gasteiz is the largest municipality in area, with 277 km (107 sq mi), Bilbao is the largest in population, with 353,187 people, located in the province of Biscay within a conurbation of 875,552 people. The term Basque Country may also refer to the larger cultural region (Basque: Euskal Herria ), the home of the Basque people, which includes the autonomous community. The following provinces make up

6798-446: The corresponding fricatives [β] , [ð] , and [ɣ] . Basque has a distinction between laminal and apical articulation for the alveolar fricatives and affricates. With the laminal alveolar fricative [s̻] , the friction occurs across the blade of the tongue, the tongue tip pointing toward the lower teeth. This is the usual /s/ in most European languages. It is written with an orthographic ⟨z⟩ . By contrast,

6901-428: The debate largely comes down to the a priori tendency on the part of particular linguists to accept or reject substrate arguments. Examples of arguments against the substrate theory, and possible responses: Beyond these arguments, a number of nomadic groups of Castile are also said to use or have used Basque words in their jargon, such as the gacería in Segovia , the mingaña , the Galician fala dos arxinas and

7004-622: The different national identities (Basque, Catalan and Galician). A negotiation between UCD 's Suárez in office and PNV led to the establishment of the Basque statute, with its first article stating that the Basque people ( Euskal Herria ) takes on an institutional personality in the form of the Basque Autonomous Community; the 2nd article goes on to establish that it may be constituted by Álava, Biscay, Gipuzkoa, as well as Navarre . Provincial councils provided with actual relevant attributions (taxation, etc.) were restored to these provinces (called therefore diputación foral ), but Navarre detached from

7107-464: The fellow neighbouring communities of Castile and León and Cantabria respectively, for which a legal connection to the Basque Country has become an on-off matter of political discussion. The Basque Autonomous Community ranks first in Spain in terms of per capita product , it's the most economically productive region of the country with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (adjusted to purchasing power parity, PPP) being 22% higher than that of

7210-413: The flag of the Basque Autonomous Region in 1936. This flag was used as the naval jack of the Basque Auxiliary Navy , a section of the Spanish Republican Navy operating in the Bay of Biscay during the Spanish Civil War . In 1938, after the military defeat of the Basque Government, the regime of General Franco prohibited this flag – although it continued to be used in the Northern Basque Country . In

7313-408: The following decades it became a symbol of defiance – the first actions of the clandestine group ETA involved placing flags in public places. In 1976, during a derby match between Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Sociedad, players from both teams united to sneak in and display the illegal Basque flag, Ikurrina, at Atotxa Stadium . The act was successful, as the authorities took no action, and it became

7416-495: The future. The current laws configure the autonomous community as a federation of its present-day three constituent provinces. These western Basque districts kept governing themselves by their own laws and institutions even after the Castilian invasion in 1199–1200. The new king upheld their institutional system issued from the consuetudinary law prevalent in Basque and Pyrenean territories. This limited self-government, similar to

7519-480: The green saltire might represent the Oak of Guernica , a symbol of the old laws of Biscay, or Fueros ; and over them, the white cross, God's symbol of Basque Catholic devotion. Thus, red, white and green have become the national Basque colors. The flag was designed in 1894 to represent the province of Biscay in a set of one flag for each of the seven Basque provinces and one for the whole country; however, since PNV activity

7622-581: The highest rate of police per 100 inhabitants in Western Europe by 2018. As agreed with the Spanish premier Zapatero in 2004, Urkullu intends to increase the figure of ertzainas , while the Spanish PP 's Ministry of Interior rejects a pullback of Spanish police bodies, as demanded by the large majority of the political forces in the autonomous parliament, even pointing to an increase of the Guardia Civil in

7725-403: The influence of the neighbouring Romance languages on the Basque language (especially the lexicon, but also to some degree Basque phonology and grammar) has been much more extensive, it is usually assumed that there has been some feedback from Basque into these languages as well. In particular Gascon and Aragonese , and to a lesser degree Spanish are thought to have received this influence in

7828-780: The language, in Biscay 30.6%, and in Álava 22.4% did The forerunner of the Gernika Statute was the short-lived Statute of Autonomy for Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay, which came to be enforced in October 1936 just in Biscay, with the Spanish Civil War already raging, and which was automatically abolished when the Spanish Nationalist troops occupied the territory. Before the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and its system of autonomous communities, these three provinces were known in Spanish as

7931-463: The largest wedge in the parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, the main Spanish parties PP and PSOE's branches occupying a 24% of the seats, and Podemos – Ahal Dugu accounting for 11 seats (14.66% of the total). However, the leading party PNV renewed its traditional alliance with the PSE to form government. During the 2017 Catalan referendum crisis, the parliament showed its sympathy and support to

8034-456: The late 1990s, Basque nationalists ideologically closer to ETA refused to turn out in the Basque parliament, a significant wedge of the parliament. Currently, the Basque Government is headed by Iñigo Urkullu ( PNV ). ETA's permanent ceasefire (2010–2011) opened the possibility of new governmental alliances and has enabled EH Bildu's electoral success and rise to governmental institutions ( Gipuzkoa , and capital city Donostia , 2011–2015). In

8137-404: The lowest unemployment rates were found across this autonomous community in 2015, highlighting such towns as Arrasate , Portugalete and Barakaldo with a strong manufacturing industrial make-up. The Basque Autonomous Community ranked above other communities in Spain in terms of resilience in the face of the economic crisis, going on to become a beacon and a subject of study in Europe. In 2013

8240-469: The main political parties of Navarre, divides Navarre into three language areas: Basque-speaking, non-Basque-speaking, and mixed. Support for the language and the linguistic rights of citizens vary, depending on the area. Others consider it unfair, since the rights of Basque speakers differ greatly depending on the place they live. The 2021 sociolinguistic survey of all Basque-speaking territories showed that, of all people aged 16 and above: In 2021, out of

8343-424: The modern-day autonomous community are set against the wider context of the Basque language, spoken to the east in Navarre and the French Basque Country. The whole Basque-speaking territory has experienced both decline and expansion in its history. The Basque language experienced a gradual territorial contraction throughout the last nine centuries, and very severe deterioration of its sociolinguistic status for much of

8446-586: The most divergent Basque dialects. Modern Basque dialectology distinguishes five dialects: These dialects are divided in 11 subdialects, and 24 minor varieties among them. According to Koldo Zuazo , the Biscayan dialect or "Western" is the most widespread dialect, with around 300,000 speakers out of a total of around 660,000 speakers. This dialect is divided in two minor subdialects: the Western Biscayan and Eastern Biscayan, plus transitional dialects. Although

8549-519: The new education system. Basque has always had a strong presence in most of Gipuzkoa , central and eastern Biscay and the northern edge of Álava , while most Basque speakers in western Biscay and the rest of Álava are second-language speakers. The 2006 sociolinguistic survey of all Basque provinces showed that in 2006 of all people aged 16 and above in the Basque Autonomous Community, 30.1% were fluent Basque speakers, 18.3% passive speakers and 51.5% did not speak Basque. The percentage of Basque speakers

8652-571: The northern area of Navarre formed the core of the remaining Basque-speaking area before measures were introduced in the 1980s to strengthen Basque fluency. By contrast, most of Álava, the westernmost part of Biscay, and central and southern Navarre are predominantly populated by native speakers of Spanish , either because Basque was replaced by Spanish over the centuries (as in most of Álava and central Navarre), or because it may never have been spoken there (as in parts of Enkarterri and south-eastern Navarre). In Francoist Spain , Basque language use

8755-597: The official languages in this region. However, Basque was explicitly recognised in some areas. For instance, the fuero or charter of the Basque-colonised Ojacastro (now in La Rioja ) allowed the inhabitants to use Basque in legal processes in the 13th and 14th centuries. Basque was allowed in telegraph messages in Spain thanks to the royal decree of 1904. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 states in Article 3 that

8858-434: The one for Navarre , was partially suppressed in 1839 and totally in 1876 in exchange for an agreement on tax-collection and a number of administrative prerogatives. These in turn were suspended by Franco for Gipuzkoa and Biscay, but restored by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 . The post-Franco Spanish Constitution of 1978 acknowledges historical rights and attempts a compromise in the old conflict between centralism and

8961-463: The parliament of the autonomous community passed a Police Abuses Act spanning the period between 1978 and 1999; it was shortly repealed after challenged by the public prosecutor and appealed also by virtually all police and Civil Guard unions. Incoming Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez agreed to lift the public prosecutor's block on the law in exchange for altering its content. Right-wing parties in Spain, Vox , PP, and Ciudadanos , sent one MP out of 18 to

9064-665: The past. In the case of Aragonese and Gascon, this would have been through substrate interference following language shift from Aquitanian or Basque to a Romance language, affecting all levels of the language, including place names around the Pyrenees. Although a number of words of alleged Basque origin in the Spanish language are circulated (e.g. anchoa 'anchovies', bizarro 'dashing, gallant, spirited', cachorro 'puppy', etc.), most of these have more easily explicable Romance etymologies or not particularly convincing derivations from Basque. Ignoring cultural terms, there

9167-658: The public debt of the Basque Autonomous Community stood at 13.00% of its GDP, totalling €3,753 per capita, as compared to Spain's overall 93.90%, totalling €20,383 per capita. The Basque Government's high-ranking officials, as well as Basque-based party leaders and personalities, have protested and voiced their concern over the detrimental effects of austerity measures passed by the Spanish Government as of 2011, overruling Basque taxation powers, may be having on industry and trade, especially export. Basque officials have strongly advocated for participation, along with Navarre, in

9270-410: The public use of Basque was suppressed, with people fined for speaking it. Public use of Basque was frowned upon by supporters of the regime, often regarded as a sign of anti-Francoism or separatism . Overall, in the 1960s and later, the trend reversed and education and publishing in Basque began to flourish. As a part of this process, a standardised form of the Basque language, called Euskara Batua ,

9373-487: The revitalisation process, the extensive development and use of language technologies is also considered a significant additional factor. Many linguists have tried to link Basque with other languages, but no hypothesis has gained mainstream acceptance. Apart from pseudoscientific comparisons , the appearance of long-range linguistics gave rise to several attempts to connect Basque with geographically very distant language families such as Georgian . Historical work on Basque

9476-525: The spring) and fauna (visitors with binoculars arrive all during the year, because of the birds migratory habits). The Basque mountains form the watershed and also mark the distinct climatic areas of the Basque Country: The northern valleys, in Biscay and Gipuzkoa and also the valley of Ayala in Álava, are part of Green Spain , where the oceanic climate is predominant, with its wet weather all year round and moderate temperatures. Precipitation average

9579-470: The transfer of many powers are still due and has always been a matter of heated political discussion. Basque nationalists often put down this limitation in the devolution of powers to concessions made to appease the military involved in the 23-F coup d'état attempt (1981). In 2003, the governing Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) proposed to alter this statute through the Ibarretxe Plan . The Ibarretxe bill

9682-401: The transmission rate also decreased. Basque is used as a language of commerce both in the Basque Country and in locations around the world where Basques immigrated throughout history. The modern Basque dialects show a high degree of dialectal divergence, sometimes making cross-dialect communication difficult. This is especially true in the case of Biscayan and Souletin, which are regarded as

9785-453: The various existing governments differ with regard to the promotion of Basque in areas where Basque is commonly spoken. The language has official status in those territories that are within the Basque Autonomous Community, where it is spoken and promoted heavily, but only partially in Navarre. The Ley del Vascuence ("Law of Basque"), seen as contentious by many Basques, but considered fitting Navarra's linguistic and cultural diversity by some of

9888-511: The vowel /a/ is elided before any following vowel. This does not prevent the existence of diphthongs with /a/ present. There are six diphthongs in Basque, all falling and with /i̯/ or /u̯/ as the second element. In syllable-final position, all plosives are devoiced and are spelled accordingly in Standard Basque. When between vowels, and often when after /r/ or /l/ , the voiced plosives /b/ , /d/ , and /ɡ/ , are pronounced as

9991-570: The word for "stone" ( haitz ), and have therefore concluded that the language dates to prehistoric Europe when those tools were made of stone. Others find this unlikely: see the aizkora controversy . Latin inscriptions in Gallia Aquitania preserve a number of words with cognates in the reconstructed proto-Basque language , for instance, the personal names Nescato and Cison ( neskato and gizon mean 'young girl' and 'man', respectively in modern Basque). This language

10094-719: Was approved by absolute majority in the Basque Parliament after much discussion, as it was subject to lengthy legal objections—on the grounds that it contradicts the Spanish Constitution—;that were ultimately overcome. Despite its mandate of the majority of the autonomous Parliament, the main two parties in Spain (PSOE, PP) imposed a blockade on a discussion of the Plan in the Spanish Parliament ( Madrid Cortes Generales ), resulting in its rejection for debate by

10197-401: Was developed by the Euskaltzaindia in the late 1960s. Besides its standardised version, the five historic Basque dialects are Biscayan , Gipuzkoan , and Upper Navarrese in Spain and Navarrese–Lapurdian and Souletin in France. They take their names from the historic Basque provinces, but the dialect boundaries are not congruent with province boundaries. Euskara Batua was created so that

10300-402: Was discouraged by the government's repressive policies . In the Basque Country, "Francoist repression was not only political, but also linguistic and cultural." Franco's regime suppressed Basque from official discourse, education, and publishing, making it illegal to register newborn babies under Basque names, and even requiring tombstone engravings in Basque to be removed. In some provinces

10403-420: Was highest in Gipuzkoa (49.1% speakers) and lowest in Álava (14.2%). These results represent an increase on previous years (29.5% in 2001, 27.7% in 1996 and 24.1% in 1991). The highest percentage of speakers was now found in the 16-24 age range (57.5%), while only 25.0% of those 65 and older reported speaking Basque. Ten years later, the sociolinguistic survey showed that in 2016 of all people aged 16 and above in

10506-465: Was scarce outside of Biscay, only the Biscayne flag was publicly recognized. It was hoisted for the first time in the "Euzkeldun Batzokija", the club that preceded EAJ-PNV. The party adopted it in 1895 and, in 1933, proposed it as the flag of the whole Basque Country . Since the Basque people had accepted the "ikurriña", at the suggestion of the socialist counselor Aznar, the Basque Government adopted it as

10609-404: Was settled by French Basque and also many Spanish Basque sailors. The Ikurriña is also the flag of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV). A controversy exists because at first it was only the symbol of a section of the party (the section representing the province of Biscay) and many people thought that another flag must represent the entire country. The red ground symbolizes the Biscayne people,

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