Unlike all other Western European languages, Basque is not part of the Indo-European family and is unrelated to any other known language.
ca 800,000 speakers.
Basque is spoken either side of the Western Pyrenees: in Spain in the autonomous communities of Euskadi and Navarra, and Pyrénées Atlantiques in France. These territories are collectively known in the language as Euskal Herria, the Basque Country.
Basque uses the Latin alphabet, with the exception of c, q, v, w and y, which are only used in loan words. Like Spanish, it also uses ñ.
The language dates back to pre-Roman times, but the first written records don't appear until the 10th century AD, as clarification notes on a Latin book of sermons. Although most of the notes were in Spanish, some are in Basque, documenting that both languages co-existed in the area where the book was found.
Place names within the Spanish Basque Country have both a Basque and Spanish spelling - for example Gipuzkoa in Basque is Guipúzcoa in Spanish. Some even look completely different: Donostia is the Basque name for San Sebastian.
Key Phrases
Bai. Yes.
Ez. No.
Ongi etorri! Welcome!
Urte askotarako. Pleased to meet you.
Kaixo. Hello.
Agur! Goodbye.
Eskerrik asko. Thank you.
(Amaia) dut izena. My name is (Amaia).
Badakizu ingelesez hitz egiten? Do you speak English?
