Euskaldunak: The Basques

Some more information about the Basque Country and its people, the Basques.

We are using the same page we used for the previous post as reference.

Here it is:

The Basques

The Basques called themselves euskaldunak (singular, euskaldun). The word is formed from euskara 'Basque language' and -dun 'who has'; it literally means 'one who has (i.e., speaks) Basque'. Euskaldun means properly only 'Basque-speaker'. Ethnicity or being part of the Basque Nation is therefore a question of language. You can be japanese and euskaldun, but you can be born in the Basque Country and not be euskaldun. With no euskara, there is no Euskal Herria. Without our language, the Basque Country will not exist, from our point of view.

Spanish, French or English do not have comparative terms to this basque word (euskaldun). You may read from a spanish source that "most basques do not know the basque language". Well, you should notice that basque or vasco are ambiguous from the native point of view, and we would more properly say that "we euskaldunak (native basques, basque-speaking people) are a minority in our own country".

At the same time, there are no proper words in basque for ethnic basque or person born in the Basque Country. Neologisms as euskotar or euskal herritar are used to define such terms.

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