Basque and Welsh

This interesting article about the languages spoken by peoples trapped in the outdated concept of mega-nation comes to us thanks to News Wales:

Basque lesson for Welsh language

3/11/2006

Eleanor Burnham AM returns tomorrow from an official visit to the Basque Country of Spain where she hoped to find new ways to promote and develop the Welsh language at home.

Ms Burnham, a fluent Welsh speaker and Welsh Language Spokesperson for the Welsh Liberal Democrats, arranged her visit in the hope of finding a good example of how minority languages can thrive in smaller countries such as Wales .

Her trip included a variety of visits and influential meetings:

A Meeting with Martxelo Otamendi, Editor of the Basque language newspaper Berria, to discuss the possibility of a national Welsh Language newspaper

A visit to the Basque parliament in the capital Vitoria

Meetings with people involved in the government departments of language and culture to discuss language issues in these areas

A visit to a tri-lingual school as a model for how Welsh language medium education could be developed in the future

Ms Burnham said: "I am so pleased to be visiting a country which, although small in population, has so successfully preserved its own language in everyday life.

"I firmly believe that the future of the Welsh language lies in a rights-based agenda for individuals in Wales and the Basque example provides a multitude of ways in which Welsh could be taken forward in the 21st century.

"I will be completing numerous visits in the fields of culture, language and education with the hope that these models can provide progressive, workable reference points for our own country.

"The future of the Welsh language lies with the rights of the individual and I believe we should be exploring the new avenues opened up by similar countries with minority languages throughout Europe ."

By the way, Basque region of Spain?

Is there a Welsh region of England?

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