[Reposted from: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuYs9QorC_/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==]
🌲These Christmas I have been trying to be more pro-active in initiating conversations in Basque in local stores and businesses of the Basque Country.☕️
👀Since I usually talk in Spanish with my relatives and friends, it gets challenging to change to start conversations in Basque with strangers. It gives me anxiety to think that they might not understand me (we talked about this before, it is called "linguistic stress"), or that they might even judge me for making trem struggle when I am clearly able to interact in Spanish. So, I decided to try it out whenever I am alone, to avoid assumptions about my background.
So far, it worked in bars, the health center and the bank. 👐
✨️I had the feeling that in Christmas people were more open to hearing Basque, since it is a holiday very rooted to tradition and folklore. We hear Christmas carols and there are many references of our beloved Olentzero and Mari Domingi (our Mr and Ms St Claus) everywhere. Everyone knows how to greet or wish great holidays in Basque.
Durung this season (Basque-supporting) Spanish-speaking parents tend to be very involved in the Basque culture with their children, so it is a period where both native and heritage speakers gather around our magical language. Just the other day, my brother and I were singing Basque songs with my granpa, who knows them, but does not fully understand them. Like in every other endangered language, familiar affective names (aita, ama), greetings/regards (egun on), songs and other traditions are the ones that survive the bigger language through generations.🗣
⁉️ How does this season or any other affect your linguistic habits? Is there any festivity that brings your community together?
I read you below! ⬇️
#gabonak #christmas #euskara #basque #euskalherria #basquecountry #minoritylanguages #christmascarol #olentzero #maridomingi #linguisticstress
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