My hometown, Getxo, has made me proud twice in the past weeks due to a societal shift that is going on. On Tuesday, I attended the XIX International Conference of Minorized Languages (ICML). In the airport, I recognized one of my college professors, surrounded by other Basques. I didn't know most of them, but I was impressed to see that the majority were from Getxo.
As you may recall, Getxo has often been a motive of frustration to me. I have never been able to speak in Basque daily and attempting to speak it seems to be something that you must justify. I'd never had the chance to be in a Getxoztar group where all wanted to promote our language. I can count with one hand the local friends who would be up to it. Reminder: 33% of Getxo are fully bilinguals (EUSTAT, 2016).
First shock: how many of us are working in newspeakerism, identity issues, revitalization. One of the papers was based on Participatory Action Research (PAR), where students from the metropolitan area of Bilbao had joined to change their linguistic habits and empower in Basque. The statements presented here almost made me cry. So many of us really want to live in Basque but struggle to do so due to lack of self-confidence.
Second shock: all of them lived in Basque in Getxo. The oldest ones had learned Basque as teenagers, and the youngest were 'immersion school kids', as I call us. Hearing their stories about how they maintain the language in a town like ours... just inspiring.
Third shock: they were all willing to share our experiences and try to make connections (or even friendships). No judgment for being from the Spanish-speaking neighborhood, but solidarity and comprehension with each other.
All this magic happened in Caerfyrddin, a place which recently suffered a terrible decrease in the Cymraeg speakers. From 60% to %39.9 (2021). However, here they were talking and presenting in Cymraeg.
Sometimes, you need to get out of your own bubble to realize that the 30% matters. The minorized minority. We are here. We see each other. See us.
Eskerrik asko to everyone who shared a moment with me in these days, esp. @mgr210 for being so welcoming🫶
Diolch yn fawr to all the lovely Cymru people.
SEE MAPS AND STATISTICS BELOW.
Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct7KuNBoxp5/?igsh=MWJ0bjQ2eGFnZXltbw==
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