Those of us who grew up in an area where a minority language exists but has been greatly lost, oftentimes, have a weird relationship with our mother tongue. You are part of a community without its ancestral language, which can delegitimize your belonging.
As some know, Basque was lost in my family two generations ago. Luckily for the youngest, we acquired it through schooling, and now we are all fluent in it. Nevertheless, since we speak standard Basque, our Basque doesn't necessarily locate where we are from; our Spanish does.
In the southern Basque Country, we speak the variety of Basque Castillian Spanish, defined by very unique features, some due to language contact with Basque, and others due to the internal change of the variety. These features are known and recognized among the local population, so there's a collective notion of what "sounding Basque" is. This Basque Spanish is the Spanish learned by Basque speakers and acquired by their descendents. Interestingly enough, people who identify as Basque but do not speak it tend to preserve the Basque Spanish features as a way to perform their Basqueness.
When we meet Spanish people, it is easy for them to recognize us as Basques. However, inside the Basque Country, it is common to compare each others' accents in Spanish to evaluate who sounds Basque. Those who don't speak Basque at home, like myself, don't always preserve the marked Basque pronountiation in Spanish, and we tend to correct ourselves towards standard Spanish forms. That's how we were told in school, and that's how people correct you in the street.
And just like that, the only linguistic form that identified you with your region gets lost. "You don't sound Basque," they tell me. "You sound standard, like in the TV."
Ironically, the Spanish that pushed away Basque is the only variety I speak that immediately identifies me with Basqueness. Since I became conscious of this, I try to keep my Spanish variety with its Basquisms as much as I can. The only piece of my language(s) that tells my family's history.
(5) Map: Towns I used to illustrate this post. All <50% of Basque speakers.
⁉️ Are accent and belonging related in your community?
Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8C-pnaoaS6/?igsh=MWg1eXAwMXJ3bTM3aw==
Comments
Post a Comment