Salazarese
Encyclopedia
Salazarese is the Basque dialect
own to the Salazar Valley
of Navarre
, Spain
.
In English
it is also known as Zaraitzu Basque, the Zaraitzu dialect or Salazar dialect; in Spanish
as Salacenco and in Basque as Zaraitzuko euskara.
Basque in the Salazar valley was spoken until the first half of the 20th century; ever since, the number of speakers started a marked decline
. According to the 2002 linguistic census, there were only two native speakers left, both with ages over 85, hence, the dialect itself can be considered extinct nowadays. However, the dialect's own traits had been documented over the 19th and 20th century.
On the other side, from the 1980s onwards there is an ongoing revival of the Basque language in Spain. As a result, roughly a quarter of the valley's inhabitants now speak Standard Basque
. It would be possible to revive the Salazarese dialect to some degree by teaching the historical dialectal features of Salazarese to Batua speakers.
and Orontze
and texts published by Satrustegi.
Pedro Jose Sanper translated the Gospel of Matthew
. and Jose Urrutia the “Orreaga” ballad of Arturo Campion.
Basque dialects
Basque dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar from each other and from Standard Basque. Between 6 and 9 Basque dialects have been historically distinguished:*Biscayan*Gipuzkoan...
own to the Salazar Valley
Salazar Valley
The Salazar Valley is a valley in the east of the Foral Community of Navarre in Spain. It lies within the Merindad of Zangoza-Sangüesa and within that, the Comarca of Roncal-Salazar. The Sierra de Abodi, part of the Western Pyrenees, forms the natural boundary in the north...
of Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
In English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
it is also known as Zaraitzu Basque, the Zaraitzu dialect or Salazar dialect; in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
as Salacenco and in Basque as Zaraitzuko euskara.
Basque in the Salazar valley was spoken until the first half of the 20th century; ever since, the number of speakers started a marked decline
Language shift
Language shift, sometimes referred to as language transfer or language replacement or assimilation, is the progressive process whereby a speech community of a language shifts to speaking another language. The rate of assimilation is the percentage of individuals with a given mother tongue who speak...
. According to the 2002 linguistic census, there were only two native speakers left, both with ages over 85, hence, the dialect itself can be considered extinct nowadays. However, the dialect's own traits had been documented over the 19th and 20th century.
On the other side, from the 1980s onwards there is an ongoing revival of the Basque language in Spain. As a result, roughly a quarter of the valley's inhabitants now speak Standard Basque
Batua
Standard Basque is a standardised version of the Basque language, developed by the Basque Language Academy in the late 1960s, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken Basque-language version throughout the Basque Country...
. It would be possible to revive the Salazarese dialect to some degree by teaching the historical dialectal features of Salazarese to Batua speakers.
18th century
Some religious texts were written: the Christian doctrines of ItzalleItzalle
Itzalle or Izal is one of the villages that forms the municipality of Galoze in Zaraitzu, Navarre. 37 inhabitants in 2005....
and Orontze
Orontze
Orontze or Oronz is a municipality in Zaraitzu, Navarre....
and texts published by Satrustegi.
19th century
Apart from more religious texts, there is significant research work of Louis-Lucien Bonaparte.Pedro Jose Sanper translated the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
. and Jose Urrutia the “Orreaga” ballad of Arturo Campion.
20th century
- Ziriako and Federiko Garralda wrote several articles in the magazine "Euskal Esnalea" in the local Basque of Zaraitzu between the years 1911 and 1925, covering different subjects: tales, riddles, passages, local history, veterinary science, traditions and games for children.
- Azkue collected several proverbs and tales in Zaraitzu Basque in his works of Basque folklore and etnography. Also he collected a significant amount of local words in his dictionary.
- Koldo MitxelenaKoldo MitxelenaKoldo Mitxelena Elissalt was an eminent Basque linguist...
studied thoroughly the dialect from 1958 onwards. - Jose Estornes Lasa collected the stories and passages of Zoilo Moso in 1969.
- Koldo Artola has published the audio recordings that he taped between 1975 and 2003 in Zaraitzu.