KING Alan R. (1997) Introduction to Basque [66 Pp]

Introduction to Basqueby Alan R. King ©Alan King, 1997 All Rights Reserved ii Preface The idea of publishing this Introduction came from several directions simultaneously, and it is hoped that it will fill a certain void in a useful manner. I have not set out to write this collection of materials from scratch, but have been content to draw from, and even reproduce, selected passages and resources most of which I have published elsewhere previously in a variety of places. I have endeavoured to make it clear in each case where I am recycling the material from, and the interested reader is encouraged to refer to the original sources for fuller information. Evidently, such a collection needn’t be read from one end to the other in the order presented, and no chapter is a ‘prerequisite’ for reading any other. Chapter 1 (Frequently Asked Questions) has been newly written, and a similar item is simultaneously being added to my website. The questions are authentic ones representative of frequent queries I receive about the Basque language from a variety of people: how can I learn Basque? where does Basque come from? and so on. While in principle I am happy to hear from anyone with an interest in the subject, the same questions do tend to get asked again and again, and since my time, like everyone else’s, is limited, these FAQ may help to cut corners in the future. Chapter 2 (The Basque Language Today) is a compilation of some general facts and information about present-day ‘social’ aspects of the language’s existence, ranging from the country’s geography and recent political background to Basque-language media and the contemporary music and fiesta scene. You can also find out what Basques think of foreigners who try to speak their language, and there is a brief sketch of the present sociolinguistic situation. This material derives from information given in Colloquial Basque, a language course recently published by Begotxu Olaizola and myself, except for the sociolinguistic section which was originally an appendix in my Ph.D. dissertation. Chapter 3 (Getting Started) will lead you by the hand while allowing you to confront your first Basque dialogue. The point here is not to learn to speak Basque in half an hour, but just to provide a first foretaste of what this language is like. This is actually an excerpt from my larger-scale Basque course, called The Basque Language: A Practical Introduction. Chapter 4 (Grammatical Sketch) will be the meal’s main course for those with a strong stomach for such fare, while others may well prefer to save it for reference use or just skip it altogether. It doesn’t contain everything there is to be known about Basque grammar, since that wouldn’t fit into twenty pages (and wouldn’t be very readable if it did!), but I dare say it will serve to put those interested in the picture regarding the languages overall grammatical ground pattern. Those looking for more detailed information than can be offered here will be ready to dive into something more substantial afterwards. The better part of this chapter is actually a very abbreviated version of a section of The Basque Language. Chapter 5 (Communicative Basque) gives another view of the language, to be taken on its own or in conjunction with the grammatical sketch. It consists of some very commonplace conversational Basque sentence patterns organized according to the communicative functions they are typically used to realize; both the organization and the examples have been culled from my Basque Threshold Level book, Atalase Maila. Naturally, there is some variation between Basque dialects regarding the precise form of the most common phrases. Since such variation could not be accommodated within the present modest scope, I have opted for a bias towards one dialect, the Gipuzkoan, which is in any case very widely understood in most places these days. Chapter 6 (Basic Vocabulary) is arranged by subject and has also been derived from the Basque Threshold Level. There is nothing like a good old piece of text with its translation and, if possible, accompanying notes to provide the weathered field linguist with a rough-and-ready first picture of an unfamiliar language, and I have catered to this need, within the limited space available, in Chapter 7 (Sample Texts). I have opted for two brief passages of Biblical iii narrative, using the recent and excellently translated Basque Bible. There are of course arguments for and against using biblical passages for such purposes; while aware of both, it seems to me that this remains a useful exercise; besides, I can vouch for the idiomatic, wellwritten nature of this particular translation, which reflects the best of modern literary Basque style at the present time. For the first passage I have chosen a personal favourite, the Forbidden Fruit story at the beginning of Genesis. Following a hallowed tradition, I include as the second and last passage part of the Prodigal Son parable from Luke. In Chapter 8 (Further Reading) I end with a few pointers for those who do not wish to stop here. It is not my objective to offer a heavyweight bibliography, so please do not expect to find one! This is, after all, merely an Introduction. May many appetites be whetted! For those which are, I remain open to further discussion, comments and queries via my email address ([email protected]) or website (http://www.eirelink.com/alanking/). On egin! Alan R. King Zarautz, 1997 Chapter 6. Frequently Asked Questions The Basque Language Today Getting Started Grammatical Sketch Communicative Basque Basic Vocabulary Sample Texts Further Reading . Chapter 5. Chapter 4. Chapter 7. Chapter 2.TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Chapter 3. Chapter 8. published by the University of Nevada Press (Reno. it has to be said that it does share some things with these. This is because European languages are pretty similar to each other. There are no tapes to accompany A Basque Course.. Basque is different. Not surprising. There are two to choose between: (a) A Basque Course: A Practical Introduction by Alan R. don’t they? Yet actually a conscientious linguist can give no simple answer. depending on how we’re defining Europe. it’s pretty different. But still. or ‘bookstores’ if American). So how different is Basque? Well actually. But is Basque more difficult than other languages to learn? That again depends on which other languages you’re comparing with. Finnish. The reason is that it is not related to all those other European languages. which unlike Basque belong to a single language family called Indo-European. but the only books I can recommend at present were all written by me. Some people nevertheless enjoy the adventure. and if so. and different is usually harder to learn. Have you successfully learnt a foreign language before. Define difficult. and even easier still if you know more than one. King & Begotxu Olaizola Elordi. Maltese or Turkish — etc. Hungarian. and also because they have a great many words. Colloquial is the better distributed of the two. at least to some extent. Colloquial Basque can be bought on its own or with two accompanying 60-minute cassettes. Could you please advise me on a good beginning textbook and where to buy it and a good source for tapes for pronunciation? This is slightly embarassing.e. say. I’m only the .2 Chapter 1 Frequently Asked Questions* Questions about learning Basque Is Basque grammar difficult? Is it unlike anything else? Sound like simple questions. once we accept the basic fact that it is a completely different kind of language from its Indo-European neighbours. as compared to learning. Las Vegas and London). King. published by Routledge (London and New York).. in global terms. It would be nice to say ‘available in all good bookshops’ (if your British. (b) Colloquial Basque: A Complete Language Course by Alan R. Generalizing. as you probably do if you’re reading this. and even grammatical devices in common. Ridiculously (not my fault. 1996. 1994. Where you can buy them will depend on where you are. would you say it was difficult? My own opinion is that really learning any language is hard work. Basque is an exception in this sense. almost any European language except for Basque. Estonian. given that they have been in close contact for millennia. of course) is easy if you already know another European language. if you want a short answer: yes. and what you know before you learn them. a language from another continent. phrases. learning any Indo-European language of Europe (i. 3 author). If anyone wants to be very thorough and work through both books. teachers with more conservative ideas . and £45 in the U. but the last time I looked The Basque Language was in the region of $60 in the U. which is a much smaller book. roughly half that (without the cassettes).S. Either book can be used by absolute beginners. then the first part of The Basque Language could serve as a review.. and either can also be adapted for classroom use.eirelink. so you can get your first foretaste right here. as I have indicated where appropriate. In the latter case the decision would depend on the objectives of the class and also on preferences in teaching style. Nevada 89557-0076 USA Tel. Reno Reno. 0171-583 9855 Fax: 0171-842 2306 or for USA and Canada: Routledge Inc. You can also see almost the whole of the first unit of Colloquial Basque on my website at: http://www. 29 West 35th Street New York NY 10001 Tel.com/alanking/. both are very hard to get hold of in the Basque Country itself. yet is also a practical introduction.K. Colloquial Basque is the best one to start with. The publishers’ addresses are as follows: • University of Nevada Press/MS 166 (for The Basque Language) University of Nevada. The Basque Language is more comprehensive. before getting into some more advanced things not found in Colloquial Basque. Please do contact a bookshop/store or the publishers for more accurate information. and Colloquial Basque. although non-beginners will no doubt find them useful too. but will provide an elementary introduction. so you’re strongly advised to buy your copy before coming over here!! Prices change over time and are not my responsibility. The Basque Language covers (in university terms) ‘elementary’ and ‘intermediate’ levels. 244 3336 Fax: 563 2269 Some of the materials in this Introduction to Basque are drawn from or based on one or the other of these books. (702) 784 6573 Fax: (702) 784 6200 • Routledge (UK) (for Colloquial Basque) 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE United Kingdom Tel. Both books can be used for self-study. Which one do you recommend? The Basque Language or Colloquial Basque? What's the difference between the two? As indicated by the titles. Colloquial Basque aims to give an idea of informal spoken Basque. whereas Colloquial Basque is less ambitious. in linguistics as in other serious disciplines. and what does it mean? Languages are traditionally grouped into families of ‘genetically’ related language groups. Amateurish. to indicate that the languages so related are descended from a common ancestor language. explanations and notes and exercises. it is not impossible and the like. Questions about where Basque came from I have read that Basque is one of the so-called language isolates. As a matter of fact. Naturally. the discipline in which historical reconstruction is rooted. Proto-Indo-European (Proto-IE or PIE in linguists’ jargon) is a theoretical construct representing the ‘reconstructed’. are often tempted by impatience to discard those qualifications and convert guarded opinion into categorical assertion. while the grammar content of Colloquial Basque is more streamlined. Both consist of units containing realistic dialogues and texts. In The Basque Language there is a substantial grammar reference section towards the end. The only reasonable opinions worth respecting on this subject are those of the top authorities in the comparative study of the languages that we want to know about. of course. undisciplined speculation based on isolated observations and imaginative pet theories may make for a fun pastime but do not help us become better informed and sometimes fuel popular confusions. Following a methodology developed in the nineteenth century and still commonly accepted as valid. if it ever existed at all as such. Is that correct. together with numerous languages of southern Asia. A good linguist will be careful in her or his use of hedges such as possibly. if its results are to be meaningful. hypothetical language from which the various know Indo-European languages are imagined to have descended. caveat emptor. Comparative linguistics. even where the precise history (or prehistory) of languages is not known for sure — as is normally the case — linguists are able to reconstruct a theoretical history and posit hypothetical ancestors on the basis of detailed comparison of the known languages. and frequently end up publishing absolute gibberish in consequence. and there is no proof that it did. ‘Genetically’ is used metaphorically here.4 will probably find The Basque Language more to their liking. Both books are based on sound learning/teaching methods. whereas Colloquial Basque has a more clearly communicative orientation. So. The popular press are consummate experts at doing just this. the rest of the world. and family groupings are proposed accordingly. requiring academic training. Most European languages belong. although The Basque Language is mainly structurally based and Colloquial Basque follows a communicative approach. probably. we don’t know a great deal about this proto-language. to one language family that goes under the name of Indo-European. Both include a key to exercises and vocabulary lists. but the distinction is not black-or-white. Obviously the best scholars in the field can also make mistakes. modified or discarded. consequently some proposed family groupings are more firmly established while others have a more tentative status. this kind of study has progressed much further with some languages than with others depending on the amount of information available and the extent to which this information has been studied by specialists. and even some lesser scholars. and new evidence can come to light requiring that older theories be corrected. . needs to follow systematic methodological principles. none of those theories has been demonstrated successfully and the speculations have not developed. although their total number is not very great. and on the face of it plausible. Since we don’t know what language the Iberians spoke before the imposition of Latin. at present. well. for the simple reason that I keep getting asked questions like these. hence emphatically not genetically related to Basque. oh. I consider myself sufficiently informed of the current state of the art of Basque historical lingistics for a linguist whose main interests lie in other areas. from just about everywhere imaginable. It is the only isolate in Europe. I forgot to mention that I myself am not a specialist in comparative linguistics. or don’t bother to ask. The truth is that even the much more conservative. are surrounded by mystery. not to say fantasy. Even the inability to disprove such notions through a lack of information would not amount to a serious corroboration of the theory. and so on. the Picts. although most can. nor show signs of being about to develop into. but there are other isolates on other continents. in the popular mind. That is not to deny that there are loanwords from earlier . and am reporting here on the basis of that information. Remember that the limit of our ability to construct language families is not an absolute limit but one imposed by the extent of our knowledge and the power of the theoretical tools of which we dispose to interpret the data and draw sound conclusions therefrom. And it is the consensus of respected scholarly and academic opinion at the present time that Basque is one such isolate. including several particular theories attempting to show that the Basques came from. be shown to exist: a language with no known relatives. why then they obviously spoke Basque! Ditto for the Etruscans. Every so often a journalist eager for a story digs up one of the academically outdated speculations and (re-)invents some ‘new breakthrough’ involving ‘proof’ that the Basques wandered over here from somewhere in Asia or Africa or are one of the lost tribes of Israel. It follows that a language family is only one insofar as our available information allows us to demonstrate its existence. the counter-evidence often is clearly there. doesn’t seem to hold up under careful scrutiny and is no longer held by serious scholars. or else that Basque was once the universal language of. theory that Basque was spoken throughout much of the Iberian Peninsula before the Romans took over.5 Oh yes. In fact. yet we know perfectly well that their languages are Indo-European. for example. This means that even if all human languages are ultimately. a solid account of the Basques having come from anywhere other than where they are at present. once enough information can be collected to form a reliable opinion. in the very distant past.. ‘genetically’ related — as they may or may not be — there is a very good chance our ability to reconstruct will never take us back that far. the whole of Europe. but the romantics choose to ignore that. A language isolate is one of those left-over languages for which no ‘genetic’ affiliation to any other language. which was in vogue some years ago. What these ideas have in common is that they feed on the unknown. But there is such a limit. Non mea culpa! Not all languages in the world can be incorporated into one or another of the accepted language families. What is the latest research about the Basque language revealing about its origins? Despite much speculation over this in the past and continuing up to the present.. say. group or family can. if we go back far enough. The Celts. plus no doubt a few additional kilometres in most directions. This activity has given rise to new theories relating Basques to the American Indians inter a variety of alia. Besides. There are also some linguists intent on demonstrating the existence of much larger genetic groupings of languages across the world than those widely accepted today. some of them well-established as such. a professional forum of prestige. seems practically impossible to shake off. about “the linguistic affinities of Basque".com/alanking/. All well and good. reaching straight down vertically for a long. The vaguely nostalgic idea in the popular mind that Basque and Celtic are related. 1997. and summarised the numerous replies he received in a second posting to the list dated 15 Nov. in their country.” *A related version of these questions and answers is to be found on my website at http://www.. So what do I think? Well basically. in my opinion.6 Celtic languages into Basque. perhaps. is it ultimately any less fascinating to think that perhaps — and this has not been disproved either — the Basques.. and no doubt a good thing at that. of which this speculation about where they came from is only a single thread of research and not. than any other in Europe. . using techniques which conservative comparativists find highly unorthodox and questionable. I think that the Basques and their language are fascinating subjects for a great many reasons. a country with deeper anthropological roots. long way? Now how’s that for a story! STOP PRESS! Ernest McCarus recently posted a question on the LINGUIST List. no matter whether it makes for a good headline or not. has its reasons.] with the consensus that Basque has no known linguistic relatives. unsurprisingly given the historical fact of pre-Roman contact between speakers of these languages. especially given that we don’t know the truth and may never find out. whose imagination is so easily enticed. for having chosen. that the academic community at large. however. by a great majority. To quote from his summary: “The majority of the respondents agreed [. whatever they are. a little island of millennial immobility amidst a world in incessant flux.eirelink. to give little or no credence to the aforementioned theory. as far back as our perception can reach. It is one thing for such an academic debate to remain open. but it is only fair to inform the public. so far at least. never came from anywhere else but were always right where they still are. the most exciting or important. . official Spanish policy has been highly unsympathetic to Basque. The proportion was much higher in the past. According to state propaganda at the time. the remnant of a bygone age. a significant proportion of Basque families remained loyal to their ancestral tongue and helped to keep it alive. administration of schools. the new Spanish Constitution granted to the regions some degree of self-rule. and even those who continued to use Basque in private lived in real fear of being arrested or otherwise punished. three ‘Spanish’ provinces of the Basque Country (Araba. Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa) constituted the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. and a Basque police force. despite campaigns to achieve at least a limited degree of autonomy. Despite these adverse circumstances. Basque is spoken by two thirds of a million people who constitute almost 20% of the Basque Country's present population of three-and-a-half million. largely Basque-speaking and pro-Basque. health services. The status of the Basque language in this area has improved progressively during recent decades. Low Navarre. Basque is the only truly indigenous European tongue to survive today. According to our present knowledge. grassroots campaigning. where Basque. probably unrelated genetically to any other language in the world. polarized between the north. thanks to widespread popular sentiment. also known as Euskadi. Since the early ’80s these communities have had elected ‘autonomous governments’ exercising whatever powers Madrid has ‘transferred’ as a result of political negotiations. most of the rural ‘North’ conserves a strong Basque tradition and flavour. is still the native language for most of the local population. This region has no self-rule in the French state. Roughly comparable conditions exist in the Navarrese autonomous community. notwithstanding heavy French influence among the younger generation. assuming that the IndoEuropean languages ultimately originated from outside Europe. and Zuberoa. Basque has long fascinated linguists and nonspecialists alike. known as ‘autonomy’. include internal revenue. a fourth province (the largest) has a separate administration as the Autonomous Community of Navarre. Under the democratic régime. and the Basque Government’s official language policies. Powers transferred to the government of the Euskadiko Autonomi Elkartea. there is an extensive band covering much of the northern half of the country. Apart from the urbanized Bayonne-Biarritz area. though endangered. whose Basque tradition is weak. the North comprises the three small provinces of the ‘French’ Basque Country: Lapurdi. mass media. The language. although the latter are subject to oscillations depending on wavering political influences. After the end of the dictatorial régime. including most of the coastal and highland regions. For long. was forbidden in schools and public places and banned from official services and the media.7 Chapter 2 The Basque Language Today* Introduction As one of Europe's most exotic minority languages. forced into a kind of underground existence during the Franco years (1939—75). seated in Vitoria/Gasteiz. it was unpatriotic to speak it. While this may sound discouraging. These four provinces are referred to collectively by Basques as the South. the sharpest drop having occurred in the last hundred years or so. and the south. plays popular music aimed at a younger audience. Some forms of traditional verse recital are still practised. known as Euskara Batua (Unified Basque). Today there is a full-fledged national television. HABE publishes a monthly magazine for Basque learners. Euskadi Gaztea. central and eastern. like those of other cultures throughout the world. some surviving elements of those traditions have been taken up with renewed enthusiasm by recent generations of Basques and given a new lease on life. Trikitixa is played on a tambourine and a small accordeon. The first Basque books were published in the sixteenth century. There is also a growing number of local magazines. and the standardized writing system that now exists. either in Basque or bilingual. Basque-Language Media Until 1980 the Basque ‘mass’ media consisted of a couple of weekly magazines and the odd programme on local radio stations. the dultzaina (a conical wind instrument popular in Navarre). news bulletins. The media and the schools have contributed to the progressive consolidation of a spoken version of the standard which has distanced itself somewhat from colloquial speech. is a product of recent years still subject to occasional readjustments. now in decline and already partly lost to us. sometimes with singing and usually danceable. also in Basque. introduced by Lombard immigrants in the nineteenth century.8 Spoken Basque has a number of dialects that are mutually intelligible in normal circumstances and may be thought of as belonging to three rough types that merge into each other: western. improvised verse singing. Traditional Basque musical instruments include the txistu (a high-pitched wooden wind instrument played with one hand). a daily newspaper and various magazines. with the organization of local and national competitions and courses to train young potential bertsolariak in the art of making up bertsoak. However. Basque folk traditions. can be received throughout the country. both the music and the dancing have . While most native speakers today are familiar with what we might call ‘television Basque’. Bertsolaritza. The language possesses no very imposing literary history. Euskal Telebista's Basque-language service. a choice of full-time radio stations. and txalaparta (rousing rhythmic music produced by hitting variouslypitched planks of wood with wooden sticks). as well as more specialized or local media. such as the kopla zaharrak sung on Santa Ageda day and other festivals. serials etc. they do not really speak it. The youngest member of the Basque-language media is the newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria. Music and Fiestas In centuries past. quizzes. Euskadi Irratia can be heard all over the Basque Country and offers a staple of music. in Basque. all in Basque. included a lively oral literature. also called HABE. current affairs programmes. the alboka (a distant relative of the clarinet made up of two horns). ETB1. Argia is a long-standing Basque-language weekly magazine of current affairs and general interest. also survived into the twentieth century and has undergone a renaissance in the post-Franco period. There are also local Basque-language stations serving each region. they would no doubt feel. They generally commemorate a saint whose name they take. But most important of all is the joyful gathering of people of all ages and whole families with all their noise. Furthermore. Negu Gorriak and E. There are also religious services. for by speaking some Basque one will have shown. weight-lifting. are considered the best place for it. asked out of friendly interest. The majority of traditional fiestas or jaiak are peculiar to a particular village or town.such as handball. bertsolariak.processions. they will be flattered. Akelarre. various types of concerts. and tug-ofwar -. Programmed events taking place in the streets from dawn to dusk and beyond include traditional sports events -. contests and so on. and numerous more rock-oriented groups including Egan. . a seniors' day. Itoiz and Niko Etchart. and especially when there are popular musical events. chopping logs. or other ‘happenings’. and. As a foreigner. their Basqueness. One is that Basques mostly live in small towns or villages where newcomers are noticed and talked about. and hard-rock bands such as Ertzainak. These were followed in the seventies and eighties by folk-pop singers like Imanol and groups like Oskorri. Speaking Basque Badakizu euskaraz? Do you speak Basque? Euskalduna zara? Are you Basque/a Basque speaker? Nongoa zara? Where are you from? A foreigner speaking even a little bit of Basque in the Basque Country will be bombarded constantly with these and similar questions. in the eyes of Basque speakers. surprise and fascination. have experimented mixing trikitixa rhythms and sounds with various modern musical styles. Some of the latter. Benito Lertxundi. a genuine interest in their country and their culture. and most of the popular ones take place in the summer months. This occurs on Friday and Saturday nights. kids' games. and so on. In large towns the jaiak last a full week. thus helping to raise their own self-esteem as a distinct people and nation. making conversation with Basque-speaking people is very easy if one can speak Basque.9 undergone a recent revival with frequent competitions and many amateur and professional groups (trikitilariak). Xabier Lete and Lourdes Iriondo. in small towns. ad hoc festivals or fund-raising events. Modern Basque folk. the first wave of which produced important singer-authors including Mikel Laboa. pop and rock music has flourished since the 1960s within a broader cultural (and political) revival movement. two to three days. street bands. most adult Basques speak no foreign languages.H. such as Tapia eta Leturia. announced in printed leaflets or on posters placed in bars and public places. rather than private homes. Delirium Tremens. Basque thus truly opens the door to communication. They have an official programme. There are several reasons for this. their gaiety. Sukarra. Although some English is now taught in the schools. Basques love social gatherings and the streets and plazas of a town. There may be a special children's day. Basque is the mother tongue. Written Basque evolved unevenly in various parts of the country. While interdialectal differences are popularly dwelt upon or exaggerated. which is also triangular in shape.10 A Sociolinguistic Note Basque is spoken today by under a million people concentrated in a continuous band running across the northern half of the Basque Country (total population approximately three million). the base line of this diagramme should be replaced by a two-dimensional grid. The claim occasionally made that Basque is characterized by a limited repertoire of stylistic variations ought to be reconsidered with care in view of this hypothesis. called Batua. only Donostia (San Sebastian). but they all have a new style of speaking Basque differing from both rural speech and literary norms. thus primarily reaching younger speakers. although oral folk literature also played a part in the cultivation of the spoken language. the literature still hardly contains a mention of urban Basque varieties. The focal points of the last-mentioned change are among youngsters in the larger towns: for some of them. Present trends are towards acquisition and use of the language by a growing number of non-native speakers. and expansion of Basque into new communicative and social domains. Of the larger Basque towns. increased use of Basque in the larger towns. which flanks both sides of the French-Spanish political border coinciding with the western end of the Pyrenees. the Basque language has been undergoing an important resurgence affecting not only the existing Basque-speaking area but other parts of the Basque Country too. the triangular shape reflects the fact that regional variation diminishes as we progress from ‘lower’ to ‘higher’ registers. is situated within the present Basquespeaking area. scholarly opinion generally leans towards considering these fairly minor. . and the progressive urbanization of the language. Almost all Basque speakers today are able to speak Spanish or French. given that. Since the 1960s. Although Basques habitually speak of a southern and northern Basque Country. capital of the province of Gipuzkoa. although their distribution does not always coincide with provincial boundaries. This period has seen the consolidation of a new standard form of the language. increased urbanization correlates with diminished regional differentiation. the “northern” or “French” dialects really occupy the east of the linguistic territory. for others it has been learnt in or outside school. Although scholarly activity in the description of Basque has increased notably of late. To take account of the urban-rural contrast within present-day vernacular Basque. Until quite recently Basque was not employed in education and administration and its use was relegated to rural settings. Spoken Basque possessed a high register thanks in large part to the church’s commitment to the language. in the case of present-day Basque at least. resulting in the development of several local written standards. The earliest written Basque texts of any importance date from the sixteenth century. A modern high register associated with the written Batua norm is now spreading mainly due to schools and the mass media. and often live side-by-side with monolingual Romance speakers. The modern spoken dialects are usually numbered at between six and eight and designated by province names. The result is a three-dimensional pyramid rather than a flat triangle. while the major dialect divisions range from east to west. A simple triangular diagramme is customarily used to represent relations between social and regional dialect variation. here slightly modified and abridged. University of London.D. published by Routledge (London and New York). 1993 (Appendix G: A Sociolinguistic Note).11 if we except sporadic prescriptivist condemnations of substandard and non-traditional usages. thesis. * Most of this chapter has been compiled from selected passages. King. in which urban colloquial Basque abounds. which are included in Colloquial Basque: A Complete Course by Alan R. Ph. 1996. King and Begortxu Olaizola Elordi. . The section ‘A Sociological Note’ has been adapted from Alan R. Communicative Grammar of the Basque Verb (Selected Aspects). 19. 6. 15. noticing that class is klasea in 11 but klasera in 12. the nearest Basque equivalent to English sh is yet another consonant. Your house is in Gros too. Did you come by car? No. 8. a. 4. eta zu? Ongi. spelled x!) (d) Basque tx is pronounced like an English ch. (e) Basque r is pronounced with the tip of the tongue. 20. 13. Eta zu? Ni klasera noa. Zurekin joango naiz. i. 3. Now compare lines 8. 10. on foot. 2. must each be given their so-called ‘European’ or ‘cardinal’ values. And you? I’m going to class. 14. Where are you going now? Home. 12. Great! Pronunciation (a) The five vowels. But in some dialects a strong h sound is used instead. Zure etxea ere Grosen dago. Good morning. Non dago zure klasea? Grosen. Non dago zure laguna? Etxean dago. (However. e. 5. as is a double rr. 17. (g) Standard Basque j sounds like the y in yes. isn’t it? Yes. and you? Fine. 10 and 14.12 Chapter 3 Getting Started* (A Short Basque Lesson) Meeting a Friend (a simple dialogue) 1. so for example ai sounds quite like the English y in sky. (c) The letter s is similar but not identical to this (some Basques don’t distinguish z and s). 18. o and u. Grammar Compare lines 11 and 12 in the above dialogue. Ederki! Hi! Good morning. Nora zoaz orain? Etxera. Zer moduz? Ongi. etxera and etxean mean . When not between two vowels it is trilled. Kotxearekin etorri zara? Ez. 16. oinez. 9. (b) The letter z is pronounced like an English s. (f) Diphthongs are sounds formed by combining the two vowel sounds of which they are composed. Where’s your friend? He’s/She’s at home. Where is your class? In Gros. Elkarrekin joango gara. We’ll go together. Etxea. Epa! Egun on. ez? Bai. 7. Baita zuri ere. How are you doing? Fine. I’ll go with you. The s is a little closer to the English sh sound. 11. Finally one more point. noticing that the suffix -rekin means with. the verb is at the end. with etc. and is literally ‘Together we’ll go’. and (3) the verb is often made up of a main verb and an auxiliary. But once again. is ‘With you I’ll go’. in these Basque sentences (and many others). Likewise 19 contains joango gara meaning We’ll go. Now look again at 16 and observe that in this sentence joango naiz means I’ll go. Furthermore. we can surmise that joango and etorri correspond approximately to go and come. . To sum up. to which different endings may be added: -a. Perhaps you can work out the functions of the various endings. here are three very important features of Basque grammar which make it very different from English: (1) suffixes are added to nouns and pronouns to express relations such as to. and etorri zara? Did you come?. literally ‘With the car did you come?’ Evidently. Similarly. the order of elements in the sentence is different in Basque than in English. we’ll and did you? respectively. consider 17. (2) the verb often comes at the end of the sentence. gara and zara? are somehow equivalent to I’ll. -an. with the auxiliary coming after the main verb. and so on. -ra. You have no doubt realised that the words for class and house consist of a part that remains the same. King. at. Las Vegas and London). published by the University of Nevada Press (Reno. 1994.. klase and etxe. while naiz. joango gara we’ll go. the order is different: joango naiz is literally ‘go I’ll’. The order of the Basque sentence. Taking another look at joango naiz I’ll go. compare the Basque equivalents of you in lines 5 and 16. *This chapter has been abridged and adapted from a chapter of The Basque Language: A Practical Introduction by Alan R.13 house or home. then. In Basque the focused element is placed in front of the verb. thus the verb does not necessarily come at the end. noiz when etc. Yet another possibility. Autobusa etorriko da The bus will come may either have autobusa focused (saying what will come) or the action itself may be foregrounded with autobusa as topic (saying that the bus will come). Nor bizi da Californian Who lives in California?. Californian in California is said to be in focus. non where. Topic Other elements may go near the beginning of the sentence (before the focused item) or near the end (after the verb). There is an exception when the finite verb consists of a single word. is Californian bizi da aita. with California as focus and aita detopicalized. Non bizi da aita? Where does father live? Focus Word order within the Basque sentence reflects the way the speaker wishes to organize the information. Sentences without a Focused Element An element preceding the verb is not necessarily focused: depending on intonation. In negative sentences. nor who. Placing such non-focus items at the beginning foregrounds them as topics. in Aita Californian bizi da Father lives in California (the normal word order). and the nonfinite part of compound verbs: Aita ez da Californian bizi Father doesn’t live in California. Californian is strongly topicalized. come immediately in front of the verb: Zer da hau? What is this?. to de-emphasize the topic while maintaining aita as focus. For example. the order used is Aita bizi da Californian.14 Chapter 4 Grammatical Sketch* The Simple Sentence Affirmative and Negative Sentences The verb is frequently placed at the end of affirmative sentences: Hau Gros da This is Gros. In Californian aita bizi da. the item preceding such a verb is invariably focused: Autobusa dator . Questions Yes/no questions need not be formally marked: Hau Gros da? Is this Gros? Questions words such as zer what. The focused element is the principal component of information contained in a sentence. but one can also say Californian aita bizi da which emphasizes that it is father who lives in California. the finite verb or auxiliary preceded by ez usually precedes the object: Hau ez da Gros This is not Gros. Aita Californian bizi da Father lives in California. with an adjective (which follows the noun). etxe polita is (a/the) pretty house and etxe politak pretty houses (with polit pretty). See also above concerning negative sentences. It has the form of a suffix. Determiners and Pronouns Determiners As a rule. however.15 The bus is coming (says what is coming). and indefinites (‘any’). the article is suffixed to the last word only and the other items are unsuffixed. the same is true: Autobusa ez dator or Ez dator autobusa The bus is not coming. -ak. a noun phrase is incomplete in Basque without a determiner.Such verb forms as these cannot be sentence-initial.is prefixed to a single-word finite verb like dator. Basque also has a semantically neutral determiner in constant use.g. the affirmative particle ba. Singular and Plural Grammatical number is not marked directly on the noun in Basque. Placement of Determiners Most determiners are placed at the end of the noun phrase. ‘many’. The forms -a and -ak are those of the ‘zero’ or absolutive case. When the noun phrase consists of more than one word. ‘that’). When a finite verb is made negative by placing ez in front of it. but functions as an unmarked determiner. it can then either be preceded by a non-focused element or stand at the beginning of the sentence: Autobusa badator or Badator autobusa The bus is coming. The Article The article has no inherent meaning. etxe hau this house. -a. etxea is (a/the) house and etxeak houses. For the purposes of this statement.g. but some go before the noun: hiru etxe three houses. e. we shall consider quantifiers (‘three’.and Negative ez If. with a singular form. When a case suffix is present this combines with the article. as a noun phrase. etxe means house but this is not in most contexts a noun phrase. questions words (‘which’). but may be expressed by the choice or form of determiner. thus it is required in many noun phrases in the absence of a more specific determiner (see above). ‘some’ etc. e. whose form may change as a result.) to be determiners. . Affirmative ba. Non-quantifying determiners include the demonstratives (‘this’. and a plural form. called the article. Californian bizi naiz I live in California. these may be suppleted by various demonstratives or emphatic deictics. the person and number of such arguments are indicated by the form of the finite verb. Proper Nouns and Pronouns The above statements refer only to common nouns. the adjective: etxe polit bat one/a pretty house.g. Lehendakari izendatu zuten They appointed him president.e. e. Partitive noun phrases have negative polarity. Ez dut ardorik nahi I don’t want (any) wine. euskaraz in Basque. i. There are also emphatic or intensive pronoun forms. hi you (familiar). unless the partitive suffix itself be considered one. Partitive noun phrases usually have no determiner. politak (the) pretty ones. gu we. in agreement with the subject: California polita da California is pretty. sometimes a noun can occur in a phrase without a determiner. The personal pronouns are ni I. azken etxea the last house. including the article. zuek you (plural). There are no special third person pronouns. e. which can only occupy contexts where an absolutive noun phrase could occur. Etxe hauek politak dira These houses are pretty. There are some exceptions: Aita triste dago Father is sad. Determiners. Case suffixes are attached to such items directly. .g. zu you (polite singular).. Adjectives Predicate Adjectives Predicate adjectives usually take the article in the singular or plural. Noun Phrases with No Determiner As exceptions to the general rule given above. they mostly occur in negative sentences and certain questions. e. The noun head may be omitted leaving an adjective together with the determiner: azkena the last one. marked by the suffix -(e)z: eskuz by hand. autobusez by bus. A small group of adjectives precede the noun. i.g. These include uses of the instrumental case. etc.e. Case suffixes also cannot be combined with the partitive. etxe politak pretty houses. Personal pronouns in subject and object functions are regularly omitted from the Basque sentence. Proper names and pronouns do not take the article. and certain kinds of copular construction involving absolutive noun phrases. Erakutsiko dizkizugu We’ll show you them.16 The Partitive Noun phrases may take the partitive suffix -(r)ik which corresponds approximately to any in English: compare Ez dut ardoa nahi I don’t want the wine. follow the last item. Attributive Adjectives Attributive adjectives follow the noun. 17 Semideterminers There are several items whose meanings suggest they should be determiners. e. adjectivalized adverbs. oso or biziki very. on good) and gehiago more (cf. Californiako ardo hau this wine from California (local-genitive suffix -(e)ko). etxe guztiak all the houses. they are compatible with. bakoitz each and beste other.g. Adjectivals The term ‘adjectival’ is proposed to refer. California politagoa da California is prettier. hain so etc. The ‘than’ phrase/clause may either precede or follow the comparative: California Nevada baino politagoa da or California politagoa da Nevada baino California is prettier than Nevada. asko or anitz much.e. e.g. beste ardo bat another wine. and require. but whose syntactic behaviour resembles that described for adjectives. zurekin baino than with you.g. and nonfinite relative (participial) clauses. in the context of Basque grammar.g. pixka bat or apur bat a little. etorriko den autobusa the bus that will come (relative suffix -(e)n). finite relative clauses. thus defined. e. An alternative way to intensify an adjective or adverb is by repetition. The main irregular comparatives are hobe better (cf. but which are not lexical adjectives. Adjectivals in Basque share the properties of preceding the head noun (when used attributively) and requiring that the matrix noun phrase be determined in the usual way. includes genitive noun phrases. The Comparative The comparative suffix is -ago. e. e. . A ‘than’ phrase or clause is expressed by baino postposed to the standard of comparison: Nevada baino than Nevada. the presence of the article or another ‘true’ determiner. California polit-polita da California is really pretty. e. literally the president of now (adjectival suffix -ko/-go). e. every.: California oso polita da California is very pretty.g. izendatutako lehendakaria the appointed president.g. oraingo lehendakaria the present president. The class of adjectivals.g. Comparison Intensification Adjectives and adverbs may be intensified by a preceding degree modifier.g. the president who has been appointed. i. many). All adjectivals end in a suffix which converts some lexical or syntactic item from something else into an adjectival. to morphologically complex items which function to qualify nouns in much the same way as adjectives. These items include guzti all. aitaren etxea father’s house (possessive-genitive suffix -(r)en). uste nuen baino than I thought. e. 18 The Superlative The superlative suffix is -en. In comparisons of quantity. Superlatives usually take the article: Nire etxea da politena My house is the prettiest. adina follows the standard and is followed by the undetermined noun phrase being quantified. at to from. bezain follows the standard of comparison. they have three different sets of forms: (a) incorporating the singular article -a (henceforth the ‘singular case forms’). about in. Ardo hau onegia da orain edateko This wine is too good to drink now. are not normally suffixed to noun phrases denoting animate beings. -dik -ko. Placement and Forms of Case Endings Case endings in Basque are always added to the last element in the noun phrase. e. Comparisons of Equality To express equal degrees of an adjective or adverb. -go — — to. The Excessive Too as a degree modifier is expressed by the suffix -egi. known as the local cases. With common nouns. ’s for with by. followed in turn by the adjective or adverb: Euskal Herria California bezain polita da The Basque Country is as pretty as California.g. through of. Californian badago Euskal Herrian adina ardo In California there is as much wine as in the Basque Country. The Case System Basic Case Suffixes The simplest and most basic forms of the case suffixes are those used with proper names: NAME OF CASE AFTER VOWELS AFTER CONSONANTS MEANING Absolutive Ergative Dative Possessive-Genitive Benefactive Comitative Instrumental Inessive Allative Ablative Local-Genitive — -k -ri -ren -rentzat -rekin -z -n -ra -tik -ko — -ek -i -en -entzat -ekin -ez -en -a/-era -tik.g. for of. from The last four cases. (b) incorporating the plural article . e. ). show the greatest irregularity. hau this. Irregularly Declined Determiners and Pronouns The three demonstratives. (b) when endings beginning with a vowel are added to a stem ending in the letter a. aitak. The forms of the local case suffixes are more complicated: After vowels: Inessive Allative Ablative Local-Genitive After consonants: Inessive Allative Ablative Local-Genitive SINGULAR PLURAL INDEFINITE -an -ra -tik -ko SINGULAR -etan -etara -etatik -etako PLURAL -tan -tara -tatik -tako INDEFINITE -ean -era -etik -eko -etan -etara -etatik -etako -etan -etara -etatik -etako Two additional rules must be applied when adding suffixes to a noun phrase: (a) when endings beginning with a vowel are added to a stem ending in the letter r. The ‘singular’ forms of the remaining non-local cases consist of -a. horrek. hauen etc. for example. except in the absolutive.. ergative honek. namely singular -a. Most case suffixes have the same forms when ‘indefinite’ as are used with proper names (see above). etxe askori to many houses. hai.those. and so on. aita. possessive-genitive -en.. and (c) not incorporating the article (traditionally called ‘indefinite case forms’). e. hark. etc. dative -ari. The absolutive forms of the article were given in the section Determiners and Pronouns/The Article. horr.that. etc. Except in the absolutive. txakurrak.this. txakurrek etc. dative -ei. The first plural demonstrative.these. these have alternative stem forms in the singular to which the ‘indefinite’ case suffixes are added: hon. hartan. this is dropped: aita father.g. hartara etc.followed by the appropriate form of the basic case suffix (see above). The personal pronouns (except for zuek) are irregular in the genitive and benefactive cases.g. The indefinite forms are suffixed to pronouns. zein ardorekin? with which wine? etc. which lack the usual n: nire my. aita batek a father (erg. hauek (ergative). harthat in the distance. aitek etc. but the local cases are exceptions. hori that and hura that in the distance. The . determiners other than the article. hori. except that the dative plural is -ei: thus ergative -ek. e. is hauek (absolutive). the details are too complicated to discuss here. this is nearly always doubled in writing: txakur dog. ergative -ak. gure our etc. In the plural the stems are hau. plural -ak. hauei. The corresponding ‘plural’ forms for these cases are similar to the basic suffixes used after consonants (regardless of what sound the plural noun phrase ends in). and nouns or adjectives used with a preposed determiner: nik I (ergative). niretzat for me. the third demonstrative takes the suffixes without -e-: hark.those in the distance to which the plural case suffixes are added. Note that in the ergative and the local cases. txakurra. The instrumental suffix has an alternative longer form -taz whose use is more acceptable in some contexts than in others. where -ek is added.19 -ak (henceforth the ‘plural case forms’). and for citation.g. its use to express an instrument is more restricted. etxearen atzean behind the house. . and occurs mostly with plain undertermined nouns. The local-genitive case (suffix -ko) is another genitive case which is preferred to the possessive-genitive in certain contexts. The instrumental case (in -z or -taz) has a variety of functions. igandean on Sunday etc. Uses of the Non-Local Cases The absolutive case or ‘zero’ case (no special suffix) is the neutral form for a noun phrase. It may be equivalent to about. and ‘since when’: Aita Californiatik dator Father is coming from California. It also marks the complements of certain verbs: Aitaz gogoratzen naiz I remember father. nor who. Despite the case’s name. Uses of the Local Cases The inessive case (suffix -n or -an) expresses place where (in. Eskuz idazten du He writes by hand. ‘which way’. It is not to be confused with the dative.20 first person singular pronoun has alternative forms in these cases: nere(tzat) or ene(tzat). The comitative case (suffix -ekin) is equivalent to English with in nearly all its uses: Aitarekin bizi naiz I live with father. bat one and batzuek some show minor irregularities. It is not used for motion to a place (see the allative below). in a and similarly in the other local cases. complements of be and other copular verbs. The ergative case (suffix -k) marks the subject of transitive verbs: Aitak ardoa nahi du Father wants wine. found in the subjects of intransitive verbs. Aita igandetik Californian dago Father has been (lit. note the ergative forms zerk? what? and nork? who?. batean or batetan in one.g. sometimes equivalent to English to or for: Aitari etxea erakutsiko diot I’ll show father the house. ‘is’) in California since Sunday. The ablative case (suffix -tik) expresses ‘where from’. Leihotik atera naiz I came out through the window. The benefactive case (suffix -entzat) expresses for in several but not all of the meanings of the English preposition: Ardo hau aitarentzat da This wine is for father. at) and also time when: Californian in California. e. e. direct objects. including the meanings ‘pertaining to where’ and ‘pertaining to when’: Californiako ardoa the wine of California. headings. vocatives. on. It is also used with postpositions. The pronouns and determiners zer what. The possessive-genitive (suffix -en) is a basic genitive: aitaren etxea father’s house. igandeko meza Sunday mass. The allative case (suffix -ra) expresses ‘where to’: Aita Californiara doa Father is going to California. and the inessive forms zertan? in what? at what? doing what?. concerning: Californiaz hitz egingo dugu We’ll talk about California. etxean at home. The dative (suffix -i) marks indirect objects. 21 Postpositions Use of Postpositions Postpositions are mostly written as separate words and are used to express relationships not covered by a case marker or when we wish to specify a relationship more precisely. For example, there is a special case to express ‘with’, the comitative (-ekin), but none to express ‘without’; for this the postposition gabe is employed. Postpositions follow the noun or noun phrase: aita gabe without father. Cases Governed by Postpositions Most postpositions are preceded by a noun in the possessive-genitive case, e.g. etxearen atzean behind the house, ardoaren barruan inside the wine, lehendakariaren aurka against the president, gerraren ondoren after the war. It is also possible for some postpositions to follow a noun directly, with no determiner or case marking, e.g. etxe atzean behind the house, gerra ondoren after the war. A smaller number of postpositions govern the absolutive, dative, instrumental, inessive or ablative. The common postposition -gatik because of, for governs either the possessive-genitive or the absolutive and is customarily written attached to the preceding word: ardoarengatik or ardoagatik because of the wine. Animate Local Postpositions The local case suffixes (i.e. the inessive, allative, ablative and local-genitive) are not normally used with animate noun phrases. To express such notions with animates, special postpositions are available. Like -gatik, these are customarily written attached to the preceding word and govern either the possessive-genitive or the absolutive. They are -gan in, -gana to, towards, -gandik from: Aita(ren)gana joango naiz I will go to father. There is no equivalent of the local-genitive for use with animates. Simple Verb Forms Use of Simple Verb Forms The most basic of Basque finite verb forms are those consisting of a single word, such as da is, naiz I am, dator is coming, noa I am going, etc. The number of such simple, or synthetic, verb forms in Basque is very limited indeed. Mostly, then, Basque uses compound or periphrastic verb forms which consist of more than one word. Simple finite forms can be in a number of different tenses, but by far the most frequent of these are the Simple Present, the Simple Past and the Simple Imperative. Only a handful of verbs possess truly synthetic forms in these tenses, including izan and egon (both meaning be), etorri come, joan go, izan and eduki (both have), jakin know, and esan say. 22 The Simple Tenses The Simple Present in Basque is a general or continuous present, and the Simple Past is likewise a general or continuous past tense. The imperative is one of several ways of expressing instructions or orders. Intransitive Tense Paradigms The most commonly used simple tense forms of intransitive verbs are shown in the following table. Included are the forms corresponding to a subject in the following persons, numbers and degrees of politeness: 1s (I), 3s (he, she, it), 1p (we), 2s (polite singular you), 2p (plural you), 3p (they). The familiar singular you forms are not included because they involve a range of other phenomena too complicated to describe here (consult a more advanced Basque grammar). The 2s forms are placed below the 1p ones because they resemble these most closely. Intransitive Simple Tense Forms izan be 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 2s 2p naiz da gara zara zarete dira nintzen zen ginen zinen zineten ziren — — egon be etorri come Simple Present nago nator dago dator gaude gatoz zaude zatoz zaudete zatozte daude datoz Simple Past nengoen nentorren zegoen zetorren geunden gentozen zeunden zentozen zeundeten zentozten zeuden zetozen Simple Imperative zaude zatoz zaudete zatozte joan go noa doa goaz zoaz zoazte doaz nindoan zihoan gindoazen zindoazen zindoazten zihoazen zoaz zoazte Transitive Tense Paradigms (Third Person Singular Objects) Transitive verbs in Basque agree with both the subject and the direct object. The next table shows the most common transitive simple tense forms used for the same subjects as above when the direct object is third person singular: 23 Transitive Simple Tense Forms (third person singular direct object) izan have eduki have jakin know Simple Present dut daukat dakit du dauka daki dugu daukagu dakigu duzu daukazu dakizu duzue daukazue dakizue dute daukate dakite Simple Past nuen neukan nekien zuen zeukan zekien genuen geneukan genekien zenuen zeneukan zenekien zenuten zeneukaten zenekiten zuten zeukaten zekiten esan say diot dio diogu diozu diozue diote nioen zioen genioen zenioen zenioten zioten 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p Transitive Tense Paradigms (Third Person Plural Objects) Because of their meaning, the verbs know and say lack the full range of direct objects, but sense permitting, other synthetic transitive verbs have distinct forms for each person and number of the object. Here we shall only give one further set of forms, those for third person plural objects, which are in constant use. When we turn to auxiliary verbs, however, further forms will be given. Transitive Simple Tense Forms (third person plural direct object) izan have eduki have Simple Present 1s ditut dauzkat 3s ditu dauzka 1p ditugu dauzkagu 2s dituzu dauzkazu 2p dituzue dauzkazue 3p dituzte dauzkate Simple Past 1s nituen neuzkan 3s zituen zeuzkan 1p genituen geneuzkan 2s zenituen zeneuzkan 2p zenituzten zeneuzkaten 3p zituzten zeuzkaten 24 Auxiliary Verbs The Auxiliaries As explained earlier. and the last two with transitive ones. Present and Past of izan The most important of all are the present and past tenses of the auxiliaries. obj. we shall give them here: Transitive Auxiliary Forms: Present and Past (izan ‘have’. in a main verb use. The present and past of izan have was also given but only for third person direct objects. The four auxiliaries are izan be. some of which are used far less frequently than others. Since the forms of this verb for the other person objects occur mostly as auxiliaries. izan have and ezan. may mean would be and would have respectively. The first two are used with intransitive main verbs. It is beyond our scope here to explore the full range of tenses. together with that of other intransitive verbs. Each of these auxiliaries has. These compound tenses are built from a small number of auxiliary verbs in conjunction with a small number of nonfinite verb forms for the main verb. Two of these. 2p dir. obj. and which are furthermore often 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p . Present — — zaitut zaituztet nau gaitu zaitu zaituzte — — zaitugu zaituztegu nauzu gaituzu — — nauzue gaituzue — — naute gaituzte zaituzte zaituzte Past — — zintudan zintuztedan ninduen gintuen zintuen zintuzten — — zintugun zintuztegun ninduzun gintuzun — — ninduzuen gintuzuen — — ninduten gintuzten zintuzten zintuzten Conditional of izan Both izan be and izan have possess a ‘Conditional’ tense which. for these we shall use the made-up names edin and ezan. like any synthetic verb. a range of simple tenses. and two other auxiliaries with no nonfinite form by which properly to cite them. 1p dir. are transitive.obj. obj. the other two. there is a set of compound tenses in Basque which are almost more important than the simple tenses because their use is more generalized. 2s dir. The present and past of izan be was given above. izan be and edin. with non-third person direct objects) 1s dir. which can be used to form compound tenses. are intransitive. izan have. and the most important auxiliaries are izan be and izan have. e. i. only the most frequent forms of izan have are given. Again. Here and in the other tables following. in the hypothetical if-clause: if (I) were.25 used as ‘Conditional’ auxiliaries. those for third person objects. the following forms may be used as main verbs meaning be and have or as intransitive and transitive auxiliaries: izan have Third person singular object nuke luke genuke zenuke zenukete lukete Third person plural object nituzke lituzke genituzke zenituzke zenituzkete lituzkete Hypothetic of izan izan be 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p banintz balitz bagina bazina bazinate balira 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p izan have Third person singular object banu balu bagenu bazenu bazenute balute Third person plural object banitu balitu bagenitu bazenitu bazenituzte balituzte . The prefix bameaning if is attached to these forms. if (I) had etc. Conditional of izan izan be 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p nintzateke litzateke ginateke zinateke zinatekete lirateke 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p Hypothetic of izan The ‘Hypothetic’ tense presented next is used in the first part of ‘conditional’ sentences. but there are imperative forms of the auxiliaries edin and ezan which combine with a main verb to make up a finite imperative. might. Only the third person object forms are given here for the transitive auxiliary. Two such tenses will be given here. Imperative Auxiliaries Intransitive 2s 2p zaitez zaitezte 2s 2p Transitive Third person First person singular object singular object 2s nazazu ezazu 2p nazazue ezazue Third person plural First person plural object object 2s gaitzazu itzazu 2p gaitzazue itzazue 2s 2p Potential Auxiliaries Finally. .26 Imperative Auxiliaries In modern Basque the verb izan does not possess synthetic imperative forms. singular and plural. Forms of the transitive auxiliary ezan are given for third and first person objects. the Present Potential which translates can. may and the Hypothetic (or Conditional) Potential which expresses could. the following forms of edin and ezan constitute ‘Potential’ auxiliaries that combine with a main verb to express ability or possibility. see the later section Compound Tenses. For the use of these auxiliaries. the Hypothetic. the Present and Past of these were given in the section Simple Verb Forms. with the prefix ba. a few rough notes on the subject are inserted here before moving on. due to its considerable intricacy. moreover. a Past Tense. however. arouses the curiosity of many a casual observer.27 Present Potential Auxiliaries intransitive 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p naiteke daiteke gaitezke zaitezke zaitezkete daitezke 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p intransitive 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p ninteke liteke gintezke zintezke zintezkete litezke 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p Morphological Analysis It is not necessary for the average student to learn the morphological analysis of the various synthetic finite verb paradigms that we have seen. Since. is as follows: transitive Third person singular object dezaket dezake dezakegu dezakezu dezakezue dezakete Third person plural object ditzaket ditzake ditzakegu ditzakezu ditzakezue ditzakete transitive Third person singular object nezake lezake genezake zenezake zenezakete lezakete Third person plural object nitzake litzake genitzake zenitzake zenitzakete litzakete Hypothetic Potential Auxiliaries . the ordinary Basque speaker is hardly aware of any such analysis. see the chapter Further Reading. and a Hypothetic. synthetically conjugated verbs have a Present Tense.if. In principle at least. the Basque verb system. For references for a fuller account of the points merely touched on here. Taking the intransitive verb etorri come and the transitive verb jakin know as examples. making up a three-way system: The Primary Tenses Present Past Hypothetic nator nentorren (ba-)nentor I am coming I was coming (if) I were to come There is also an imperative. the full paradigm thus includes a Present Potential. For example: (a) the non-potential tenses of edin/ezan (nadin/dezadan.. izan have. hence it is not necessary for the ordinary language learner to master the whole system in practice for the various verbs and the variety of personal forms that are possible in principle. nendin/nezan) function as . the further opposition between the two pairs of auxiliaries (izan/izan versus edin/ezan) is exploited in a rather complicated manner to achieve mood oppositions not available within the synthetic system. zatoz! come! In addition. might). It does not follow that all the potential forms generated by this theoretical paradigm occur in use with any great frequency. a Past Potential and a Hypothetic Potential (without ba-). could). and for effects of Basque morphology it is convenient to see the Hypothetic as a third value for the formal category of (primary) Tense. may (might have. edin and ezan) each have this Tense paradigm (except that in the modern language izan lacks a synthetic imperative). which means if I were to come/know etc.28 Hypothetic Tense 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p etorri come banentor baletor bagentoz bazentoz bazentozte beletoz 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p jakin know baneki baleki bageneki bazeneki bazenekitte balekite Semantically there is a mood distinction between the ‘indicative’ Present and Past on the one hand and the Hypothetic on the other. e.g. In synthetically conjugated verbs the meaning of -ke is modal and varies between can (could have. and probably: Present Past Hypothetic — nator I am coming nentorren I was coming ba-nentor if I were to come Potential natorke I may come nentorkeen I might have come nentorke I might come Imperative zatoz! come! This is the basic synthetic Tense paradigm of the Basque verb representing the maximal set of forms available for a given verb. While the choice between intransitive and transitive auxiliaries is determined by agreement with the transitivity of the main verb (and also by certain intransitivization operations). the three primary Tenses just given may be modified by a morpheme whose usual form is -ke and which can be called Potential. but the latter is neither present nor past in meaning. described above. The verbs that are used as auxiliaries (izan be. obj. — zaigu — zatzaizkigu zaitzaizkigue zaizkigu 2s ind. in eastern dialects. obj. obj. (b) the Potential tenses of edin/ezan (naiteke/dezaket. The elements in the verb that shows agreement with the person and number of the indirect object follows the verb’s stem and resembles the person markers for subjects of transitive verbs in the present tense. 2p ind. — zait — zatzaizkit zatzaizkidate zaizkit 3s ind. -da. nintzateke/nuke) as general exponents of hypothetical mood. obj. whereas the Potential tenses of izan (naizateke/duket etc. subject. izan ‘be’ with Indirect Objects (Present) 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p 1s ind. in addition to agreeing with the subject and direct object. and -da. natzaizu zaizu gatzaizkizu — — zaizkizu 2p ind. 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p — dit — didazu didazue didate Third Person Singular Direct Object 3s ind. Intransitive verbs may thus agree with a maximum of two arguments. the subject and the indirect object. and (c) in the Hypothetic auxiliary forms (which correspond to banentor. Dative Verb Forms Verbs in Basque agree with an indirect object (represented by an explicit or implied dative noun phrase). obj. except in the third person: Indirect Object Indices 1s -t. there is in western dialects a specialization of the izan forms (banintz/banu. obj. natzaio zaio gatzaizkio zatzaizkio zatzaizkiote zaizkio 1p ind. obj. ninteke(en) and nezake(en)) are used to express possibility and ability. diot — dizut dizuet dio digu dizu dizue diogu — dizugu dizuegu diozu diguzu — — diozue diguzue — — diote digute dizute dizuete Third Person Plural Direct Object 3p ind. 2s ind. natzaie zaie gatzaizkie zatzaizkie zatzaizkiete zaizkie izan ‘have’ with Indirect Objects (Present) 1s ind. For example.29 subjunctive auxiliaries (not included in the preceding summary). obj. obj. while transitive verbs may agree with three.1p -gu 2s -zu 2p -zue 3s -o 3p -e The first person singular marker has two forms: -t occurs at the end of the word. here are the forms of the Present of izan (be and have) when there is an indirect object. obj. epistemic possibility or probability. obj. natzaizue zaizue gatzaizkizue — — zaizkizue 3p ind. 1p ind. diet die diegu diezu diezue diete .when another affix follows. direct object and indirect object. nentorke in the table above).) express. obj. and the stem form. and will take different auxiliaries accordingly. Compound tenses formed with this form refer to the past or to a completed action or state (perfect). Certain verbs can have intransitive and transitive meanings. except in western dialects. In most verbs this form ends in -tu (or -du). and saltzen dut I sell (it) versus saltzen duzu you . saldu sell. dizkizuet dizkizue dizkizuegu — — dizkizuete 3p ind. The tu-form is a verb’s citation form. object or objects of the main verb. Thus etortzen naiz I come with the intransitive auxiliary naiz I am. The choice of an intransitive or transitive auxiliary will in each case reflect the transitivity of the main verb. Compound tenses may be divided into two groups depending on whether the auxiliary is izan or edin/ezan. obj. ateratzen naiz I go out versus ateratzen dut I take (him/her/it) out. e. e.g. Compound Tenses Formation of Compound Tenses Each of the Basque compound tenses is made up of a particular Tense of one pair of auxiliaries (either izan/izan or edin/ezan) which combines with (and usually follows) a particular kind of nonfinite form of the main verb. aterako. only take the stem form. atera go out or take out. obj. Those in the second group. Colloquially. and similarly in all other tenses. which is replaced by the tu-form (citation form): bukatu instead of buka. but saltzen dut I sell (it) with the transitive auxiliary dut I have (it). obj. on the contrary. dizkiot dizkio dizkiogu dizkiozu dizkiozue dizkiote — dizkigu — dizkiguzu dizkiguzue dizkigute 2s ind. The correct tu-form of each verb thus has to be learnt. obj. dizkiet dizkie dizkiegu dizkiezu dizkiezue dizkiete Similar paradigms exist in each of the other Tenses. ateratzen. bukatuko. 1p ind. etorriko. bukatzen. but not in the stem form. joaten. joan go.g. the tuko-form. -go). Thus not only etortzen naiz I come versus etortzen zara you come. the tzen-form. obj. and in a few there is no ending at all. The auxiliary must agree in person and number with the subject and. etortzen. but in certain verbs the ending is -i or -n. Examples are bukatu finish. given in dictionaries etc. where applicable. The tuko-form consists of the tu-form with the addition of -ko (or after n. etorri come. e.g. There are four options as regards the nonfinite form: the tu-form. and so on. 1s 3s 1p 2s 2p 3p — dizkit — dizkidazu dizkidazue dizkidate 3s ind. In compound tenses its meaning is imperfective or simultaneous. dizkizut dizkizu dizkizugu — — dizkizute 2p ind. The tzen-form ends in either -tzen or -ten. western dialects do not make systematic use of the stem form. etor. The stem form usually consists of the citation form minus its ending.30 1s ind. salduko. saltzen. joan. obj. Those in the first group can have the main verb in the tu-form. atera. sal. which is retained in the stem form: buka. where this is colloquially replaced by the tu-form. unless this is n. joango. the tzen-form or the tuko-form. depending on the choice of nonfinite form (see above): the Present Habitual. Their meanings approximately parallel those of the three tenses with the present auxiliary. most often expresses a definite past event earlier than the day of speaking. The Remote Past. e. ‘she would have come’. Hypothetical and Unfulfilled Conditionals A hypothetical but possible conditional statement is usually expressed by the combination of the Conditional of izan with the tuko-form of the main verb. Present Habitual. but furthermore. the Hypothetic of izan is used as auxiliary. sal ezazu! sell (it)! Verbs also have a nonfinite imperative which is identical in form to the verb’s stem form (or in western Basque.g. salduko nuen. as in etorriko naiz I will come. etorriko nintzen. edin/ezan. salduko nuke I would sell (it). but can also express a general present with stative verbs such as ezagutu know. etorriko nintzateke I would come. e. Remote Past and Future-in-the-Past A parallel set of three more tenses are formed similarly with the Past of izan. the tu-form is empoyed: etorri banintz if I had come. For possible but hypothetical conditions this is combined with the tuko-form: etorriko banintz if I came. is used for habitual activity in the past and also as a general past of statives. saldu banu if I had sold (it). saldu nuen I sold. as in etorri naiz I came.e. Near Past and Future Three compound tenses can be formed with the Present of izan. salduko banu if I sold (it). In the if-clauses corresponding to these conditional types. Imperative The periphrastic imperative is formed with the imperative of the second pair of auxiliaries. Thus the Past Habitual. salduko dut I will sell (it). These. Past Habitual. the last two contrast with saltzen ditut I sell (them) and saltzen dituzu you sell (them).g. The Future-in-the-Past. etortzen nintzen I used to come. The Present Habitual often expresses habitual action. These are among the most frequently used tenses in Basque. as in etortzen naiz I come. and a completed (perfect) event having occurred at some time before the present (as in ‘I have read that book’). The Near Past expresses two notions: a definite (perfective) past occurrence within the day of speaking (as in ‘I saw him this morning’).31 sell (it). the Near Past. saltzen dut I sell (it). it will be remembered. mostly in indirect speech: ‘(she said) she would come’. It has another common use expressing unfulfilled conditional statements. to the tu-form): Etor!/Etorri! Come! . and the Future. salduko nuen I would have sold (it).g. As just observed. saldu dut I sold (it). saltzen nuen I used to sell. For unfulfilled conditions. e. etorri nintzen I came. i. always combine with the stem form of the main verb in standard Basque: etor zaitez! come!. may express a future action within a past time frame of reference. an unfulfilled conditional is usually expressed by the Future-in-the-Past tense: etorriko nintzen I would have come. ahal izan always assimilates its transitivity to that of the main verb. While usually retaining their intrinsic transitivity. Unlike nahi izan and behar izan. Those involving the potential morpheme -ke have been mentioned earlier.e. The details of this item’s syntax are somewhat complex. ‘to be doing something’.) ‘Cannot’ Any of the expressions for ability or possibility described may. One use. another element with a similar meaning is ahal. i. but in western usage in particular these formations are largely avoided in favour of a particular construction with ezin cannot. . I would/might be able to come).e. the verb is in the tu-form: Euskara ikasi behar dut. sal nezake I could sell (it).32 Potential Tenses The compound potential tenses expressing ability and possibility. very common in eastern Basque. meaning want and need: Etxe bat behar dut I need a house. etor ninteke I could come (i. Further Periphrastic Patterns The Continuous The continuous or progressive aspect. can or may (could. thus with an intransitive complement clause. are formed with the various Potential tenses of edin or ezan and the verb’s stem form: etor naiteke I can come. might etc. ‘Want to’ and ‘must’ Want to and must are expressed in Basque by the transitive compound verbs nahi izan and behar izan respectively. is illustrated by this example: Euskara ikasten ahal dut I can learn Basque. sal dezaket I can sell (it). is usually expressed by the intransitive compound verb (see the section Other Verb-Related Features below) ari izan in conjunction with a tzen-form: Euskara ikasten ari naiz I am learning Basque.). with overall preference for the inflected forms. (California joan behar naiz is also heard. but in those varieties the scope of use of ahal is generally more limited. we will have California joan behar dut I must go to California but California joaten ahal naiz I can go to California. in western Basque it can only take the tu-form. ‘Can’ There are several ways to express ability and possibility. Here ahal dut combines with the tzen-form of the main verb. These may be used with noun objects. in standard Basque. these matrix verbs agree with the main verb’s direct and indirect objects if there are any. be negated in the regular manner with ez not. compare: Euskara eta frantsesa ikasi nahi ditut. When they take a clause complement. but this western usage is colloquial and deemed substandard. Except for ba-.). there are certain minor morphophonemic rules involved when the subordinators are added. Some examples of the many compound verbs formed with egin are lan egin work. I wonder whether he has spoken to father?. as) as in Ulertuko du. The meaning of ba. I have heard that the house is pretty (but I haven’t seen it myself. called modal particles. while the latter occurs in indirect statements and circumstantial clauses.e. such as bizi izan live (intransitive) and maite izan love (transitive). and usually belonging to a very small set of common verbs such as izan be or have. Ezin naiz Californiara joan I cannot go to California.and bai-. The two suffixes -en and -ela each has a variety of functions as subordination markers. The most common meaning of bai. English I wonder.. used with interrogative sentences to express doubt (cf. Examples: Bilbora doan [= doa + -en] autobusa hartuko dut I’ll take the bus that goes to . i. make. and Autobusa ba al dator Is the bus coming? (versus Autobusa badator The bus is coming). indirect questions. and other contexts. the former is used in relative clauses.e. one of which (usually placed first) is not itself verbal in nature. -ela.e. this must be distinguished from the homophonous affirmative marker ba. There are also many compound verbs with either intransitive or transitive izan. ba.. the auxiliary in compound tenses. which is simply prefixed in a straightforward way. Other Verb-Related Features Compound Verbs Compound verbs are verbs composed of two lexical items.(see the first section of the chapter). hitz egin speak. which may or may not possess a synthetic conjugation. or the main verb in synthetic ones). euskara ederki ikasi baitu [= bai. Other dialects do not use al in quite this way.. Modal Particles There exists a small set of particles which may immediately precede the finite verb form (i. for (s)he has learnt Basque well.+ du] She or He will understand. i. but in eastern dialects -a is suffixed to the finite verb form with the same function: Joan nahi duzua? Do you want to go? (versus Joan nahi duzu You want to go). whose function is quite different: Autobusa badator joango naiz If the bus comes I will go.).33 whose syntax is illustrated by these examples: Ezin dut euskara ikasi I cannot learn Basque. etc.. Etxea polita omen da The house is —omen— pretty. and (in some western dialects only) al which marks a yes-no question as such.as a subordinator is if. or barre egin laugh: Aitarekin hitz egin nahi dut I want to speak to father. omen which indicates that the information asserted is a matter of hearsay. Examples are Aitarekin hitz egin ote du? Has he —ote— spoken to father?. The main particles are ote.is weakly causal (since. lo egin sleep. for. egin do. Subordination Markers In subordinate clauses the finite verb form takes one of four affixes which can be termed subordinators or subordination markers: -en. The second element is a normal Basque verb. or te-) is a verbal noun. Unlike a plain noun. normally expresses ‘time when’.g. It constitutes a noun phrase which.g. On the formation of these basic forms. Ez dakit nora doan autobus hori I don’t know where that bus goes to (indirect question).g. objects. it acts rather like a noun expressing an action..e. e. -enean when. as it occurs only sporadically in western Basque dialects. -elako because. Californiara joatean. -enez as. All nonfinite forms can be derived with ease from three basic forms or ‘principal parts’: the citation form or tu-form (e. But there is also ample scope for nonfinite subordinate clauses (see the section Nonfinite Verb Forms).. see above in the section Compound Tenses: Formation of Compound Tenses. the stem form (e. Nonfinite Verb Forms Principal Parts Nonfinite verb forms are used in many kinds of subordinate clauses. however. aita ikusiko dut When I go to California. Zuk esaten duzun [= duzu + -en] bezala egingo dugu We’ll do as you say (complement of bezala as). each of which has developed specific uses and meanings. and the verbal noun or tze-form (e. and other complements. normally the singular article -a. as such. i. but not always: Euskara ikastea zaila da Learning Basque is difficult. this practice has been followed in some dictionaries. which is more basic.g. I will see father (literally On going to California. its use in compound tenses was covered above. The Verbal Noun and its Derivatives The tze-form (ending in either tze. which usually precede the verbal noun.g. in verb complements. etc.g. from saldu sell we have the verbal noun saltzea (the act of) selling. already seen. This form is also limited dialectally.g. Because of its very frequent use it may be found practical to memorize the tzen-form (bukatzen) rather than the tze-form. The uses of the stem form are quite limited. -tzeko (local-genitive) and -tzean (inessive). The verbal noun may occur in any case that a simple noun phrase may be in. for example. bukatu finish). a verbal noun may still have its verbal arguments: subject. bukatze). Other kinds of finite subordinate clause take -en or -ela with another suffix following. e. Particularly common are the compound endings -tzera (allative). Another derivative of the verbal noun is the -tzen form obtained by adding an -n. numerous verbs take nonfinite complements with the verb in this form. must have a determiner. Esaten dute etxea polita dela [= da + -ela] They say that the house is nice (indirect statement). as alrelady seen.). and also to form the compound tenses.34 Bilbao (relative clause). Apart from its multiple uses in periphrastic tense expressions. buka). . Hitz egiten ikasi du He/She has learnt to speak. e. provided it makes sense in context. for example. The inessive verbal noun in -tzean. e. e. txikitxo tiny little (txiki small). or -ta/-da to the participle. tabernari bartender. Joey. -tto and -ño are diminutives freely suffixed to nouns (including proper names) and sometimes to other words: Josetxo little Joe. -ki and -ka form adverbs. by leaps. As an adjective. as a substitute for the stem form in all its uses in western colloquial usage. mendi hill. -txo. The participle has a full range of adjective-like uses. -tegi for places where something is kept. in nonfinite clauses governed by numerous conjunctions such as arte until. biblio-phile). asper-tu bore. Lexical Derivation Suffixation is the most common form of nominal derivation in Basque. ‘must’. -zale refers to a propensity (cf. and a few others besides. There is just one important verbal derivative suffix. the ‘partitive’ suffix -(r)ik.35 The Citation (-tu) Form and its Derivatives The tu-form of the verb has numerous quite different uses: to express past or perfect in compound tenses (see above). roast). gabe without. -tzaile. while the third produces deverbal adjectives: bizardun bearded. mountain. menditsu hilly. -gile and -(t)ar for names of persons: typically -tzaile denotes deverbal agents (cf. seller.g. -keta for names of actions and activities: erakusketa exhibition (erakuts-i show). there are various dialectal preferences for affixing either an article. ‘can(not)’ etc. bilbotar person from Bilbao. buy-er in English). mountanous. the causative -araz. or bezala as. Some of the most commonplace derivational suffixes are: -tasun for abstract nouns: edertasun beauty (eder beautiful). saltzaile salesperson. -gile the maker of something. liburuzale book-lover. it often occurs in the company of an article or other determiner: Lana egina dago The work is done (egin do). -(l)ari denominal agents (cf. as an unmarked nonfinite form in various contexts. made. historigile historian. get bored. (see above). -(l)ari. Used as a stative predicate. and as a participle. . -txu. sold: kafetegi café. saltoka jumping. in the complements of the modal expressions for ‘want to’. e. bitartean while. aspergarri boring (bizar beard. oilasko errea roast chicken (erre burn. Etxea saldua/saldurik/salduta da/dago The house is sold. the first referring to an attribute or possession. which takes the suffix -i in the citation form: ulertarazi cause to understand (ulertu understand). sportsman). the former denoting manner generally and the latter the form taken by an activity: xinpleki simply.g.(or its dialectal variants). -zale. the second to a vaguer characteristic. -dun. -tsu and -garri form adjectives. found. and -(t)ar refers to a place of origin. 36 * Most of this chapter has been abridged and adapted from the Reference Section of The Basque Language: A Practical Introduction by Alan R. King. 1994. Las Vegas and London). published by the University of Nevada Press (Reno. . Expressing the intention not to do something Ez dut liburu hori erosiko. Liburu hori erosteko asmoa daukat. There is no need. I have decided to buy that book. Asking for advice on what to do Zer egingo dut? What shall I do? Liburu hori erosiko dut? Shall I buy that book? . Ez dut uste liburu hori erosiko dudanik. Liburu hori erosteko gogoa daukat. Ez daukat hemendik joateko gogorik. Liburu hori erosi nahi dut. Ez dut liburu hori erosi nahi. Liburu hori erostea erabaki dut. I’m not going to buy that book. I’d like to buy that book. I want that book. I’m going to buy that book. Nik eramango dut? Shall I carry it? Nahi duzu nik eramatea? Do you want me to carry it? Nahi baduzu. I don’t want to buy that book. If you want. I would like to have that book. Liburu hori erosi nahi nuke. Expressing a wish to have something Liburu hori nahi dut. I wouldn’t mind buying that book.37 Chapter 5 Communicative Basque* Actions Offering to do something Nik eramango dut. Liburu hori eduki nahi nuke. Nik egin dezaket. I want to buy that book. I don’t feel like leaving here. I intend to buy that book. Ez dago beharrik. I don’t think I’ll buy that book. Offering something Kafea? Coffee? Ardoa ala zerbeza? Wine or beer? Kafea nahi duzu? Do you want coffee? Zerbeza hartuko duzu? Will you have (‘take’) beer? Tori! Here you are! Expressing a wish or intention Liburu hori erosiko dut. I can do it. I’ll carry it. I’ll dry them. If you wash the dishes I’ll dry them. Bale. All right. Hemen afalduko dugu? Shall we have dinner here? Nirekin afaldu nahi duzu? Do you want to have dinner with me? Eta zinera bagoaz? And if we go to the cinema? Eta zinera joango bagina? And if we went to the cinema? Zer egin behar duzu bihar gauean? What do you have to do tomorrow night? Making a deal Zuk ontziak garbitzen badituzu nik lehortuko ditut. Goazen buelta bat ematera. You wash the dishes. Let’s go to another bar. Invitations Zatoz zinera gurekin! Come to the cinema with us! Zinera etorri nahi duzu gurekin? Do you want to come to the cinema with us? Bazatoz bihar afaltzera? Are you coming for dinner tomorrow? Nahi zenuke bihar afaltzera etorri? Would you like to come for dinner tomorrow? . Zuek belarra mozten duzuen bitartean. Ez.) cut the grass. While you (pl. ez du balio. Beste batek ezin al du egin? Can’t someone else do it? Suggesting doing something together Goazen beste taberna batera. Ehun mila pezeta emango dizut kotxe horrengatik.38 Liburua erostea merezi du? Is it worth buying the book? Liburua erosi behar dut? Must I buy the book? Liburu hori erosi behar nuke? Should I buy that book? Zer uste duzu? What do you think? Zer diozu? What do you say? Asking for permission to do something Sar naiteke? May I come in? Erre daiteke? Can one smoke? Sartzerik badago? Is it all right to come in? Sartzen utziko didazu? Will you let me come in? Asking for permission not to do something Nik etorri behar dut? Do I need to come? Nahiago dut ez etortzea. we’ll start cleaning up. Ongi da. I’d rather not come. All right. that’s not fair. Konforme. nik lehortuko ditut. I’ll give you a hundred thousand pesetas for that car. Let’s go for a walk. Garbitu zuk ontziak. Okay. No. gu garbitzen hasiko gara. You’ll be better off taking the bus. Take my car. If you [will] put [your] name here please. You have to write [your] name..) Meloi bat emango didazu? Will you give me a melon? Badaukazu meloi haundi bat? Have you got a large melon? Emaidazu meloi bat. . Don’t pay for that if you don’t want to. (lit. Be careful with that man. You could take the bus. Ez ordaindu hori ez baduzu nahi. Ez galdu autobusa! Don’t miss the bus! Liburua ez ahaztu! Don’t forget the book! Giving permission Eraman nire kotxea. If I were you I’d take the bus. Nik zu bezala autobusa hartuko nuke. Give me a melon. Autobusa har zenezake. Nire kotxea eraman dezakezu. Two red wines.. Izena idatzi behar duzu. Hobe duzu autobusa hartzea. Two blacks. Warning Kontuz! Watch out! Be careful! Kontuz gizon horrekin. You may take my car. Kotxea eramaten uzten dizut. Izena hemen jartzen da. You needn’t pay for that. Write your name. Lagunduko duzu mahaia mugitzen? Will you help [me] to move the table? Leiho hori ireki dezakezu mesedez? Can you open that window please? Izena hemen jartzen baduzu mesedez. Lagundu mahaia mugitzen. Yes but.39 Beharbada zinera etorri nahi zenuke nirekin? Perhaps you’d like to come to the cinema with me? Suggesting that someone do something Zergatik ez duzu autobusa hartzen? Why don’t you take the bus? Autobusa har dezakezu. Autobusa hartzen baduzu? If you take the bus? Autobusa. Asking or telling someone to do something Idatzi zure izena. zer? What about the bus? Ideia ona! Good idea! Bai baina. Asking for something Bi beltz. Help [me] to move the table.. You can take the bus.. Excusing someone from doing something Ez daukazu hori ordaindu beharrik. One puts [one’s] name here. I permit you to take the car. Smoking is forbidden. (lit. I’m sorry. Thank you. but one cannot smoke here. (lit. One mustn’t drink that. Don’t drink that. Mesedez. You’re welcome.) Asking someone not to do something. Not for that. You’re welcome. Hori ez da edaten. A thousand) thanks. Not even think (it)!) . No. Of course. Information Giving information Kale honi Abenida deitzen zaio. Ez. One doesn’t drink that. Horixe (ba).40 Receiving something Eskerrik asko. forbidding Geldi! Stop! Nahikoa da! That’s enough! Ez ezazu hori edan. That is so. You don’t know how grateful I am. Ez dakizu zenbat eskertzen dizudan. No (no no). There’s no [reason] why. Hori gezurra da. baina ezin da erre hemen. Ez da egia. Ezta pentsatu ere! Forget it! Impossible! (lit. Hori ez da edan behar. Mila esker. Halaxe da. Ez horregatik.) Ez dago zergatik. Barkatu. It isn’t true. badakizu? This street is called the Avenida. Eskertzen dizut. Axola al zaizu ez erretzea? Do you mind not smoking? Erretzea debekatuta dago. you know? Badakizu kale honi Abenida deitzen zaiola? Do you know that this street is called the Avenida? Ez al dakizu kale honi Abenida deitzen zaiola? Don’t you know that this street is caled the Avenida? Noski. ez edan hori. That’s right. Bai? Yes? Ez? No? Benetan? Really? Denying information Ez (ez ez). Inola ere ez. Bai. Yes. Many (lit. No way. That’s a lie. I thank you. Don’t drink that please. I know he lives in California. It’s impossible that he should live in California. Baliteke Californian bizitzea. Californian bizi behar du. He may live in California. Nola (izan) daiteke Californian bizitzea?! How can it be that he lives in California?! Unlikelihood Ez dut uste Californian bizi denik.41 Asking for information Non dago geltokia (mesedez)? Where is the station (please)? Esango didazu non dagoen geltokia? Will you tell me where the station is? Badakizu non dagoen geltokia? Do you know where the station is? Geltokia hortik dago. Badirudi Californian bizi dela. Uncertaity. isn’t it? Attitudes Certainty Californian bizi da. Impossibility Ezin da Californian bizi. Arraroa (izango) litzateke Californian bizitzea. Ezinezkoa da (bera) Californian bizitzea. / Californian bizi dela dirudi. Ez nago ziur ea Californian bizi den. . He lives in California. I’m sure he lives in California. It seems to me that he lives in California. I think he lives in California. Californian bizi omen da. Ziur nago Californian bizi dela. Perhaps he lives in California. Californian biziko da. Nik esango nuke Californian bizi dela. I’d say that he lives in California. I don’t think he lives in California. He can’t live in California. It could be that he lives in California. ezta? The station is that way. Californian bizi daiteke. Badakit Californian bizi dela. I’m not sure whether he lives in California. Noski Californian bizi dela. Possibility Behabada Californian bizi da. He probably lives in California. It seems that he lives in California. Iruditzen zait Californian bizi dela. He must live in California. Probability Uste dut Californian bizi dela. It would be odd for him to live in California. They say (or I’ve heard) that he lives in California. Of course he lives in California. It’s a shame you aren’t here. Good morning.. Good night. Satisfaction. and yourself? Ondo esan beharko. (lit. Baita zuri ere. Zoritxarrez ez zaude hemen. or I don’t mind. Regret Pena! It’s a pity! Lastima! It’s a pity! Pena da zu ez egotea. Not so bad I suppose. • Responses: Epa/Aupa/Eup/Kaixo! the same Egun/Arratsalde/Gau on. Unfortunately you aren’t here. Espero dut azkar zuekin egongo naizela. Fortunately you’re here.42 Hope Espero dut azkar zuekin egotea. Zer moduz? Ondo. Excuse me. I hope I will be with you soon. Eskerrak hemen zauden! Thank goodness you’re here! It’s a good thing you’re here. Egun on. (eta zu?) Well. Discourse Starting a Conversation Epa/Aupa/Eup! Hi! Kaixo! Hello. (lit.. What have we?) Ze berri? What’s new? Aizu! Hey! I say! Barkatu. Good afternoon. I don’t care.) . Berdin.) Ez dit/zait axola. I’m glad (because) you’re here. I hope to be with you soon. Zer moduz? How you doing? Zer dugu? What’s up? (lit.. Arratsalde on. I don’t care. Good evening. Gau on or Gabon. Pozten naiz hemen zaudelako. or I don’t mind.. Same to you. Berdin zait. Likewise. [I’ll] have to say well. Relief Zorionez hemen zaude. It doen’t matter. Indifference Berdin da/dio. It’s the same to me. Goodbye. Until [we] see [each other again]. No news. Tell [me]. Until tomorrow. Hementxe. Okay. Yes. Same as always. Until later.) Hurrengo arte. Kaixo. [Xabier is a traditional man’s name. (lit. Until another [time]. Ikusi arte. Berririk ez. the same Introductions Ni Miren naiz. Take care. My friend’s name is Xabier.] Nere izena Miren da. Nire lagunak Xabier du izena.) Ongi izan. Zer dugu?/Ze berri? Beti bezala.) Hau Xabier da. Igande arte. Ikusiko gara. See you later. I am called Miren. Bale. Here [I am]. Likewise. Take care. Berdin. My name is Miren. Walk well. Take care. (lit. zer moduz (Xabier)? Hello. We’ll see each other.) Deituko dizut.) Ondo segi. This is Xabier. Gero arte. I’ll be seeing you. [Miren is an equivalent of ‘Mary’. We’ll get together some time. Bihar arte.) Ondo pasa.) Egongo gara.43 Beti bezala. Until Sunday. I’ll give you a call. Until the next [time]. Miren dut izena.] Nire lagunaren izena Xabier da. (lit. I have the name [of] Mary. (lit. how are you (Xabier)? Pozten naiz. Have a good time. I’m pleased [to meet you]. (lit. I am Miren. Urte askotarako! [May it be] for many years! Congratulating . (lit. Ongi ibili. Aizu! Bai? Yes? Zer? What? Esan. Be well. Barkatu. Same as always. We’ll be [together]. Bai? Yes? Ending a Conversation Agur/Adio. Deitu! Give me a call! • Responses: Bai. Continue well. My friend is called Xabier. Beste bat arte. (lit. Sentitzen dut. Forward! Wishing someone a good meal spoken when seeing somebody having a meal. Giving Condolence (Nire) doluminak. for ‘everyday’ drinking it is not customary to toast. (Give him/her) a kiss on my behalf. (lit. Emango dizkiot/diot. Responses: Zure partetik.) On dagizula! (ditto) On dagizuela! (ditto to more than one person) Responses: Eskerrik asko. come in! Aurrera! lit. I’ll give him/her them/it. sartu! Come in. including birthdays etc. Thank you! Baita zuri ere! Same to you! (if the first speaker is also eating or about to) Drinking a toast Xabierrengatik! Here’s to Xabier! (lit.44 Zorionak! Congratulations! (used for all happy events. [I’ll transmit them/it] on your behalf.) Response: Eskerrik asko! Thank you! Sending Regards Eskuminak! Best regards! Goraintziak! Best regards! (Emaiozu) musu bat nire partetik. or about to start a meal On egin! Have a good meal! Bon appetit! (lit. [May it] do you good. For Xabier!) only used on special occasions. I feel it. but one may optionally.) Response: Eskerrik asko. Thank you! Entering a room Sar naiteke? Can I come in? Response: Sartu. say: Topa! Touch [glasses]! Txintxin! (onomatopaeic) Zure osagarriari! To your health! (northern Basque Country only) Asking for Help Lagundu! Help! . on beginning to drink. I’m sorry. (My) condolences. What’s happening?) Introducing a Conversation Turn Aizu! I say! (lit.... Listen!) Badakizu zer? Do you know what? Linking Parts Within a Turn Adibidez... preceded by the phrase it qualifies) baita Miren ere and Miren too ere ez either. I’m going!) Zer gertatzen da? What’s the matter? (lit. Gainera..right? ......yes? .... Azkenik. What do you want to say?) Ez dut ulertu.isn’t it? (etc. For example. Zer esan nahi du ornoduna-k? What does ‘vertebrate’ mean? ‘Logical’ Connectors eta and ere also.. I didn’t understand.45 Laguntza! Help! Responses: Banoa! I’m coming! (lit.. (n)either. How?) Barkatu? Pardon? Zer esan duzu? What did you say? Zer esan nahi duzu? What do you mean? (lit... Checking on the Listener’s Attention/Understanding .. I didn’t understand you..you know? ....badakizu? ... even (follows the phrase it qualifies) ere bai as well (sentence-final.. Say it again. Beraz. On the one hand (lit. Alde batetik.ezta? .. neither ezta Miren ere nor Miren either ......... too.. Then. side). Ez dizut ulertu.) Asking for Clarification E? Huh? Zer? What? Nola? What? Pardon? (lit.e... So..... So. Beste aldetik. Orduan.. Esan berriz. For instance. Lastly. namely. i.......... On the other hand. alegia that is to say.bai? .. Furthermore. Esate baterako. Hau da. That is. Therefore.... ... 1988.. The contributions of members of the project workgroup to these lists of Basque language exponents is gratefully acknowledged. halere however hala eta guztiz ere nonetheless edo or edo.. Council of Europe (Strasbourg). edo.. ez. bai... published as Alan R.. King... .46 bai. and.if not.. either..... Atalase Maila.. bestela otherwise -elako because -(en)gatik because of zergatik? why? horregatik that’s why ba.. or.. furthermore baina but hala ere... unless *This chapter is a reworking of material forming part of the Basque threshold level document.. ez.if ez ba. both. gainera also. nor.. neither.. baby gazte young ume child. I am 16 years old. large town auzo neighbourhood Non bizi zara? Where do you live? Age zahar old haur child. Zenbat urte dituzu? How old are you? Sex emakume woman gizon man Marital Status emazte wife senar husband Ezkonduta zaude? Are you married? Ezkonduta nago. {Honi. berri new) hazi grow (up) 16 (hamasei) urte ditut. building pisu flat. apartment ate door . ezkondu marry neska girl mutil boy kale street plaza square. baby (cf. I am married.47 Chapter 6 Basic Vocabulary* Personal Name izen name Nola duzu izena? What is your name? Nola du izena (horrek)? What is his/her name? (cf. that} called?) Address helbide address probintzia province herri town hiri city. Bakarrik bizi naiz. plaza etxe house. I live alone. Horri} nola {deitzen/esaten} zaio? What is {this. Ikasten ari naiz. Kanpotarra/Atzerritarra zara? Are you a foreigner? Non jaio zinen? Where were you born? Occupation andereño schoolmistress ikasle student apaiz priest irakasle teacher arrantzale fisherman langile worker baserritar farmer maisu schoolmaster dendari shopkeeper mediku doctor etxekoandre housewife moja nun idazkari secretary zuzendari director. strange alfer lazy lotsati shy ezagun acquaintance euskaldun Basque erdaldun non-Basque-speaker . niece. txiki short argal. sinpatiko nice berezi special arraro. I am from here. grandchild ahizpa sister (of a woman) lehengusu cousin Zenbat zarete etxean? How many people are there in your family? (lit. How many are you at home?) People jende people (singular collective) pertsona person lagun person. Ez daukat lanik. good-looking atsegin. Family familia family arreba sister (of a man) ama mother anaia brother aita father amona grandmother gurasoak parents aitona grandfather haur child izeba aunt alaba daughter osaba uncle seme son iloba nephew. I am out of work. I am a teacher.48 Place of Birth Nongoa zara? Where are you from? Hemengoa naiz. luze tall baju. mehe thin lodi fat polit pretty. friend Personal Traits altu. I am studying. bitxi odd. manager idazle writer Zertan lan egiten duzu? What work do you do? Zer egiten duzu? What do you do? Irakaslea naiz. Geography ur water berogailu (water) heater kalefazio heating ispilu mirror mahai table aulki chair. bench giltza key leiho window eskailera stairs. edge txoko corner. Euria ari du/da.49 itsusi ugly alai jolly. staircase teilatu roof pareta wall izkina. It’s going to rain. farmhouse gela room sukalde kitchen komun toilet argi light ate door Furniture armairu. Eguraldi txarra dago. armario cupboard. cloud udaberri spring hodei cloud udazken autumn zeru sky Eguraldi ona dago. Euria egingo du. wardrobe ohe bed apal shelf Appliances and Conveniences telefono telephone telebista television irrati radio ordenagailu computer Weather eguraldi weather eguzki sun haize wind ilargi moon euri rain izar star elur snow uda summer ekaitz storm negu winter laino mist. cheerful serio serious interesgarri interesting aberats rich pobre poor Surroundings The Home etxe house. It is hot. alcove . Hotz egiten du. The weather is good. bazter corner. home baserri farm. Bero egiten du. The weather is bad. It is cold. It is raining. mountain hosto. team Literature liburu book egunkari newspaper aldizkari magazine antzerki drama. herb Fauna animalia animal abere (farm) animal txakur. field baso wood mendi hill. play orrialde page idazle writer futbol football baloi. game lehiaketa competition txapelketa championship txapeldun champion sari prize ekipo team talde group. orri leaf lore flower adar branch txerri. zuhaitz tree landare plant belar grass. zakur dog katu cat ardi sheep behi cow zezen bull ibai river erreka stream zelai plain. weed. pilota ball bizikleta bicycle irabazi win galdu lose jolastu play kirol sport argazki photograph festa/jai fiesta dantza dance (noun) dantzatu dance (verb) .50 mapa map mundu world lur land itsaso sea hondartza beach harri stone Flora arbola. zerri pig asto donkey zaldi horse oilo hen ahate duck txori bird arrain fish Leisure Leisure in General musika music liburu book taberna bar jatetxe restaurant zine cinema Sports and Games partidu match. ticket) gidari driver gidatu drive harrapatu catch galdu miss . itzuli turn around gelditu stop aparkatu park gasolina gasoline gasolindegi gasoline station txartel.51 hiztegi dictionary ipuin story bertso verse idatzi write irakurri read Transport and Communications Transport tren train autobus bus kotxe. phone (verb) zenbaki number fax fax. fax machine idazmakina typewriter gaztelu castle parke park ohitura custom janari food hotel. boat hegazkin plane geltoki station aireportu airport Driving kale street karretera. stay gelditu stay. abroad museo museum eliza church Communication eskutitz. bilete ticket joan-etorri return (journey. gutun letter postal postcard telegrama telegramme paper paper sobre envelope boligrafo ball-pen idatzi write telefono telephone deitu call. errepide highway izkina corner semaforo traffic light eskuin right ezker left Travel bidaia journey joan go etorri come itzuli return egon be. ostatu hotel kanpin campsite gela room bikoitz double lo egin sleep pasa spend (time) gau night buelta eman. txalupa ship. auto car ontzi. itsasontzi. remain pasaporte passport maleta suitcase poltsa bag atzerri foreign countries. cap ur water jaboi soap toaila towel komun toilet amets dream (noun) amets egin dream (verb) negar egin cry barre egin laugh jan eat edan drink bizar beard beso arm esku hand ipurdi bottom oin foot azal skin hezur bone bihotz heart odol blood . I am hot. Nekatuta nago. be alive bizirik alive hil die arnasa breath lo sleep (noun). I am hot. Gaisorik nago. gona skirt zapata. mail. get tried Clothing arropa clothes (collective singular) jertse sweater alkondara shirt prakak. (etc. I am tired. oinetako shoe txapel hat. I am ill.) I am thirsty. (colloquial) Beroa daukat. Haurdun nago. galtzak trousers Bodily States Bero naiz.52 posta post postetxe post office bidali send. post (verb) ordenagailu computer posta elektroniko electronic mail The Body The Human Body gorputz body buru head ile hair aurpegi face begi eye belarri ear sudur nose aho mouth hortz tooth Bodily Functions bizi izan live. I am hot. asleep (adverb) lo egin sleep (verb) esnatu wake up Personal Hygiene garbitu wash. (colloquial) and similarly: Egarri naiz. I am pregnant. clean bainatu bathe. have a bath dutxatu have a shower lehortu dry. Beroak nago. 53 Hotz naiz. Ondo nago. kutxa bank taberna bar Shopping denda shop ordaindu pay farmazia pharmacy. I am well. Gose naiz. It costs 1000 pesetas. (etc. azoka market supermerkatu supermarket bulego office banku. dessert Drinks ur water esne milk ardo wine garagardo. (etc. chemists diru money harategi butchers txeke cheque okindegi bakery txartel card ireki open prezio price itxi close garesti expensive erosi buy merke cheap saldu sell Zenbat balio du (honek)? How much does (this) cost? 1000 (mila) pezeta balio du. Everyday Life The Town kale street zubi bridge auzo neighbourhood etxe house.) I am cold. building denda shop merkatu. kafetegi café geltoki station eskola school udaletxe town hall anbulategi health centre ospitale hospital (poli)kiroldegi sports centre eliza church parke park Food and Drink Food haragi meat oilasko chicken arrain fish barazki vegetable fruta fruit goxoki sweet. zerbeza beer kafe coffee ogi bread gatz salt azukre sugar gazta cheese arraultz egg .) I am hungry. 54 Cooking janari food edari drink (noun). consommé saltsa sauce egosi boil frijitu fry erre roast labe oven su fire. Atalase Maila. beverage entsalada salad bokadilo. . The contributions of members of the project workgroup to these lists of Basque language exponents is gratefully acknowledged. ogitarteko sandwich salda soup. cooker * This chapter is drawn from material forming part of the Basque threshold level document. Council of Europe (Strasbourg). published as Alan R. 1988. King. Remote Past tense of a transitive verb. command zuhaitz tree guzti all. agindu zion: he commanded him. ezagutzen know ahalmen power. -etatik is the ablative (from) with the plural article. landu eta zain zezan. master. -an is the inessive (in) with the singular article.. har. it (non-absolutive stem) ba. Potential of a transitive verb. the verbal noun plus -ko here making an adjectival clause (to know) qualifying the following noun.if hil. and -en is the subordination marker. egiten do. baina but ez not... ezarri zuen: (he) placed him. Similarly landu eta below (for him to cultivate and look after)..e. (it) gives (it). she. hartatik: from it. lantzen cultivate zaindu. lan. hiltzen die egin. which gives. zuhaitz (which gives the ability to know everything). ezagut. the -a. agintzen order. -etik: ablative singular suffix with consonant stems. ez jan: do not eat. every jan.. make. hil egingo zara». direct objects are in the absolutive case (no ending). zain. hil egingo zara: unfocused you will die is hilko zara (future intransitive). Remote Past of a transitive verb with a dative object. -go is the local-genitive (of). hil.. hartu eta: this is a tu-form (citation form) of a verb used with eta in a non-finite clause followed by a finite one: took the man and placed him.. Jainko Jaunak egindako: non-finite relative (or participial) clause preceding .. abridged) 2:15 Jainko Jaunak gizona hartu eta Edengo baratzan ezarri zuen. agindu. Sugea zen. ematen give hartatik jaten baduzu. ematen du is the present habitual of a transitive verb. keep 2:16 Eta agindu zion: «Baratzako zuhaitz guztietatik jan dezakezu. dena ezagutzeko ahalmena: -tzeko form of ezagutu.is the singular article. zuhaitz guztietatik: from all the trees.55 Chapter 7* Sample Texts The Forbidden Fruit (Genesis 2:15-3:13. the whole being the direct object of eman give..] 3:1 Sugea zen Jainko Jaunak egindako piztiarik maltzurrena.. zaintzen look after. hartzen take eta and baratza garden ezarri. jan. in this context the focused construction is practically obligatory in western Basque. ability eman. The meaning here is a purpose clause: so that he would.. all ezagutu. jaten eat 2:17 baina ez jan dena ezagutzeko ahalmena ematen duen zuhaitzetik. agin. ba. Edengo baratzan: in the garden of Eden. put landu. egin. ezartzen place. jan dezakezu: you may eat (it). he.if a subordinator.: this word order puts sugea in obligatory focus preceding the synthetic finite verb. no dena everything.. ezar.. [. used as auxiliary to focus preceding verb suge snake zen was piztia beast maltzur sly -ak: the -k is the ergative case marker for subjects of transitive verbs. gizona: the -a is the singular article. formed with the verb’s stem form and the past of the auxiliary ezan. eman. normal construction with a superlative expression. i. ematen duen: relative clause preceding the head noun. har. -ko: local-genitive singular. jaten duzu is the present of a transitive verb. zain zezan: Past Subjunctive (transitive). lord gizon man hartu. jainko god jaun sir. non-finite imperative construction using the verb’s stem form.that. dena . ematen duen: predicate of the relative clause. jaten baduzu: if you eat (it). Jaunaren: of the Lord God who was walking in the garden.. [. it (non-absolutive stem) ezta . the finite verb form (with ez) moves forward.. ezta ukitu ere. -en -est.. hil nahi ez baduzue if you do not want to die. esan digu: Near Past (transitive + dative). hilko: you (pl. haren fruituetariko bat eta jan egin zuen. entzuten listen. (here) So. Future of an intransitive verb. superlatives are typically preceded by a partitive noun. esan zion: Remote Past (transitive + dative): (it) said to (her). erantzuten answer erdi middle. jan dezakegu: we may eat (it). gizonak eta emazteak: these singular nouns have the ergative ending -k. nor even. ukitzen touch nahi (izan) want inolaz (ere) by any means baratza erdian: postpositional construction. alone —Ez zarete inolaz ere hilko —esan zion sugeak—. esaten say emakume woman debekatu..] 3:8 Arratsean.that. ere nor . gizonak eta emazteak baratzan zebilen Jainko Jaunaren oinotsa entzun zuten 3:4 horr.. therefore. -etarik: dialectal variant equivalent to -etatik (ablative plural). and containing the ergative-marked subject/agent Jainko Jaunak: which the Lord God made or made by the Lord God. beraz.. hil nahi ez baduzue». either. debeka. arbola: here a synonym of zuhaitz. to eat.. hear -ean: inessive (in) singular following a consonant stem: in the evening. afterwards bere his.Hartu zuen. Gero.. he. unless you wish to die. acceptable in narrative style. so they must be the subjects of entzun hear rather than of the earlier verb zebilen! baratzan . he. dagoen: subordinator -en added to the synthetic form dago (it) is.. piztia. erantzun. .. she.. beraz. (he) has said to us. In the negative. bat one gero then. eating. in the middle of the garden. jan dezakegu baratzako arboletako fruituetarik. piztiarik maltzurrena: slyest beast. debekatu egin dizue: also debekatu dizue without verb-focus: (he) has forbidden you. 3:3 Baratza erdian dagoen zuhaitzaz bakarrik esan digu Jainkoak: «Ez jan horretatik. bere senarrari eman eta honek ere jan egin zuen. erantzun. of) with the singular article. -etako is the local-genitive plural..this. esan. ez zarete .... baratzako arbola guztietako fruituetarik jatea? esan. emakumeari: dative (-ri) with the singular article. arbola guztietako: of all the trees. half dagoen which is bakarrik only. -az: instrumental -z (about. uki..] 3:6 . here apparently a mere stylistic or euphonic variant. Near Past (transitive + dative)..56 the head. ukitu. haren fruituetariko bat: one of its fruits. arbola tree fruitu fruit 3:2 Emakumeak erantzun: —Ez.) will not die indeed. debekatzen forbid beraz then. erantzun: ellipsis. and if an auxiliary may be separated from the nonfinite verb form. jatea: verbal noun with singular article. [. for the normal erantzun zion (she) answered him. her (reflexive) senar husband hon. it (non-absolutive stem) arrats evening emazte woman. she. wife zebilen (who) was walking oinots footsteps entzun. superlative suffix Sugeak esan zion emakumeari: —Jainkoak debekatu egin dizue. from egon. entzun.. beldurtu eta gorde egin naiz. gordetzen hide. used with the subjects of transitive verbs. 3:13 Jainko Jaunak esan zion emakumeari: —Zer egin duzu? Emakumeak erantzun: —Sugeak engainatu nau eta jan egin dut. jakinaraz. eta harengandik gorde egin ziren zuhaitz artean. gorde (egin) naiz: Near Past (intransitive). forming a time clause. consisting of entzun dut. . nago: Simple Present of egon be. you have given to me. inform zaude you are -ela that (complementizer) galarazi. entzun dudanean: when I heard. you have done (it). here relative: which I forbade to you. (he) has told to you.Gizon batek bi seme zituen. go about. jakinarazi: causative of jakin know. galarazi nizun: Remote Past (transitive + dative). eman didazun emakumea: the woman whom you gave to me. The Prodigal Son — beginning (Luke 15:11-19) . Galarazi nizun arbolako fruitua jan al duzu? 3:12 Gizonak erantzun: —Laguntzat eman didazun emakumeak fruitua eskaini dit eta jan egin dut. jakinarazten tell. 3:9 Baina Jainko Jaunak dei egin zion gizonari: —Non zara? 3:10 Gizonak erantzun: —Zure oinotsa baratzan entzun dudanean. gorde (egin) ziren: Remote Past (intransitive): they hid (themselves). jan al duzu? Near Past (transitive) with interrogative al preceding the auxiliary: have you eaten? laguntzat: for a companion. zara: Simple Present of izan be. gizon bat(ek). as a companion. Here egin is not functioning as a verb-focus marker but as part of the compound verb dei egin. whose final -en is replaced here by the homophonous relative subordinator. (she) has offered (it) to me. jakinarazi dizu: Near Past (transitive + dative). I hid (myself). eskaini dit: Near Past (transitive + dative). eman didazu: Near Past (transitive + dative). -gandik from (with animates) gorde. gorde. eskaintzen offer 3:11 Jainkoak esan zion: —Eta nork jakinarazi dizu biluzik zaudela? nork: irregular ergative of nor. (it) has deceived me. (he) called to (him). galarazten forbid al interrogative marker lagun friend. Near Past (transitive). among the trees. harengandik: from him. with the subordinator -en and the inessive singular case suffix. 15:11 gizon man bat one bi two seme son -(e)k: ergative suffix. beldur. biluzik zaudela: that you are naked.. dei egin zion: Remote Past (transitive + dative). beldurtzen frighten. while bi two either follows or precedes and all other numerals always precede. as eskaini. engainatu nau: Near Past (transitive with first person singular direct object). companion -tzat for. zuhaitz artean: postpositional construction. eskain. bi seme: the numeral bat one always follows the noun. biluzik nagoelako. zer what engainatu deceive egin duzu: Near Past (transitive).. be frightened biluzik naked nago I am -elako because nor who jakinarazi.57 zebilen: Simple Past form of ibili walk. galaraz. keep artean among dei egin call non where zara you are zure your -enean when (subordinating conjunction) beldurtu. (it) is to me.58 bi seme: direct objects are in the absolutive case (no suffix). share out 15:13 Handik egun gutxira. esan. seme gazteenak. aitak. dena xahutu zuenean: may be translated by a pluperfect. zituen guztiak bildurik. urrutiko herrialde batera aldegin zuen han there egun day gutxi few. licentiousness bizi (izan) live dena everything xahutu. ondasun guztiak jan. dagokidan: a complex synthetic verb form consisting of a Simple Present form of egon be incorporating a first person singular dative index (-da-). aurkitzen fi d fi d lf eta estu aurkitzen hasi zen. xahutzen spend -enean when gosete famine ikaragarri terrible gertatu. Latin omnia). zituen (he/she) had (them) 15:12 Gazteenak esan zion aitari: “Aita. bana. esan zion: Remote Past (transitive + dative). sibling-share Eta aitak ondasunak banatu zizkien. aurki. -ari: dative -(r)i with singular article -a-. gertatzen occur. gosete ikaragarria gertatu zen inguru hartan galdukeria perversion. gazte young -en -est. narrow aurkitu. all his belongings. biziz: the instrumental suffix -z added to verbs gives another participial form: (by) living licentiously. emadazu dagokidan senipartea”. emadazu: this may be analyzed as a contraction of eman iezadazu give me (imperative). 15:14 Dena xahutu zuenean. banatzen distribute. thus dagokida. urrutiko herrialde batera: to a distant region. aldegin zuen: aldegin is intransitive in meaning but takes transitive morphology. estu aurkitu: find himself in difficulty. seme gazteenak the youngest son. jan: there is ellipsis of the expected auxiliary. hence zituen guztiak all the things that he had. (he) had (them). that of ondasun-ak is the absolutive plural article. eta and ondasun wealth banatu. banatu zizkien: Remote Past of a transitive verb with an additional dative complement: (he) distributed (them) to them. happen inguru hartan in the area estu tight. gerta. as do many other verbs. little zituen which he had (plural) guzti all. since the father is the subject. hasi takes a complement with the verb in the . (he) said to (him). the ending -en is replaced by the homophonous subordinator in the relative form found here. indicating that this is the plural direct object. every bildu gather urruti far away herrialde region aldegin leave.e. note the ergative marker on the subject. gazteenak: i. guztiak: the plural is used to mean ‘all things’ (cf. xahu. ondasunak: the -(a)k of aitak is the ergative marker. hasi zen: Remote Past (intransitive). when he had spent everything. but here it signals a participial adverb: having gathered his belongings. go away eta han. -rik: this is the partitive suffix. esaten say aita father emadazu give me (imperative) dagokidan which corresponds to me seniparte inheritance. zituen. where iezadazu is an imperative form of the transitive auxiliary ezan incorporating a first person singular dative index. aitari to (the) father. superlative suffix esan. gertatu zen: Remote Past (intransitive). handik egun gutxira: a few days later zituen: Simple Past of izan have. galdukerian biziz. zituen: Simple Past of izan have with a third person singular subject and a third person plural object. to which is suffixed the subordination marker -en to make the whole expression a relative clause. gazte-en-a-k youngsuperlative-article-ergative: the youngest (subject of transitive verb). txerrizain: (as a) keeper of pigs. jartzen put. joan. her (reflexive) sail allotment. eman. set. -aren: possessive-genitive (-(r)en) with the singular article. get up tzen-form. i. governed by the postposition kontra. go. nahi adina ogi: as much bread as they desire. jan. ematen give ez not. an idiomatic use of the ergative.. herri hartako gizon batengana joan zen morroi. bidal... morroi: (as a) servant. ematen zion: Past Habitual (transitive + dative). pentsatzen jarririk: having set himself to thinking.: regular ellipsis of the auxiliary before eta: read. with animates) joan.. pentsatzen think jarri. he.. bidaltzen send txerrizain pig keeper txerri pig jan. piece of land bidali. find oneself hasi. bere baitan esan zuen: “Zenbat langile gure aitarenean nahi adina ogi eta gehiago dutela. ase. gure aita: it is customary to think of the family collectively. zure: irregular genitive of zu. aitarengana joan eta esango diot: 15:18 Aita. -ez: instrumental plural. asetzen fill. eta ni hemen goseak hiltzen! Jaiki. hence ‘our father’ not ‘my father’ is more idiomatic Basque.. hiltzen die jaiki.. at our father’s (house or similar understood).. me hemen here gose hunger hil.. jaiki. inork: irregular ergative. joan. jaiki. esango diot: Future tense (transitive + dative). -ek: ergative plural. gure aitarenean: lit. bekatu egin sin jainko god zu you kontra against . -etara: allative (to) plural. has.. zen. as..! goseak hiltzen: dying of hunger. (here) to himself zenbat how many. zenbat langile: zenbat is counted as a determiner.e. chez mon père. satisfy (hunger) gogo desire. joaten go morroi servant bere his. 15:16 hark: irregular ergative of hura. bekatu egin dut Jainkoaren eta zure kontra. Jainkoaren kontra against God. while they have ni I. jaten eat ezkur acorn ase. will eman. hil. pentsa. Txerriek jaten zuten ezkurrez asetzeko gogoa ematen zion. pentsatzen jarririk. Orduan. I shall get up.for. employee gure our nahi (izan) want adina as much as ogi bread gehiago more dutela having. jaikitzen rise. no bai. bekatu egin dut: Near Past (transitive) of bekatu egin. zure kontra against you.. ez . set oneself bere baitan in himself. so there is no article on the noun langile.59 find. 15:15 eta hark bere sailetara bidali zuen txerrizain. har-. ez baitzion inork jaten ematen. jar. txerriek jaten zuten ezkurrez: with the acorns that the pigs ate. because inor anyone jaten eman feed pentsatu. I shall say to him. a compound verb: I have sinned. how much langile worker. aitarengana: to (his) father. gogoa ematen zion: he felt like. 15:17 Orduan. hasten begin orduan then herri town har.that (non-absolutive) gizon man -gana to (allative. eta ni hemen: and here I am. ematen: for no one gave him (anything) to eat. herri hartako: of that town. and I did eat.. and I was afraid. And he divided unto them his living. and said unto him. Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree. 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. . The woman whom thou gavest to be with me. gehiago: no longer. God hath said. and I did eat. and I hid myself. Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. langileetako bat: one of your workers.. whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said. Yea. 14 And when he had spent all. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman. there arose a mighty famine in that land.. because I was naked. and he began to be in want. be worthy izen name zeure your (reflexive) bezala like. 11 And he said. The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11 . and gave also unto her husband with her.. Father.she took of the fruit thereof. Har nazazu zeure langileetako bat bezala. and he did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman. thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. she gave me of the tree. What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said. and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.. and did eat. Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent. hath god said. I heard thy voice in the garden. lest ye die. saying. with a first person singular direct object): take me. 16 And the Lord god commanded the man. The serpent beguiled me. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together. 2:15 And the Lord God took the man.60 ez . The Texts in English (Revised Version) The Forbidden Fruit Gen. as har nazazu: finite imperative (transitive.A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father. And he said unto the woman. and took his journey into a far country. We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden. neither shall ye touch it. Ye shall not surely die: 6 . 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam. Ye shall not eat of it. give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.” 15:19 merezi izan deserve. Where art thou? 10 And he said.. Ez dut gehiago seme-izenik merezi. and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father.61 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. and before thee. 1994). he said. *The Basque texts are from Elizen Arteko Biblia (Basque Country. How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare. and he sent him in to his fields to feed swine. Father. and will say unto him. I have sinned against heaven. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself. The accompanying notes were written expressly for this Introduction. 19 and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. . Routledge.com/alanking/) for further information and links to other sites and Internet resources related to Basque. to get a copy of Colloquial Basque: A Complete Language Course by Alan R. Routledge.uk. but it is still a mine of reliable information unequalled before or since.ac. The recent trend is to publish books about Basque in Basque. But if you really want to know the situation of Basque today. a good first step is. reprinted by Elkar (Donostia. 1994). you should come here and find out! For this strategy to be effective. King. say. then it is time to start looking at what is on offer in those languages. or email Ms. King & Begotxu Olaizola Elordi.eirelink. as most of the older grammar books have many shortcomings. write to the Mercator Project in Aberystwyth (Wales) at Prifysgol Cymru. My all-time favourite. Fax: 01970-622 190. Getting Started If you already have gotten started and want to carry on. Communicative Grammar of the Basque Verb (Selected Aspects) (University of London. published by University of Nevada Press. 1997. you have two basic choices: Colloquial Basque or The Basque Language: A Practical Introduction (Alan R. Regarding origins. Frequently Asked Questions See the Basque page on my website (http://www. . In English there is very little except for a book in the Lingua series. Chapter 4. you really need to speak and understand some Basque: roaming around asking people about it in Spanish. which is a healthy sign as far as the language is concerned but may leave you high and dry. Chapter 2.62 Chapter 8 Further Reading Chapter 1. Basque Country) in 1979. then. 1994). and get started! Chapter 3. and if you can read French or Spanish. a book by Larry Trask has recently been published called The History of Basque. Grammatical Sketch If your interest for Basque grammar goes beyond what is offered here and in The Basque Language and Colloquial Basque. published by Croom Helm in 1988. French or English will not produce the same results! In practice. linguists may well call it dated. a classic and still a standard reference work. in which he both presents the conventional view and discusses (unsympathetically!) alternative theories. Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones at merc@aber. The Basque Language Today For information about media in Basque and other European minority languages. See Chapter 1 for details. telephone 01970-622 533. Cymru/Wales. 1996 (see Chapter 1 to find out how). An explicit analysis of the Basque verb system may be found in my unpublished doctoral thesis. Basque by Mario Saltarelli. Aberystwyth SY23 3AS. is Pierre Lafitte’s Grammaire Basque (1944). a ‘traditional’ grammar. Chapter 6. Vitoria-Gasteiz kalea 3. southern Basque Country) every December. making for no lack of contemporary materials. Chapter 7. For information on Basque courses on offer for adults in the Basque Country. for periodicals see the section on Media in Chapter 2. . periodicals and recorded music in Basque appearing continually in the Basque Country.63 Chapter 5. Atalase Maila (in Basque). Sample Texts There is a considerable range of published books. one of the foundations of the book was the Basque threshold level. Books are available through bookshops in major Basque towns. telephone +34 43-41 26 00. Like this chapter. There is a major yearly Basque book and music fair in Durango (Bizkaia. contact HABE. fax +34 43-41 26 01. Euskadi (Spain). 20008 Donostia. Basic Vocabulary The only usable Basque-English and English-Basque dictionaries published to date are those produced since 1989 by Gorka Aulestia and Linda White (University of Nevada Press). Communicative Basque Colloquial Basque is the most communicative Basque textbook. Documents Similar To KING Alan R. 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