The mysterious origins ... of the ancient Euskara language

The mysterious origins... of the ancient Euskara language
By Anna Bitong
24 July 2017

When Francisco Franco banned the use of the ancient Euskara language, residents of the Basque Country fought to keep it alive.
From my car window, I watched Spain transform. From Madrid in the country’s centre to the coastal north, empty land and grazing cows
turned to misty green mountains and a shimmering harbour full of boats. I had driven north before, but this was the first time I’d stopped in Getaria,
a medieval fishing village with beaches, vineyards and the 15th-Century baptismal church of native son Juan Sebastian Elcano,
the first person to sail around the world.
In the early afternoon, on a narrow street, hot smoke rose from seabream sizzling on an outdoor charcoal grill. Two men standing behind
a seafood delivery truck were speaking a language I’d never heard before. The staccato sounds they exchanged mingled with the light drips of rain
on the pavement that March day. Later, I realised they were speaking an ancient language that has teetered on the brink of extinction.

Some of the prehistoric caves paintings found in the Basque Country date back 14,000 years (Credit: Eric Brissaud/Getty Images)

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http://www.bbc.com/trav ... est-language