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Basque language
Basque language tongue of uncertain relationship spoken by close to a million people, most of whom live in NE Spain and some of whom reside in SW France. The language has eight dialects. Speakers of Basque are for the most part bilingual, and there are many Basques who do not speak the language. Basque is definitely not an Indo-European tongue. Some scholars believe it is descended from Aquitanian, which was spoken on the Iberian peninsula and in S Gaul in ancient times. Other linguists think Basque is akin to the Caucasian languages and suggest that its speakers came from Asia Minor to Spain and Gaul c.2000 BC However, no relationship between Basque and any other language has been established with certainty. The alphabet used for Basque employs Roman letters. The first printed book in Basque appeared in the 16th cent. Basque is both agglutinative and polysynthetic. In an agglutinative language, different linguistic elements, each of which exists separately and has a fixed meaning, are often joined to form one word. In a polysynthetic language, a number of word elements are joined together to form a composite word that functions like a sentence or phrase in Indo-European languages, but each element has meaning usually only as part of the sentence or phrase and not as a separate item.
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"Basque language." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Basque language." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Basquela.html "Basque language." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Basquela.html |
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Basque
Basque A member of an ethnic group inhabiting the western Pyrenees on both sides of the French-Spanish border; this region in known as the Basque Country. The Basques possess a distinctive culture and language, perhaps the result of their relative isolation from the rest of Europe until comparatively recently. It has been suggested that their ancestors migrated to Europe from the Caucasus about 12,000 years ago and about 5000 years ago moved to the Basque country. Although the Basque country is divided between France and Spain, the Basques have maintained an identity separate from both states. From the 14th century onwards the Basques were renowned for their fishing and whaling skills. Basque culture underwent a revival in the late 19th century, which ensured its continuance into the 20th century. During the SPANISH CIVIL WAR, the Basques supported the Republic; in reprisal, German aircraft acting on behalf of FRANCO's Nationalists destroyed the Basque town of Guernica in 1937. Under Franco's regime, concerted attempts were made to suppress the Basque culture and language. In response to what they consider continuing efforts to stifle their culture by the imposition of centralized authority, many Basques in Spain have campaigned for an independent Basque state, through the nationalist party Herri Batasuna or its violent military wing ETA (Basque Fatherland and Liberty).
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"Basque." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Basque." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Basque.html "Basque." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-Basque.html |
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Basque
Basque a member of a people living in the Basque Country of France and Spain. Culturally one of the most distinct groups in Europe, the Basques were largely independent until the 19th century; the Basque separatist movement ETA is carrying on an armed struggle against the Spanish government. The Basque language is not known to be related to any other language.
The name comes via French from Latin Vasco, the same base as Gascon. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Basque." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Basque." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Basque.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Basque." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Basque.html |
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Basque
Basque / bask/ • n. 1. a member of a people living in the Basque Country of France and Spain. Culturally one of the most distinct groups in Europe, the Basques were largely independent until the 19th century. 2. the language of this people, which has no known relation to any other language. • adj. of or relating to the Basques or their language. |
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"Basque." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Basque." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-basque.html "Basque." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-basque.html |
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Basque
Basque
•Basque, Monégasque
•ask, bask, cask, flask, Krasnoyarsk, mask, masque, task
•facemask
•arabesque, burlesque, Dantesque, desk, grotesque, humoresque, Junoesque, Kafkaesque, Moresque, picaresque, picturesque, plateresque, Pythonesque, Romanesque, sculpturesque, statuesque
•bisque, brisk, disc, disk, fisc, frisk, risk, whisk
•laserdisc • obelisk • basilisk
•odalisque • tamarisk • asterisk
•mosque, Tosk
•kiosk • Nynorsk • brusque
•busk, dusk, husk, musk, rusk, tusk
•subfusc • Novosibirsk
•mollusc (US mollusk) • damask
•Vitebsk
•Aleksandrovsk, Sverdlovsk
•Khabarovsk • Komsomolsk
•Omsk, Tomsk
•Gdansk, Murmansk, Saransk
•Smolensk
•Chelyabinsk, Minsk
•Donetsk, Novokuznetsk
•Irkutsk, Yakutsk
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"Basque." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Basque." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Basque.html "Basque." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Basque.html |
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