What It Means To Be a Basque Writer
“There is no such thing as an ugly language. Today I hear every language as if it were the only one, and when I hear of one that is dying, it overwhelms me as though it were the death of
Basque writer Kirmen remembers his early years in the Basque Country during Franco's dictatorship. He was born with no name and went through a legal process to be registered as Kirmen, a Basque name forbidden by the state. His mother fought to keep Basque language and culture alive, even when the police searched their home. Kirmen grew up learning Basque at home and school, as the language was not officially recognized.
Unlike many writers, he was born into a world where Basque was still developing and needed protection. The Basque language, Euskera, is a minority language spoken by around a million people in the Basque Country, despite nearly two and a half million residents. It is not an Indo-European language, with its origins shrouded in mystery.
Basque is a resilient language, constantly evolving as it interacts with other cultures. Kirmen studied philology but found his passion in storytelling, becoming a Basque writer.
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