euskaldunak

Euskaldunak are individuals who speak Euskara, the Basque language. The term Euskaldun (plural Euskaldunak) comes from Euskara, with the suffix -dun meaning “having” or “possessing,” so Euskaldun literally means “one who has Basque.” In common usage, Euskaldunak are Basque speakers and are often linked to Basque cultural identity.

Basque (Euskara) is a language isolate spoken in the Basque Country, a region that spans parts of northern Spain (the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre) and the French Basque Country. It is co-official with Spanish in the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre, and a standardized form, Euskara Batua, was developed in the 1960s to unify dialects for education and media. Many Euskaldunak are bilingual in Spanish or French, and Basque is taught in schools and used in public life.

Geographically, the majority of Euskaldunak live in the Basque Country, with diaspora communities in Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, and other countries. Worldwide estimates of Basque speakers vary, generally placed in the low hundreds of thousands to around a million.

Culturally, Euskaldunak participate in Basque revival and maintenance efforts through language education, media, literature, music, and cultural associations. The post-war revival strengthened the public presence of Euskara in schools, radio and television, and community organizations that sustain Basque language use among Euskaldunak and their descendants.