A Beginning (Euskera Paper)

Okay, I think I have an introduction to my paper. Now I just have to... you know.... follow it up with a body and a conclusion, and translate it all into Spanish. XD Normally I'd compose it all in Spanish first - it's more time efficient that way, but this being my first University Paper, I want to do my best, and it's a bit easier for me to organize things and form a solid argument in English.

I think I need one more sentence at the end, but anyhow, this is pretty close. I'm also not entirely certain of the use of 'dichotomy'. I want to say that the situations had seemingly similar roots, but then diverged dramatically. Dichotomy makes it sound like they started as the same thing... one thing, not two very similar things. Or does it? Help? :D

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Euskera, the language isolate of the Basques, and Catalan, the romantic language spoken by the Catalonians, are both minority languages of Spain. Their current situations, however, are very different, as Catalan grows in prestige and recognition while Euskera has been unable to rise above its reputation as a rustic and primitive language, and continues losing speakers. The fate of these languages is inextricable from that of their accompanying nationalist movements. Since the mid seventeenth century, both the Basques and the Catalans have struggled to keep from being absorbed by and lost in the dominant Castilian culture. Although both regions remain part of Spain today, the Catalonians have been far more successful in gaining a measure of autonomy and cultural independence, as evidenced by the prevalence of the Catalan language in that region, while Euskera continues to decline, and the Basque separatist movement continues to be plagued by the threat of terrorism. What led these two movements, seemingly so similar, to such different outcomes?

There are a number of factors that explain this dichotomy, not least among them differences in geography, history, economics, and at times, sheer coincidence. In this essay, however, I would like to focus on the linguistic aspects of the movement. There is a Basque proverb that claims, “Izena duen guztiak izatea ere badauke” – that everything that has a name, exists. But there is another, seemingly diametrically opposed, that states, just as confidently, “Izenak ez du egiten izana” – a name does not make something true. The connection between Euskera and the Basque separatist movement is complicated, at times seemingly contradictory, but of immense importance in attempting to explain either.