An American Tries to Learn Euskara | Episode 1

After a lifetime of listening to her family speak Euskara, the Basque language, Anne-Marie embarks on a journey to learn it herself. In this video, she talks about what tools she uses to learn Euskara outside of the Basque Country. Follow along as she attempts to learn this ancient and mysterious language.

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[generacionvino]

Think about Reno´s University. They could have any Basque course because the uni has the biggest Basque library outside Basque Country. If you live around San Francisco, it takes about 4 hours to arrive there, so it´s not too far for you to stay for few day.
You also can write about topics in Basque and be corrected by Basque speakers (c1).

[jokinezenarro]

Oh, yeah! We get really hyped because we know you can do it. As a native basque speaker (C1 title) I'd love to volunteer to help you or anyone studying basque in any ways I can. Segi horrela. Ezina ekinez egina! (Impossible it's done with effort).

[jesusangelsanchez]

Anne-Marie Keep going! Hang in there! Beti aurrera! :)

[weekender]

Wow, best of luck Anne-Marie. I had a (very) brief dalliance with learning Euskera, but I'm learning Castellano now. Maybe if I learn Spanish to a good level I can spend some time in the Basque Country and have proper go at Euskera.

[Dylan-wgke]

Really excited for your daily Basque videos! I've been learning Basque the past few months, I use The Basque Language by Alan R. King (probably you're familiar?) as my main textbook. It's slow going but you can learn a ton with it. Love your videos!

[manuelhernandez]

Kaixo!
You can learn euskara! I live in Mexico so I've had some of the same difficulties as you, but with a lot of effort and time I've reached a decent conversational level.
Just wanted to encourage you to keep going!
Ondo izan!

[michelleamaro]

I'm excited to see what you post and try and learn along with you!! I'm also in Cali (San Diego). Zorte Ona Gurekin!!

[VeronicaLPMV]

Kaixo Anne!!! I am learning Euskara too! I am using the same book that you have. We are at the same level...we are beginners. We could encourage each other with these videos. Really good idea, keep going!

[northstar]

I wish you good luck with your Euskera learning project. I did it myself, it is not impossible and I ended up spending two weeks in Euskal Herria, speaking only Basque with Basque speakers (lots of people there actually only speak Spanish of French ...) and having reasonable conversations. I began with the Assimil method, because of the AUDIO, and then with booklets like the ones you brought from Elkar. I copied and studied some "nor-nori-nork" schemes, I watched long hours of Basque videos on YouTube and imitated what was being said, I downloaded lots of Basque songs and kind of karaoke'd them, wrote down some planned conversations, and finished with a serious grammar study from Ilari and Entzi Zubiri's "Euskal gramatika osoa" and from Ibon Sarasola's big dictionary "Euskal Hiztegia". After LOTS of practice, you indeed get a good feeling of how the language really works. It took lots of time and effort, but I loved every minute of it. See, some people climb mountains, and other climb languages ... and Basque sure is a real mountain of a language! Have fun!

[barbliska]

I would love to learn. Hopefully there’s Basques here in Alberta Canada 🇨🇦

[bszz]

I've started studying Basque with "Beginner's Basque" by Wim Jansen. I found the grammar is clearly explained. I've visited Hegoalde quite a few times.

[robzul]

My ancestors originally came from the Ibarranguelu, Bizkaia region of the Basque country. I am slowly trying to learn it myself. They don't have any classes here in Florida where I live so I think I am going to learn online for now or maybe visit the Basque center in Boise, Idaho to see if they offer any classes.

[Natalie.D]

Thanks for this video! I did a basque language class in New York maybe 12 years ago, and audited a class at the university of illinois in basque maybe 9 years ago, so... I need to brush up for sure!!!

[marie-nicolelapeyrade]

Have you ever come across the book, “ L’Euskara: Méthode Active?” It is written by Yon Onatibia. It is written in French; it assumes an audience living or wanting g to learn Basque spoken in Labourd and Basse-Navarre.

[lizar]

Nice! I will follow you and try to learn english.
Mintza-lagun is one option that you can use now a day with digital tools that we have.
Eutsi horri!

[landerviguera]

Eutsi gogor!!! Zu eta euskera ikasten ari zareten guztiok!!! Animo!!!

[acamic]

I've generally been a lazy student of Basque, maybe your daily videos will keep me more engaged. Zurekin euskaraz hitz egitea noizbait espero dut. Gora euskaldun estatubatuarrak!

[matthewmasengale]

Thank you so much for sharing this. I have just discovered your channel. I am so grateful for all you have been sharing about our culture. I have been trying to learn Euskara as well. Kaixo Bakersfield California-tik.

[craigfaber]

I'm learning Basque. It's hard, but doable. Very slowly, my comprehension is getting better.

[alistairdodds]

You've got this Anne! Learning a language that is completely different to your mother tongue can be very daunting at the start, but once you are comfortable with it the satisfaction of being able to understand and speak it confidently gives you such satisfaction. I'm very excited to see your progress! Ekin gogor! Non gogoa, han zangoa! (PS Us Basque people get very excited when we meet a foreigner that has bothered to learn our tricky language so I'm sure you'll meet many enthusiastic locals next time you come visit with your new knowledge of the language!)