Is Basque harder to learn than other forms of Spanish?

[RomanAnthonysMama]

Hey everyone! My family is from Pamplona, Spain, though I've never been. I taught myself some Spanish awhile back, but I would really like to learn Basque instead. I was wondering how different it is from Spanish? Is it a lot harder to learn? Will it be even more confusing since I already know some Spanish? I think it'd be a great opportunity to feel closer to my culture. Thank you so much!

[alvarop]

Hey Roman,

Basque is completely different from Spanish. I do not know if it is harder to learn, but it sounds completely different. Check this out (quick research) :

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Iberiar Penintsulan bizirik dirauen erromatarren aurreko hizkuntza bakarra da euskara. Gutxitze prozesu gogorra jasan du, etenik gabe lurraldeak eta hiztunak galduz. Nafarroa Garaian bereziki, prozesu hori nabarmena da. XIX. mendearen bukaeran eta XX. mendearen hasieran, hainbat intelektual eta politikariren eraginez (Arturo Kanpion, Sabino Arana...) nolabait biziberritu zen, abertzaletasunari estuki loturik. Frankismoan (1936-1977) jazarpen latza pairatu ondoren, XX. mendearen erdialdetik aurrera hasi da indartzen, idatzizko estandarizazioari dagokionean, batez ere.

Does that even look close to Spanish? Really not, eh? You'd be starting from the top, really.

[Sness]

Like Alvarop said, Euskara (Basque) isn't like Spanish, in fact, it has no connection with any other language. Grammar and pronunciation are very different from Spanish and English, so you'd have to  start from scratch.

Maybe you could start by familiarizing yourself with the language, learn the history of it, hear some Euskadi music or watch movies in the language. (If you like Ska you can listen to Kortatu, Betagarri and Skalariak  ) 

I found this in Wikipedia: Basque grammar, it may help you to start somewhere. I don't know how much information there is in English for learning Euskara, it may depend on that how hard will it be for you to learn it. (You should learn Spanish just so you can go through the many courses there is in this language. )

On a side note, Pamplona is a modern city and not many people know how to talk Euskara, so if you  actually want to communicate with your family your best shot is Spanish.

[Gregor]

Basque is an "isolate" in linguistic terms - not related to any of it's surrounding languages. It is not a form of Spoanish but is a stand alone language and not all that easy to learn.

[yellowbird]

I'm really interested in learning Basque as well--does anyone have any credible online websites that they've used to at least begin learning?

[Alfonso]

The Basque language is  much older than the Spanish language, and is a very unique language. I've met many Spaniards, some with basque heritage, that have no idea how to speak Basque which is not surprising since only about 30% of people in the Basque region Speak Basque.

Not to discourage anyone but I would imagine it to be much harder to learn the Basque language compared to Spanish for two reasons. First, you won't find as much study material or reference materiel to study Basque from as well as Basque language speakers that might be able to tutor you. Also, the language is a lot older and doesn't share the origins of modern languages such as English, Spanish, German, French, etc. so it might come across as a very alien language to us.

[yellowbird]

The Basque language is  much older than the Spanish language, and is a very unique language. I've met many Spaniards, some with basque heritage, that have no idea how to speak Basque which is not surprising since only about 30% of people in the Basque region Speak Basque.

Not to discourage anyone but I would imagine it to be much harder to learn the Basque language compared to Spanish for two reasons. First, you won't find as much study material or reference materiel to study Basque from as well as Basque language speakers that might be able to tutor you. Also, the language is a lot older and doesn't share the origins of modern languages such as English, Spanish, German, French, etc. so it might come across as a very alien language to us.

You make some good points here; do you think the language is at risk for dying as a result of this though? Also, do you know if the situation is similar with Catalan?