Three months to simple sentences in Basque

A three month study program to learn how to construct simple sentences in Basque.

Skip straight to the study plan here .

I'm Kristina, I'm an English teacher from Scotland and I live in the Basque Country.

I spent my first three years in the Basque Country "wanting to learn Basque".

Full of good intentions, and desperate to be a respectful inhabitant of this country, I wanted to make an effort to learn the language, and yet my efforts never made it past the occasional "osasuna" or "lasai".

I was not only motivated out of colonizer's guilt but also out of linguistic curiosity; I love languages and language learning and here I was in the Basque country, home of Europe's oldest currently spoken language!

I was extremely excited by the prospect of learning the Basque language and totally convinced that I was going to do it; very soon, next month, maybe in September..maybe next year..?

Then three years went by, three years of saying "euskara ikasten dut" without it being true. Three years of good intentions and no action! Three years of growing increasingly dissatisfied with myself...

Starting classes - Angeluko Ikasleak

Finally, in September I started Basque classes with the association Angeluko Ikasleak in Anglet.

Big shout out to my teacher Joëlle, who despite insiting on the fact that she is not a Basque teacher, but rather a retired nurse, is one of the best teachers I've had the good fortune of being taught by!

If you're looking for an affordable way to learn Basque I'd definitely recommend you check them out, you get two hours a week for a whole school year for around 180€, and they organize a lot of free activities to help you improve both your Basque and to deepen your cultural knowledge: hikes, cultural visits to Basque villages and museums, weekly language exchanges, conferences. Have a look at their website here !

It's been 9 months now, I still can't really speak Basque but I am very proud to say that I've made a start!

The Study Plan - 3 months to simple sentences in Basque

To celebrate the end of my first year as a Basque student, I've decided to create a plan for other people who want to learn Basque. The objective of this study plan: Learn how to construct simple sentences in Basque in 3 months.

I've decided to create this study plan for a few different reasons.

1. I want to share the resources that I've created and help other people learn Basque.

2. As a language teacher, I like building courses, and enjoy the challenge of trying to imagine an "easy" way to learn a difficult language.

3. Creating this study plan was a good way to revise what I learned this year in Basque class!

So if you want to make some basic sentences in Basque or order a beer at the next Fêtes de Bayonne euskaraz (in Euskara) check it out!

How does it work?

To create this study plan I've used Quizlet, an online study platform that helps you create and memorise flashcards. Each week you have one or two sets of flashcards to study.

Click on the icon to the below to access the folder "Euskara - 3 months to simple sentences".

Study plan outline - 3 months, 12 weeks

This 3 month study plan can be broken down into 12 weeks ; with each week introducing a different topic to study that builds on the previous week.

• Week 1 : Basic vocab : 10 adjectives, 10 nouns

• Week 2 : Articles, plurals & adjective/noun word order

• Week 3 : To be (Izan/Naiz)

• Week 4 : Suffix -an (I am in)

• Week 5 : To be + other verbs (come, go, walk, live)

• Week 6 : Suffix -ara (I go to)

• Week 7 : To have (Ukan/dut)

• Week 8 : To have + other verbs (buy, take, see)

• Week 9 : To want, To need (Nahi dut, behar dut)

• Week 10 : Mixing auxilary verbs - Izan vs Ukan

• Week 11 : More vocab (15 adjectives, nouns and verbs)

• Week 12 : Simple sentences!

  

  Organise the lists by title to see them in the correct order

What you'll know by the end of the program

At the end of this 3 month program you'll be able to construct simple sentences such as:

Baionan bizi naiz - I live in Bayonne

Garagardoa nahi dut - I want a beer

Ez du liburu berria irakurri - She didn't read the new book

Atera behar gara - We need to leave

Disclaimers!

Disclaimer 1: This study plan is by no means exhaustive ; my objective was to keep it as simple as possible.

For that reason I have purposefully omitted many linguistic elements commonly found in beginners' guides (such as: Ukan for plurals, demonstrative articles, personal pronouns, to name a few.).

A language is obviously so much more than a collection of words and structures; however, my goal here was to create a very minimalistic and pragmatic study plan, that could serve as a 'first step' towards learning Basque, and that will hopefully leave you motivated, enthusiastic and raring to learn more!

Disclaimer 2: I'm not a native speaker of Basque or a Basque teacher!!

I am just a beginner student learning Basque, hoping to share a study plan that could help other beginner students learning Basque. If any Basque speakers spot any problems in my study plan, or have any suggestions on how to improve it, please do let me know, I really appreciate it!

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WEEK 1 : 3 months to simple sentences in Basque

For this first week, we're going to learn 10 adjectives and 10 nouns.

(Don't worry, no grammar for now!)

Basque nouns 1.

etxea - house

liburua - book

gizona - man

emaztea - woman

herria - town

mendia - mountain

autoa - car

bidea - road

arnoa - wine

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Basque adjectives1.

ttipia - small

handia - big

zaharra - old

berria - new

gaztea - young

xuria - white

gorria - red

beltza - black

polita - pretty

bikain - excellent

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How do I use these lists?

I try to study the lists for 5-10 minutes per day. I find that studying small quantities frequently (10 minutes, every day) is far more effective than studying a lot infrequently (one hour, once a week).

I hope you enjoy studying with these lists! If you're a Basque speaker and you find any mistakes please let me know, See you soon, Ikus arte!