Basque language in Navarra: Beliefs, attitudes and ideology

The sociolinguistic situation of the community of Navarra is essentially interesting because of the two different co-existing languages (Basque and Spanish) each one of them having a different legal status and having had a different evolution, process in which the Basque language has been progressively reduced. Historical, socio-structural, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic factors determine many of the attitudes that come up when talking about the Basque language in this community. All these factors have a bearing on many declarations of politicians or the multiple revindications of Basque language in our society.The present study is a sociolinguistic research which investigates beliefs, attitudes and ideas about the Basque language using a statistical sample of today's population in Navarra.According to this general aim, a sociolinguistic survey has been carried out. In this survey there are different features that have been taken into account: linguistic competence, use and attitudes. The selection of people taking part in the study has been made according to a specific typology, which has been elaborated taking some relevant variables into account: sex, age, level of studies, linguistic competence and linguistic area.As a conclusion of the research, we can say that, in general, there is a positive attitude towards Basque language in this community. This attitude is closely related with historical, affective and moral reasons. Practical reasons, on the contrary, are mentioned as the most important in order to use Spanish more often. This positive attitude is conditioned by two facts: linguistic competence of speakers and linguistic distribution set up by the Law of Basque. Other factors determine this attitude as well, such as sex, age, education and the increasing learning of Basque as a second language.As a result of the study, we can state that the situation of the Basque language in Navarra is slowly changing. The positive attitude towards this language, mostly among young people, and the consideration of this language as capable of transmitting scientific knowledge and, in the end, as a language of culture gives way to an optimistic view of the situation. Even though, we cannot forget the deeply different perception of the same facts related to language among bilingual or monolingual people.