Biscayan dialect

In the words of Georges Lacombe, because of the special features of this dialect, Euskera could well be divided into two groups of dialects: Biscayan and the rest. He argued that this dialect was so different from the rest, that the isoglosses separating it from the adjacent dialects (Gipuzkoan or central) are so close to each other that form a clear line; that is, the phonetic-phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical features of Biscayan coincide geographically to the point of creating a distinctively clear and defined dialectical border.

Because of these differences both with the rest of the Basque dialects and also with Standard Basque or Batua, and respecting their corresponding uses, the Euskaltzaindia has produced a Model for Written Biscayan (Basque: Bizkaieraren idatzizko ereduaren finkapenak), a set of rules mainly focused on morphosyntax. The official use of the dialects of Euskera is regulated through Regulation 137 of the Euskaltzaindia, according to which the use of Batua should be limited to the fields of communication, administration and teaching.

Since 1997 and according to the new dialectical classification realized by Koldo Zuazo, author of Euskalkiak. Herriaren lekukoak (Elkar, 2004), the name given to Biscayan is the Western Dialect, due to its use not being limited to the province of Biscay, but with users in some Gipuzkoan regions such as Debagoiena (mainly) and Debabarrena, and also some Alavan municipalities such as Aramaio (Aramayona) and Legutio (Villarreal).

According to a study by Yrizar, this dialect was spoken in the seventies by around 200,000 people,[3] with the number of estimated speakers approaching 300,000 by the eighties. In 1991 16% of the population of this province could speak Basque, and data gathered in 2001 data 22% of the total 1,122,710 Biscayans (i.e. 247,000) could speak and write in Basque. However, this data is only illustrative, as there is no record of how many of the Basque speakers spoke Biscayan specifically and it does not take into account Biscayan speakers in Gipuzkoan territory (Bergara, Leintz Gatzaga, Mondragon, Oñati, etc.)

Current map of Biscayan dialects and subdialects.[4]

Biscayan is not a homogeneous dialect, it has two subdialects and eight main variations.[4]

The Biscayan used by Arana and his followers introduced several neologisms and purist forms. They also used a spelling with characters such as ĺ and ŕ, straddling away of the Spanish-influenced tradition. Only some of their innovations had been taken up by modern Biscayan and Standard Basque.

The borders of Biscayan match those of the pre-Roman tribe of the Caristii. Biscay was formerly included, along with Alava and the Valley of Amezcoa, within the ecclesiastical circumscription of Calahorra, which explains the wide influence of the Western Dialect in these regions.

Realizations of the diaphoneme //j//.[5]

Some features of Biscayan as perceived by other dialect speakers may be summed up as follows:

• ⟨j⟩ is realized as [d͡ʒ] or [j].
• The verb root eutsi used for the dative auxiliary verb (nor-nori-nork), e.g. dosku/deusku vs. digu.
• Auxiliary verb forms dot-dok-dozu most of the time, as opposed to general Basque dut.
• Convergence of sibilants: z /s̻/, x /ʃ/ and s /s̺/ > x /ʃ/; tz /ts̻/, tx /tʃ/ and ts /ts̺/ > tz /ts̻/.
• Clusters -itz generally turned into -tx, e.g. gaitza > gatxa.
• The conspicuous absence of past tense 3rd person mark z- at the beginning of auxiliary verbs, e.g. eban vs. zuen.
• Assimilation in vowel clusters at the end of the noun phrase, notably -ea > -ie/i and -oa > -ue/u.
• VñV ending words, as opposed to the Beterri Gipuzkoan VyV or standard Basque V∅V: konstituziño vs konstituziyo, standard Basque konstituzio.
• In spelling, it has no h and it has -iñ- and -ill- where standard Basque has -in- and -il-.

Biscayan dialect has a very rich lexicon, with vocabulary varying from region to region, and from town to town. For example, while gura ‘to want’ and txarto ‘bad’ are two words widely used in Biscayan, some Biscayan speaker might use cognates of nahi and gaizki respectively, which are generally used in other dialects.[6] One of the current main experts in local vocabulary is Iñaki Gaminde, who in the last years has extensively researched and published on this subject.

• Basque dialects

• Bizkaiera hiztegitxoa