What is EUSKARA or Where does the Language of the Basque Country come from? Basque language Basque language translator
, blogand on the page Instagram. Finalist of the Language Heroes stream. On the western slopes of the Pyrenees, between present-day Spain and France, a mysterious people - the Basques - have lived since time immemorial. Their language is very different from the surrounding Romance languages, and this dissimilarity has given rise to and continues to give rise to many legends about Basque. In addition to theories about its origins and family ties, there is also a myth about the insurmountable difficulty of learning this language.However, mastering Basque is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. Thousands of people in the Basque Country learned the language as adults; and there are more and more foreigners speaking fluent Basque. Do you want to join their ranks? All useful materials for learning Basque have been collected, but now I’ll tell you what Russian speakers shouldn’t be afraid of in this language and what, on the contrary, they’ll have to tinker with.
Dialects vs. literary language
The language taught to both non-Basque and native speakers in school is called euskara batua, literally "united Basque". This, one might say, is a literary standard artificially created half a century ago, which was conceived as something understandable for speakers of any dialect.
Easily: creators euskara batua“they tidied up” the Basque inflection and removed all dialectal illogicalities. For example, in the Biscay dialect the transitive auxiliary verb is conjugated like this: dot-dozu-dau-dogu-dozue-dabe. IN batua everything has been made more beautiful: all forms look like du+ ending ( dut-duzu-du-dugu-duzue-dute).
Difficult: despite the fact that the vast majority of Basques own euskara batua(and some are native speakers and do not speak the dialect), the unified Basque in each region has its own differences. The main difficulty lies in vocabulary: often for one concept in batua Multiple words may be used. For example, a hedgehog in the west of the Basque Country will be called kirikiño, in the center - triku, and in the east - sagarroi. So, ideally, a Basque learner should choose a variety batua and learn vocabulary of a specific region.
Phonetics
Easily: Most Basque sounds do not cause any particular problems for Russian speakers, and incorrect pronunciation of those sounds that do not exist in Russian will not interfere with mutual understanding.
Difficult: Basque accent and intonation if you your goal is to sound like a native speaker. If perfect phonetics is not the most important thing for you, then it is better not to waste precious time on them.
Grammar
Easily: cases! People like to intimidate with Basque cases (of which there are many compared to Russian), but, in my opinion, they are not very scary. Remembering which case is used in which situation is quite simple. Direction (“to the city”) - hiriRA, being inside (“in the city”) - hiriAN; "with mom" - amaREKIN, "for Mom" - amaRENTZAT. In addition, each case has a very small number of endings (this is “helped” by the lack of gender in Basque).
Oddly enough, in the “easy” section I will also mention Basque verbs. Here you will only have to suffer with the conjugation of auxiliary (and about five other) verbs. Once you remember the forms of the auxiliary verb, you can conjugate any other verb. As for verb tenses, up to about level B1 you can get by with five tenses.
Difficult: ergative. We need to constantly think about which verb is in front of us: transitive or intransitive, and depending on this, choose the case of the subject and the form of the verb. Automating this process will take time.
Well, and verbs, of course. It’s not so easy to quickly “collect” the necessary verb forms in your head (“I love you” - maite zaitut, "Do you love me" - maite nauzu).
Vocabulary
Easily: Even though Basque is a genetically isolated language, it has a lot of borrowings. Loanwords from Latin are sometimes difficult to recognize ( gurutze comes from Latin crucem), but modern Spanish words are clearly visible in Basque: for example, the suffix - cion turns into - zio- (información - informazio, and the verbs change - r on - tu (descargar - deskargatu).
In addition, many Basque words have a “transparent” form: they are either compound words from several roots, or words with characteristic suffixes. For example, - gailu means "apparatus". Knowing this and a few basic roots, we can easily guess the meaning of words such as igogailu (igo- "lift up", igogailu- "elevator"), garbigailu (garbitu"to wash, wash" garbigailu- "washing machine"), lehorgailu (lehortu"dry", lehorgailu- “hair dryer”), etc.
Difficult: whatever one may say, you will have to learn a certain number of words that are not similar to anything, Basque is still an isolate.
Dialects, as I wrote above, also add work on vocabulary.
Let's sum it up
In Basque there are many grammatical phenomena unfamiliar to Russian speakers, however, there is not much to be learned during the learning process: there are neither dozens of irregular verbs, nor hundreds of hieroglyphs here. If you want to learn an unusual language but don't want to spend too much time on it, Basque may be the right choice for you. Zorte on!
Denis Bannikov
What's happened
EUSKARA
or
Where does the Language of the Basque Country come from?
This work was born, one might say, by accident.
Just like the vast majority of readers, I have nothing to do with the language of the Basque Country, Euskara Batua, as they themselves call it; I haven't studied it and don't speak it. I have never been specifically interested in foreign languages, and I do not have a linguistic or philological education. My knowledge is limited to a French special school, and several years of studying (or, more correctly, forgetting) this language at the institute. Then, mainly through songs (like many of my peers), I acquired a very general knowledge of English.
We learned the language “by ear”, and incomprehensible, illegible words were replaced with phonetically similar abracadabra. There was no Internet then, and there were no texts included with “branded” discs. And these discs themselves were rare. Let me clarify - we are talking about “vinyl” and the early 80s of the last century.
I remember on the Pink Floyd record, at the beginning of the famous composition “Another Brick In The Wall,” amid the noise of a helicopter propeller, we suddenly heard: “Bill! I'm here! Get up, there is a case!” Of course there was something else there. But the effect of something elusively phonetically very close made a strong impression. By the way, I’m still so naive and don’t know what is being said in that place. Someday I'll probably find out...
We also believed that the Duke of Buckingham, a character in “The Three Musketeers,” is spelled “BACKINGAME” in English, that is, “BACK TO THE GAME.”
Yes, so funny and naive. In a word - I have no tricks, no secrets. "Zero level". So why did I undertake to write about the language of the Basque Country?
Since childhood, I have been curious that some words in languages are similar to each other, but mean different things. And others are completely different, although they mean the same thing. Gradually, for myself, I discovered certain patterns in this similarity and dissimilarity. And I wanted to go further, to the next pattern. That is, it took me a long time and intuitively to reach the axioms known to professional linguists.
But in this work I deliberately retained this naive, “childish” approach. For the Euskara language truly defies any explanation. If you use only the “correct professional method”.
I will not use special terms - “ergative”, “agglunate”, “subject-object-predicate” and the like. I read about them, understood their meaning, but it would be funny if I began to manipulate them, trying to give my thoughts some kind of “scholarship”. We will not delve into the jungle of cases, declensions, changes in the verb form from the time of its use, and so on. I would like to apologize right away that I am using foreign words here without articles; and in Russian words, instead of the prefix “bes-” I write “bez-”, according to the old canon.
So, we are interested in the fundamental principle of language - the word.
Or, as the Basques would construct the phrase - The Word Interests Us. Beautiful. Of course, and the letters it consists of. And the meanings, the translation of these words - how it froze, was fixed for today.
WHAT ARE WE ALLOWED TO KNOW?
This is what official science tells us today.
The origins of the Basque language are unknown; most likely, it does not belong to the Indo-European group; it appeared earlier than all possible languages known today (!)
, more... (different thousand-year numbers are named here); the language is considered isolated, not similar to any known language; there are traces of borrowings from Latin, Arabic, Celtic, French, and Aquitanian. All theories of origin were found untenable (as they were put forward by amateurs); everything that will be told to you about the Basque language other than the official version is complete nonsense; and so on, and so on, and so on...
That is, all passages are blocked. “We don’t know this ourselves, but don’t try to find out either, because every theory of yours Necessarily turns out to be wrong..."
This is a rather cold rebuke. Curious, isn't it?
CURTSY
So, I'm an amateur. I hasten to admit this so as not to bring lightning on my head from all sides.
I stand before the formidable fortress of the Established Unshakable Knowledge, and I am amazed at its power and greatness. Is it possible to do anything against this monolith, if so many spears have already been hopelessly broken against its wall before me? And a certain historical analogy involuntarily comes to mind.
“It is known that our Earth is flat. This firmament rests on three elephants, and they, in turn, stand on a large turtle. And all this is surrounded on all sides by ocean water.
Above there is a vault of heaven on which the heavenly bodies are located. Some of them are larger - they shine brighter. Others are smaller, they shine weaker. Behind the firmament there is a special substance - ether, which fills all limits. And finally, the Sun moves around the Earth, rising from one edge of the firmament, and leaving at the end of the day behind the other.”
Do you have anything to say?
Ah, again you say that the Earth may have the shape of a ball. I thought so! But who has proven this? What speaks in favor of this fact?! After all, if (let us assume such a heresy for a moment) - if this were so - then on the other side of the ball people would walk upside down. And how could they manage to stay on the surface and not fall down?! How would water stay on the firmament? All rivers, seas and oceans would drain from the Earth, a universal drought would set in, and life would immediately cease!
Isn't this logical? And if so, then all attempts to object to something are simply amateurishness. If you persist in your amateurism, then...” What follows are arguments in the style of Abdurahman ibn Hottab, the old man Hottabych from the popular children's book of the same name.
Oddly enough, in subsequent years much of this “amateurism” was nevertheless officially recognized.
AN ATTEMPT OF DOUBT
That the origin of the Basque language does not have no explanation - suggests that an explanation may be in front of us.
The secret of the most inventive trick turns out to be
simple. Moreover, this is very important! - it turns out to be the only possible one. But only after it is revealed to you.
Who came up with this trick? In my opinion, the two oldest, most sophisticated inventors are: Time and Circumstance.
I will also try to explain everything as simply as possible. The way I saw it myself. I will try to show something that does not require any special knowledge to understand. Showing what is visible, if not at first glance, and not from the first minute - then, after some reflection - is obligatory.
I'm not saying prove it. It seems to me that it is impossible to definitively prove anything in our world. For, at the top of any proof there is the notorious “last question”. Which, in turn, requires the following proof, which is probably completely indisputable.
And so on ad infinitum.
Do we believe that the universe came into being as a result of the Big Bang?
But who, or what, predetermined the Big Bang itself? What was the fuse and what was the detonator? Who set the time of the explosion? And for what? Questions that cannot be answered, but only translated into the plane of faith. Or disbelief.
Although - if you know the exact answers to them - you probably know EVERYTHING. And then there is no secret for you in the origin of the language of the Basque Country. Yes, and all other languages. Hallelujah!
Yes, but what is “HALLELUJAH”, “HALLELUJA”? Where did this “ancient religious chant” come from and what does it mean? How is it translated into Russian? Of course, you know this too. Well, I still have to rack my brains about this.
By the way, in my work I will rely on primacy of the oral form over the written form- which cannot but please respected linguists. Although I did not write it for the sake of “recognition,” “entry into scientific communities,” or “sensational discoveries.” I want it to help us look at familiar things with a new, unbiased look.
Remember: the magician creates a distraction with "old spells" while a "disappearance" occurs. This trick has been around for thousands of years, but audiences always fall for it. After all, everything is arranged in such a way as not to leave the public the slightest chance to doubt what is happening.
To uncover this old trick, you don't need to go behind the scenes and spy on the magician's preparations; and it is not necessary to become a member of some “secret society of initiates.”
In our case, you don’t need to be a polyglot, know ancient hieroglyphs, cuneiform and cryptography; or be able to “read between the lines.”
It is enough to read the lines themselves carefully.
Science (blessed be its name!) knows island tribes, whose language, way of life, customs, beliefs, even genetic characteristics are isolated, unique, and are not found either on a neighboring island or in the world at all.
But the Basques do not live on an island in the Pacific Ocean, or in the crater of an extinct volcano, lost thousands of miles from civilization. And in their case, “isolation” seems somewhat... how to put it mildly... far-fetched.
Basques live in Europe! That's the thing! And not on an island, but quite on the continent.
Any travel guide will tell you that three Basque provinces are in Spain - Alava, Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa. They form the so-called “autonomous region of the Basque Country” (Euskadi). In addition to this, there are also the northern regions of Spanish Navarre, where there are also many Basques. Plus, there are three southern border French Basque provinces - Lapurdi, Nafarroa Beherea, Suberoa. That is, the Basque Country is located between Spain and France, stretching from the Pyrenees in the southeast to the Bay of Biscay in the north.
These seven Basque-speaking provinces have been contesting their right to autonomy and independence for years.
This word means "HERITAGE" in Euskara.
There are periods in the history of any country when the distant future is laid out. When national ideas are established and developed among the people. Unfortunately, they can be both creative and destructive. As a rule, the ideas of unification, ordering, and development are for the benefit of the country. Each citizen feels needed, unique, protected - just like particles of the Great People.
And on the contrary - the ideas of demarcation, isolation, superiority - this is the path of wars, rebellions and revolutions. We learned from our own national experience what happens to the people in this case.
Therefore, I am certainly opposed to any radical methods of changing the existing order. With which, to this day, the history of the confrontation between Basque nationalism and the Spanish crown is full. After all, radicalism benefits only those who receive dividends from it.
Let us remember the Russian-Turkish wars of the Romanov period. Russia and Turkey needed them least of all. But the two countries stubbornly clashed with each other in territorial claims. As historians write, because it “happened historically.” Let’s ask a simple, childish question: “Who did it “historically”?
And then - a more complex, adult one: “How many dividends were received by this “mysterious adder” from the blood of people?”
The same pattern is clearly visible in the history of Basque-Spanish radicalism. The same conflict artificially introduced by “someone”.
But what should these great nations share?
In the name of the Spanish Crown, the New World was discovered, and it was also proven that the Earth is spherical. It was the Basque Sebastian El Cano who completed the heroic path that Ferdinand Magellan set out on. Yes, it was a race for new lands, for spices, for gold; but from a historical perspective, these were the steps without which we would still be standing “on three elephants and a turtle under the vault of heaven.”
Spain faced this heroic end. The Spanish spirit, the Spanish faith, generosity - these are the components that can be in demand in solving the “Basque question”.
Everything will fall into place if we reveal the mystery of the Euskara language, and with it the origin of the Basque people. If we show that the Basque Country and Spain have unified great past and great heritage. Which is reflected in the Basque word “OINORDETZA”, if you look at its root “ORD” - in the most literal, linguistic sense. Although Now the peoples of these countries speak different languages.
From my point of view, this is vitally important. This is the prospect for the development of peoples in peace, pride and harmony.
PERFECT SOLUTION
So, the Basque language is not like other European languages. Let's take a look at the map of Europe and find an analogue to this phenomenon.
For example, Hungary. The Hungarian (Magyar) language is also not like many European ones. But - it is still united in the Finno-Ugric language group (Finnish, Mordovian, Chud, etc.). This classification has long been recognized and is not disputed by anyone.
And in general, given complete ignorance of the neighboring language, a Swede can still understand a Norwegian, a Pole can understand a Ukrainian, and a Frenchman can understand an Italian. A Spaniard will, of course, have difficulty understanding a Dane, but they can explain themselves with a few broken, common English words. Which, in turn, are also “brokenly” understandable to almost all Europeans, and not only to them.
But let’s imagine that the Basques, as a proud and independent people, do not want to speak to you in broken English! And also in broken Spanish, French, Norwegian, Greek, “Latin” and all other “broken and unbroken”, “Indo-European” and other languages.
Imagine that the Basques want to speak to you only in their Euskara Batua (unified Basque) language. And then, even if you were the most “polyglot polyglot,” you would not understand anything. Nothing! That is, in the middle of Europe there live a million people speaking a language that no one in Europe (and in the world) understands! And I never understood!!
Well, the research is over, as a brilliant solution has been found.
Basques are aliens. Any objections?
FORCED CONTINUATION
Unfortunately, the solution I found in the previous chapter is not final. Of course, I'm upset by this fact. After all, it would miraculously explain all the “dark places” and “white spots” in the origin of the Basque language. And most importantly, it would explain its officially recognized antiquity. After all, what do we know? That the Basque language appeared a long, long time ago. Let's ask a naive childish question: how long ago? They will again patiently tell us: two; four thousand years ago. Or maybe ten...
Then we will be completely ill-mannered: “Can’t you be more precise? Still, four thousand five hundred eight (4508) years, or still eleven thousand three hundred eighteen (11318)?” And the wise scientist-historian will wearily take off his glasses, look forgivingly at the next amateur, and say: “I think, closer to the second date...”; and will direct his gaze into the distance, as if piercing time with it...
For my “alien solution” - the further the better. Ten thousand years ago. Or - fifty! This is great dating! If Euskara appeared “approximately” (as historians like to leave a loophole for themselves) 50,000 years ago, everything becomes clear even to an infant.
I see this picture: an alien spaceship is hovering over the peaks of the Pyrenees, from there aliens descend in shining rays and say to our entire earthly world: “ARRATSALDEON!”, which in Basque means “GOOD EVENING!”
Further, “as the chronicler narrates,” the newcomers settled compactly near the Pyrenees Mountains. Why here, why didn’t they spread to wider territories? Well, first of all, how much can you take with you from a distant unknown Galaxy on board? And then, the aliens did not fly here millions of light years to mix with the aborigines and their local wild dialects.
Thousands, tens of thousands of years pass this way. All this time, the “alien Basques” are patiently waiting for the local civilization (and local historians and linguists like it) to reach a suitable level of development in order to recognize their language as “isolated, the most ancient and mysterious.” And steadfastly repel all attempts to understand its origin.
But, as I already said, my harmonious theory collapses.
Firstly, no evidence has survived to support it. Neither oral, nor especially written. There are no cave paintings in which the characteristic Basque headdress - the beret - could be at least somehow identified with an alien ship, or a flying saucer,
or a helmet. It's a pity…
And secondly (and this indirectly emphasizes the level of the problem) - the Basques were even subjected to genetic examination. Yes! And here the second blow awaited me - nothing indicating their extraterrestrial origin was found.
Specifically: studies (based on the study of mitochondrial DNA) have shown that the genetic makeup of the Basques coincides with the typical genetic makeup of most Europeans. That is, they are the same people as all the inhabitants of Europe. Approximately the same age of origin. Not aliens at all... In general, it’s not that again...
So, in my assumptions I found myself “at the bottom.” The "alien theory" has failed. I didn't create any others. Therefore, in order to recover from the failure, I will allow myself a few words about what are called written and, in general, historical documents.
WHAT TO BELIEVE?
Returning to the “alien” dating in the previous chapter: of course, fifty thousand years is too much for written evidence. The same as ten, five, one thousand years. To be sure of the reality of the events described, it is better to read what was written to us towards the end of the 16th century. And even better, more reliable, calmer - starting from the 17th century. It is an amazing coincidence that Basque writing dates back to the same period for the first time.
What's surprising here, you ask? The fact that at this time the officially accepted concept begins to take shape today's day history.
Comprehensive historical works and new geographical maps consolidate the world order within the boundaries of the Old World, that is, Europe; and in the “newly discovered lands” of the New World. Ancient documents and artifacts are being discovered that confirm the preferential rights of a particular country in geopolitical, religious, cultural and other spheres.
Such documents and chronicles existed before. But an increasing number of their discoveries and finds, starting from the second half of the 16th century; and most importantly, the brilliant coordination of “ancient sources” with the official model of history has become ubiquitous and indisputable.
Scheme: “We lived here four (five; ten - underline as necessary) thousand years ago, and we descend from Romulus (Alexander; Rurik). And who are you? Nothing is written about you anywhere” (here follows a list of authoritative names and sources from antiquity). How can you not believe them?!
It’s interesting that all this happens after the “Troubles” and the Romanovs coming to power in Rus'; and the beginning of the Reformation in Europe. Coincidence?
Scientific disputes around stretches and blind spots in officially accepted history have been going on for a long time. As a naive amateur, I studied some alternative historical hypotheses with interest. In my opinion, not everything in them is indisputable. But that’s why they are “hypotheses”. But the reaction to them from official historians is surprising in its categorical aggressiveness. They say the scientific world is cruel, insults in disputes are not uncommon... Well, perhaps; but such a reaction makes me even more doubtful of the “sacred infallibility” of the current historical canon.
I say this because any language - and Euskara is no exception - cannot exist and develop outside of a historical context. If the Basques are not aliens, then the same earthly civilizational processes are valid for them. And common inconsistencies in the official history. We will not go into disputes here about the countless dynasties of pharaohs and kings, real or legendary. There are simpler examples.
As is known for certain, bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Even official history admits this. But she dates the “Bronze Age” to a time when metallurgy (the process of obtaining) tin was still didn't exist. Explaining that “obviously, some particles of tin in their natural form, in random proportions, were mixed with copper during smelting.” Strange; as if history and chemistry exist in some parallel worlds...
I anticipate: “Oh, so he read dangerous books! That the story is artificially lengthened; that the events and characters of antiquity are fictitious! That in Rus' there was no “yoke”, but there was a Great (Mogul) Empire, and the Horde is just a Russian regular army! He's a heretic!
I was waiting for this auto-da-fe. But, unlike the “agitprop” of the Reformation, not everyone who appeared before the court of the Inquisition was accused of heresy. Many were acquitted after the trial. So let's find out?
Indeed: the Horde - be it the “Mongol-Tatar yoke” or the “Russian army” - was real historical phenomenon, formation of the east. After all, this is not heresy, is it? And I want to show traces of this phenomenon in the language of the Basque Country; than to doubt its “isolation” and “unlike anything else.” I also want to show the reflection of the Horde in other foreign languages. I didn't have any "voices", I just read the words and the letters in them. Only by comparing words and letters do I want to reconstruct the chain of events.
I believe that if phenomenon “A” is reflected in phenomena “AB”, “AC”, “AD”, “AE”, then phenomenon “A” is primary in relation to the others, and not vice versa. Are there any signs of heresy in this statement? Unlikely…
Thus, at the end of my amateurish research, I want to objectively lean in favor of one version or another.
Outside of any historical and linguistic conjuncture.
So, the Euskara language “arrived” just in time. As soon as the modern historical picture of the world began to take shape clearly (late 16th - 17th centuries), writing immediately appeared in the Basque language.
Again a naive question arises: how did the “most ancient European language” manage without writing? before? How did the Basque Sebastian El Cano, who apparently could not write (and also read, since there was no written language), end up in Ferdinand Magellan’s command as one of the senior officers in 1519? Perhaps he learned “ancient Latin” for this?
Isn't there some inconsistency here?
In general, this is a very interesting question: “What language do people communicate with each other until the “Renaissance” gives them writing?” And not some “prehistoric people of the early Neolithic”, but completely Europeans, Basques - the same captain El Cano? It is quite possible that many of his compatriots didn't know how read and write. But it does not automatically follow from this that they did not have their own alphabet, from which, in turn, words they understood were compiled. Otherwise, they would communicate with primitive monosyllabic interjections, like the islanders who still use a stone scraper. Unlike the rest of the “enlightened Europeans” who lived next to them.
Solving historical puzzles is complicated not only by the reality or the “legendary” nature of an event. There is another important aspect: the interpretation of this event.
Let's take two chronicles dating from the same time, describing the same event (for example, a war) - but created in different countries. They can vary greatly. Even if these countries were allies in the war described. Here is a very clear example.
Ask the “average American”: who fought and who won in World War II? You'll hear about Pearl Harbor, the Japanese, Okinawa, D-day, and Adolf Hitler's flight to Argentina. Where he was caught and, under the name of Adolf Eichmann, brought to the court of the Sanhedrin. Most likely, "Lieutenant McLane played by Bruce Willis."
This is an exaggerated, but real level of their historical knowledge.
I grew up and studied in the imperial consciousness. Therefore, I objectively know a different interpretation of those events: in millions of families of my generation there were no grandfathers. They fell on the battlefield. And the main right to victory belongs to them, the Soviet soldiers. I use the word “Soviet” in strict accordance with the realities of that time. And the official name of the victorious empire.
But the propaganda of the “Third Reich”, for example, used a different term - “Jewish-Bolshevik”. And this interpretation, undoubtedly, would have remained in all textbooks and “serious historical works” if Hitler and his masters had won that war.
Deny that the Soviet Union won the Great Patriotic War and contributed decisive contribution to the overall victory of the Allies is impossible. While on the territory of the former empire there are those generations who know and remember. Generations that it's impossible to lie. And while there are documents confirming this. And they were created within our memory - in 50-60 years.
But for history, half a century is nothing.
And which of the two interpretations of one war will later be recognized as correct? If today the premises and results of “World War II” are being falsified, where is the guarantee that in 50 years these documents will simply not be destroyed?
Of course, this will only happen if there is political will in Russia for some reason will not be manifested in preserving the truth; and it will be replaced by another “global historical falsification.”
But, let's admit: Russia is not the Soviet Union, which won that war. This is a completely different state. He has a different ideology, different values and perspectives. And a completely different weight in the world. Yes, it is located on the imperial territories that it inherited after the collapse. But nothing more. And I’m not sure that the “state of the Russian Federation” will inherit objective historical truth from the “USSR empire”. If you are sure, correct me.
Today, in real time, I am witnessing the substitution of history.
And at the same time, they convince me in every possible way that the “official history” written 300-400 years ago is the only true and objective document. It's just him, he's the only one! - absolutely unbiasedly describes everything that happened before him, in the XIII-XIV-XV centuries - including on the territory of my Motherland.
If “dominance and preemptive right” are so important today, when there are instant means of mass notification - television, radio, the Internet - then in ancient times, interpretation and revaluation of history were the number one weapon.
Not a sword, not a catapult, not a bow or a musket. And the historian's pen.
And the “correct interpretation” of the event. Or the people. Or language.
After all, it is enough to erase information about a language to erase information about a people. And in the free space you can carefully enter the desired “antique” text. As historians like to say in such cases, “found by chance” and “miraculously preserved.”
But I don’t want to blindly believe “fascinatingly written textbooks” and “serious historical works.” Where was it authoritatively explained to me why “historically” Spain and the Basque Country are at enmity, and “the Slaves (slaves) living in the east” should experience an inferiority complex.
This chapter is quite lengthy, but it is very important.
To understand not the “alien”, but the real historical course of events, where Time and Circumstances consciously put a lot of obstacles on the path to the truth.
Because the truth is usually inconvenient. And therefore it is not needed.
History is the most unfortunate of all sciences: it relies on exact facts that no one can ever confirm.
Therefore, I decided to discard all previous knowledge, all familiar ideas and images. I don't know anything, so I'll start with the basics.
Literally - from “az, beeches, lead” - from the alphabet.
A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, С, O, P, R, S, T, U, X, Z
I have studied the Alphabet - this is how the Basques would construct this phrase. Luckily, it only had 22 letters. Even I, not a linguist, could do it. Methodically studying it, I made a stunning discovery: the letters “C”, “Q”, “V”, “W”, “Y” are missing in the Basque alphabet »!
That is, those that exist and are very commonly used in the ordinary, “Latin” alphabet. And imagine classical Latin without “C”, “Q”, “V” » -
completely impossible. Try writing the name, or order of the emperor, without the letter "S" » -
it will turn out to be “...AESAR”!
Imagine if at the beginning of the 21st century in Russia, in an official document you deliberately wrote: “...RESIDENT V.V. ... UTIN”, citing the fact that there is no letter “P” in your alphabet! You definitely wouldn't get praise for that. But now, as a last resort, you can refer to a printer defect. And you may not even be fired, but in those days... At best, you will be shackled in chains and sent to the local Colosseum to fight with similar “typographers,” and at worst...
It's better not to think about it!
But the Basques, according to scientists, in no way, well, in no way could not don't live under Caesar! After all, scientists unanimously claim that this is “the oldest European people, that it is several thousand years old.” Although, they immediately make a cautious reservation: they say, “the Romans did not really want to conquer these territories.” Amazing exception!
METHODS. "CAESAR" METHOD
However, somehow the Basques under Caesar (and in general, under all Caesars), did not have the letter “ WITH", got out. But how?
It can be assumed that all written decrees were issued in Latin. The required letter was there. And in the local Basque dialect, it was replaced by a combination of letters available in the alphabet.
Then I began to look for letter combinations in the Basque language. Below I present them, as well as phonetic (sound) analogues of letters in the Russian language. We will need their knowledge in the future.
ts - h; c; ь g - g x - w dd - d
tx - h h - x, or as an aspiration z - s ll - l
tz - ts j - th ñ - н tt - th
Of course, these are not all options, but this is enough for the correct reading of the words. In addition, I found out: the Euskara language, like all others that we understand, has several territorial dialects. They differ in pronunciation, but are easily understood by all Basques, no matter what province they live in. Therefore, further, when transcribing Basque words, I will sometimes give a couple of pronunciation options. Without claiming, of course, to be absolutely correct. “Authenticity”, as they say in the world of science.
As you can see, the Latin letter “C” could be replaced by the Basque “TS” or “TZ”. And, phonetically, Caesar was pleased. Ave to him!
Then, just for fun, I looked to see if there were any equivalents to the word "CAESAR" among the Basque words.
And, just for fun, I found the word “ESAERA”.
That is, the same “CAESAR”, “CA-ESA(E)RA” only without the letter “ WITH»!
And this word means “SAYING”, “PROBERB”.
That is, a word that clearly comes from the Latin “CAESAR”, “CAESARIAN”, “IMPERIAL” - in Euskara it was recorded as “STATEMENT”. That is, a quote. That is, “THE EMPEROR’S STATEMENT”, as something that has no other interpretation; an immutable law, a complete thought... That is, “CAESAR” is synonym the words “STATEMENT”... So I spoke to myself, trying to strengthen myself in analogies, to build a bridge to understanding the remaining words; trying to find a method.
I tried to substitute the Latin letters "Q", "V", "Y" into Basque words, but did not find anything that could lead me to a certain system. The CAESAR method turned out to be valid for a single case. To further advance, it was necessary to look for something else. Other methods.
But an interesting aspect was revealed to me: words in their modern fixed understanding may not mean what they once meant.
Of course, for linguistic scientists, this discovery of mine is just another banality.
THE JULES VERNE METHOD
Probably everyone remembers Jules Verne’s novel “The Children of Captain Grant.”
At the beginning of this work, a sealed bottle falls from the depths of the sea into the hands of the heroes. Inside it, in the form of three notes, is a call for help. Captain Grant, finding himself by fate on a lost island, wrote it in three languages - English, German and French. Having described in detail the circumstances of the shipwreck, he indicated the coordinates and name of the island. And his salvation, it would seem, was only a matter of time.
But Jules Verne came up with the idea that the notes were heavily damaged by sea water. Moreover, each in its own way, in different places. Thus, the information contained in them could only be extracted by translating all three texts. Comparing fragments of similar words and complementing them.
Since the heroes of the novel spoke all languages to varying degrees, they quickly translated the content. And they made only one seemingly insignificant mistake in the translation. But it was because of her that they had to circumnavigate almost the entire globe in search of Captain Grant. Incredible adventures and trials awaited them, and, finally, a happy ending.
All in all, a great novel with an intriguing, detailed plot.
Why don't we apply the same method?
Suppose three notes also accidentally fall into our hands. And we, like the heroes of Jules Verne, believe that their content is identical. Although many words were also partially or completely destroyed by the sea.
The first one is clearly written in English. The second is in French. And the third is in the Basque language. By comparing three versions of the same text, we will reconstruct it and find out the points of intersection of Euskara with languages better known to us.
Here's what the English version looks like:
strona n Mar bou square ld ick to go t nema
What catches your eye in the English note? The whole word “SQUARE” is definitely present here - “SQUARE, SQUARE”; and the connective “TO GO T...” is obviously “GO SOMEWHERE.” We also see an explicit proper name: “MAR...”. Maybe this is a geographical name? "MAR DEL ZUR", for example. Although, in the English version it would hardly be designated in Latin. Perhaps this name is Maria - “MARY”.
Well, that's a good start. Let's move on to the French version. Here he is:
Cosm e arie son ache un bill ree d"or pou ller au ci
Here we definitely have the beginning of the first word, since it is written with a capital letter. Combining “COSM” with “STRONA” from the English version, we put the word “COSMONAUT” here. Or “ASTRONAUT”, “ASTRONAUT”, as is customary in the English-speaking tradition.
Go ahead. The guess regarding the name "MARY" seems correct. This is indicated by the ending "...ARIE" in the second note. That is, the note begins with the words “COSMONAUT AND MARIA”, because it is logical to put the union “AND” between them (“N” and “E” are fragments of “AND” and “ET”).
Now it’s time to finish the note. Another piece of luck awaits us here - from two scraps of “NEMA” and “CI” it’s easy to form the word “CINEMA” - “CINEMA”. This word is preceded by "TO GO T..." and "POU...LLER AU".
Most likely, this is a French connective with the verb “ALLER” - “GO”; “POUR ALLER AU...” Thus, the whole meaning of the ending is formed - “TO GO TO THE CINEMA.”
We have not yet taken on the task of deciphering the Basque note, but we already know that “COSMONAUT AND MARIA […] SQUARE […] TO GO TO THE CINEMA”!
What about the missing middle? Pay attention to the word "D"OR" in the French note. If it is whole, it means "FROM GOLD". Doesn't it correspond to the fragment "LD", "GOLDEN" in the English version?
And the “miraculously preserved” English word “SQUARE” - isn’t it an analogue of the French fragment “REE”, that is, “CARREE” - “SQUARE”?
That leaves "BOU"; "ICK" in English, and "ACHE"; "UN BILL" in a French note. Knowing that the Cosmonaut and Maria must go to the cinema, we can assume that they will need a ticket. And for this you need to buy it. That is, “BOUGHT TICKET” AND “ACHETENT UN BILLET” respectively. But this is only a hypothesis, and the “Basque” note should either confirm or refute it. But it seems that difficulties arose with her.
Not only do we not understand this language. The note itself fell apart into several pieces! Almost in terms of words. Fortunately, the words themselves have survived quite well. We do not know in what order words should be arranged according to the rules of Basque phraseology. Therefore, let’s put these scattered scraps together in the same way as the first two notes:
osmonaut Maria karrat urrez illete ero tze zinema joan
Many of our guesses were confirmed: “COSMONAUT AND MARIA […] SQUARE GOLDEN TICKET (“KARRATU URREZKO BILLETE”) […] CINEMA (“ZINEMA”). These words are easily understood even by us who do not know the Euskara language. The snippets "ERO" AND "TZE" may be one word. "EROTIC"? Maybe. Therefore, we placed them in front of “CINEMA” - “EROTIC CINEMA”. We did not find any analogues in the Basque version for the words “BUY”, “GO” and some auxiliary parts of speech. But all this pales in comparison to our discovery.
It turns out that the Cosmonaut and Maria did not go to the cinema alone! This is clearly indicated by the ending of the third note: “ZINEMA jOAN”. That is - “AT THE MOVIE WITH JOAN (JUAN, JOAN); "TO THE CINEMA WITH JOAN"!
Why did we decide this? Because only this scrap contained not one word, but two. And exactly in that order. And it’s logical to think that with the preposition lost, that’s the meaning of the ending.
But this fundamentally changes the meaning of the event being described! It's one thing to go to the cinema together. This is a romantic date. But if there is also Joan, it’s a love triangle! What if this Joan is jealous and hot-tempered? Things are getting serious.
Perhaps the note warns of an upcoming showdown between the Cosmonaut and Joan over Maria?!
It’s a little confusing that “jOAN” is written not with a capital letter, as a proper name should be, but with a lowercase letter.
But, firstly, there could be another, lost letter, which is placed in the Basque spelling of this name, for example - “Ijoan”. We don’t know exactly how the Basques write their names.
Secondly, writing the letter “j” by hand often eliminates the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters.
Thirdly, this is the last word in the note, and perhaps it was written in a hurry in order to have time to “throw the sealed bottle into the sea before the tide begins to ebb.”
And if you agree with my arguments, I offer the final transcript:
“THE COSMONAUT AND MARIA BOUGHT A GOLDEN SQUARE TICKET TO GO TO THE MOVIE WITH JOAN.”
Well, I can say with satisfaction that the Basque language is not so incomprehensible! During the translation process, we easily found analogues in two European languages. This means that the “Jules Verne Method” is much more productive than the “Caesar Method”. And you can move on with its help!
...Yes, you can. But, burning with shame, I am again forced to admit: by taking “Jules Verne’s Method” as a basis, we will follow the same long and wrong path as the heroes of the novel. For at the very beginning we also made a fatal mistake. But, unlike them, we will not be able to fix it. And in the end we will not achieve the goal.
And we won’t be able to understand or translate anything.
Excuse me. I misled you. My only excuse is that I myself was sincerely mistaken.
It is no coincidence that I cited such an absurd phrase for decoding - in it I collected the maximum borrowed words They are now believed to have their roots in Latin, and their meaning is the same in many languages; and in Euskara too.
“COSMONAUT, MARIA, TICKET, GOLDEN, SQUARE, CINEMA” - we easily identified these words. Which gave me a reason to immodestly celebrate success.
But those words that I did not translate, considering them unimportant, are where the depravity of this method lies.
For example, "ERO" AND "TZE". Of course, it is not “EROTIC”, as I naively assumed. These are snippets of two different words "EROSI"; “BUY” and “-TZEKO”; "TO". But this is not the full depth of my defeat.
The notorious “JOAN” turned out to be neither “Joan” nor “Juan”.
And in general - there was no third character there.
"JOAN" is the Basque verb for "GO". Therefore, according to the Euskara rules, it is written after the word “CINEMA”. “GO TO THE MOVIE.”
And of course, with a lowercase letter.
I'm very embarrassed. Before you, before Maria, the Cosmonaut, before the whole world. And to yourself - first of all.
What's left? “The Method of Jules Verne” showed me what everyone already knew for a long time. Borrowed words can be translated without much difficulty. The purely Basque words remain a mystery. I ran into the same “Basque dead end” that had stopped hundreds, thousands of amateurs before me. How to understand something that is impossible to understand?..
Yes, how I was misled by the verb “JOAN” - “GO”!
One of the main verbs in any language in the world! Why does it sound and spell the same as the most common name in the world - John?
Of course, this is just an incident. To suggest otherwise is naive amateurism.
But, if you have the courage to assume...
WHERE, WHERE, AND WHY “JOAN”?
...that some phenomenon was reflected here, which in meaning transferred to the designated action - “GO”, “WALK”. The phenomenon is universally significant, one might say canonical. It seems to me that you don’t even have to “go” anywhere to answer. Because the answer is visible from the spot.
"There was a man sent from God; his name is John. He came for a testimony[...]that through him all might believe" (John 1:6-8)
This is John the Baptist, John the Baptist - the prophet who preached coming Messiahs:
“Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This one is about whom I said: behind me coming The man who came before me, because He was before me. I don't know Him, but for this came baptize in water, so that He may be revealed to Israel" (John 1:29-31)
So, at least two “goes” were revealed in John: he himself came from God, and predicted coming Christ.
It can be added that, preaching the baptism of repentance, John walked in the country of Jordan. And people are coming be baptized. They do not “become” baptized, they do not “transform”, they are not even “reborn” into them.
No; clear verb - "go be baptized." "John".
Could John the Baptist be reflected in this way in the Basque verb “JOAN” - “GO”? The question is open, but this assumption seems simple to me and therefore realistic. But about the connection between “simple and correct” - later. In the meantime, I had to return to the search for a method.
MORE HUMILITY, LESS CONCEPT!
It was not possible to understand the Basque language “at a glance”. Having been burned by the “Latin” methods of “Caesar” and “Jules Verne,” I decided to behave more modestly.
As I already said, I studied French at school. Publicly available sources stated that part of the Basque provinces are located on the territory of modern France. I decided to change the search area. Perhaps if the Basque language conflicts so much with Spanish, maybe it will be more favorable to French? You can hardly live next door and not learn anything!
Having covered myself with textbooks and dictionaries, I began a real French, as in the days of Buonaparte, attack on the language of the Basque Country.
But there was no “breakthrough”.
Yes, some Basque words were similar to French ones. For example, the verb “THINK”: “PENTSATU”. Which was very similar to the French equivalent of "PENSER". Is not it? Or "BERDE" - "GREEN". Similar to the French "VERT". I found a few more similar words. But the system was not built. Since French itself “bowed” everywhere under “mother Latin”.
Then I decided to look at the problem differently.
Perhaps the language of the Basque Country is incomprehensible because there is something illogical? Some kind of shift in the generally accepted meaning at the lowest level - at the level of the original construction of the word?
That is, if we develop the principle “ESAERA- (C)ESAERA” - not only the loss in time of the original concept, but also the loss of the rule, the principle by which the concept itself, the image, and the word denoting it were formed?
I asked myself: what is wrong, for example, in the French language? Are there any established illogicality to which everyone is accustomed and does not pay attention?
Surprisingly, I didn't have to look long. Since I knew one of these “illogicalities” from the second grade of my school.
…..A language with its own history
Unity and tradition of the Basque language
EUSKARA – THE LANGUAGE OF THE BASQUE PEOPLE
Basque country - map
The Basque language is an inflectional language whose origins are still a mystery. The fact is that it is not an Indo-European language, and it is not similar to any of the languages of neighboring countries. All this made it possible to put forward a number of hypotheses to explain the origin of this language. Since the Basque language shares some similarities with the Georgian language, some linguists believe that the language may be related to the languages of the Caucasus. Others classify the language as a non-Arabic language of North Africa. One of the most possible hypotheses: Basque language developed locally (in situ) in the country of the Basque ancestors. This theory is supported by the finds of skulls of the Basque ancestors who lived in the Neolithic era, which excludes their migration from other regions. Many admit that the Basque language is a very ancient language, since in it we find words such as “axe” (“aizkora” or “haizkora”) for example, which have the same root as the word stone (“aitz”> or "haitz")
Throughout history, the Basque language has borrowed words not only from Latin, Castilian And French, but also from Celtic (Deba, zilar: "silver") and Arabic ("azoka" "market", gutuna: "writing"). On the other hand, words from Castilian for the concepts of “left” and “trash” (“izquierda” and “chatarra” respectively), as well as French And English"bizarre" (wild) comes from the Basque language.
Rural communities preserved the language for centuries. It is possible that before the arrival of the Romans, the Basque language was spread over a much larger area than at present: up to the border with Aquitaine in the north and the Ebro River in the south. According to statistics, today the Basque language is spoken by more than 600,000 people in the families of the historical Basque provinces: Labourdane, Zuberu and Basque Navarre (in France), Gipuzkoa, Vizcaya, Araba (Alava) and Navarre (in Spain). The Basque provinces in Spain are home to approx. 520,000 Basques whose mother tongue is Basque. This is 25% of the total population.
The Basque language did not have a written language until the 16th century, but despite this, a rich oral literature was created, which has survived to this day in the form of books "bertsolarismo" and other pastorals. Interestingly, the first written texts in Basque (the sentences “iziogui dugu” and “guec ajutu ez dugu”, “we lit” and “we did not help”) appeared in the 10th century. in the “dictionary of St. Emilianus” (“Glosas Emilianenses”), which contained the first examples of Castilian ballads. In the 12th century, the Codex Calixtus mentions a vocabulary of the Basque people living along the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. But the so-called “Linguae Vasconum Primitiae”, the first book written in the Basque language, by Bernard Etxepare, was printed only in 1545. Since then, literature in the Basque language has constantly developed, but this has not happened without hindrance. “bersolarismo” is preserved in oral folklore. "bertsolaris" is a poetic improvisation in a given metrical form (eight, ten lines...) for which short melodies are used. The content of these poems can be very different: from satire and humor to elegant lyricism. Bersolaris competitions are held regularly; they help spread interest in this type of folklore.
Kilometroak is a popular movement to support Basque language. The Basque language has had a hard time at times. In addition to constantly having to defend its independence in the environment of such influential languages as Castilian and French, the Basque language was considered a banned language during the dictatorship in the post-civil war period. For decades, children were forced to learn a second language and were severely punished for speaking Basque, even during playtime. At that time, a movement began to open Basque schools, called "ikastolas". After long and systematic efforts by many people, a parallel school system was created in which education was conducted in the Basque language. Today, Basque schools are in the process of joining the state Basque school, but in the French Basque state, and in some parts of Navarre, Basque schools are the only ones offering instruction in the Basque language.
One of the leading reasons was efforts aimed at restoring the Basque language among adults. Thus, every year a large number of people whose native language is not Basque learn to speak it. Therefore, the old myth that it is impossible to learn the Basque language has disappeared forever. In addition, religion became a key factor in the development of written Basque.
According to research conducted by the prince Louis Luciano Bonaparte, author of the Linguistic Charter of 1883, the Basque language is divided into seven main dialects (Roncalés, the eighth, is considered dead) and a number of dialects. The reason for this diversity is due to geographical location and the fact that until recently the Basque language was mainly spoken in rural areas. Beginning in 1964, the first steps were taken to establish a common language with the aim of modernizing the language and using it as a means of disseminating culture. In 1968, this task was entrusted to the Euskaltzaindia (Basque Language Academy), founded in Oñate in 1918. The unified Basque language became known as Euskara Batua (single). It was created on the basis of various dialects: Laburdi (with an extensive literary tradition) and Guipuzkoa. Despite natural criticism and controversy, Euskara Batua is currently the most widely spoken language used in local media, literature, and education.
…the ancient language remains unchanged
In the Middle Ages, the geographical area where Euskara was the main language covered all the Basque provinces, with the exception of the western tip of the Bay of Biscay and the southern tip of Navarre and Alava. Over several centuries, this territory expanded beyond the Basque country to the south, to parts of the Rioja region and to the north of Burgos. It is also likely that in the Middle Ages, in the high valleys of the Pyrenees, to the east of the Basque country, dialects of this language also existed.
Since the Middle Ages, the area where Euskara is the main language of communication has been steadily declining. By the eighteenth century, the Basques had lost most of the province of Alava, and in the nineteenth century the language ceased to be used in a large area of Navarre. Unlike the southern regions, where the decline of the language became increasingly widespread over the last three centuries, the northern boundaries of the Euskara language remained stable, probably due to the fact that the neighboring language was not French, but Gascon, a dialect of Occitan.
Currently, Euskara's distribution area has been reduced to the Bay of Biscay, with the exception of the western tip and the city of Bilbao, Gipuzkoa, the Aramayo Valley in northern Alava, the northwestern region of Navarre and the entire northern Basque country (Basque territory within the French border), excluding urban areas Bayonne, Anglet and Biarritz.
The earliest traces of the Euskara language in history are found in the many proper names appearing in Roman inscriptions in Aquitaine. They consist mainly of the personal name and the name of the deity, which are easily recognizable today in modern Basque names. So, for example, Andere means “woman, girl”, and Nescato means “maiden”. There are also several adjectives and suffixes that also support the fact that these are the first written traces of the Euskara language, dating back to the first centuries after Christ.
Although until now this was the predominant and often the only language used in the distribution of Euskara, we cannot say that this is the case today. Currently, even within the Euskara region, a minority of the population knows it: only a quarter of the inhabitants of the Basque country, and slightly less than half of the inhabitants of the Euskara region. However, the number of speakers among the younger generation is increasing, and more adults have begun to learn the language.
Some common words and expressions in Basque
(Russian = Euskara)
Yes = Bai
No = Ez
Thank you = Eskerrik asko
Thank you very much = Eskerrik asko
Please = Ez horregatik
Please = Mesedez, Arren
Sorry = Barkaidazu
Hello = Kaixo
Farewell = Agur
Bye = Gero arte
Good morning = Egun on
Good afternoon = Arratsalde on
Good evening = Arratsalde on
Good night = Gabon
I don't understand = Ez dut ulertzen
How do you say this in.. [English]? = Nola esaten da hau?
Do you speak... = Hitz egiten al duzu...?
English = ingelesez
French = frantzesez
German = alemanieraz
Spanish = gazteleraz
Chinese = txineraz
i = ni
we = gu
you = hi
you = zu
you=zuek
they = haiek
What is your name? = Zein da zure izena?
Very nice. = Pozten nau zu ezagutzeak
How are you? = Zer moduz zaude?
Good = Ongi
Bad = Gaizki
So-so = Erdipurdi
Wife = Emazte
Husband = Senar
Daughter = Alaba
Son = Seme
Mother = Ama
Father = Aita
Friend = Lagun
Where is the bathroom? or Where is the toilet? = Non dago komuna?
Some examples of grammatical forms and their use:
a. "The child fell in the street"
umea kalean erori da
child-street-fall-verb “to be” in the 3rd unit
b. "the woman saw the man"
emakumeak gizona ikusi du
woman-man-apparently has
c. "the man gave the book to the child"
gizonak umeari liburua eman dio
the man-child-has-the-book.
NUMBERS
(Russian = Basque)
zero= huts
one= bat
two=bi
three= hiru
four= lau
five= bost
six= sei
seven= zazpi
eight= zortzi
nine= bederatzi
ten= hamar
eleven= hamaika
twelve= hamabi
thirteen= hamahiru
fourteen= hamalau
fifteen= hamabost
sixteen= hamasei
seventeen= hamazazpi
eighteen= hemezortzi
nineteen= hemeretzi
twenty= hogei
twentyone= hogeita bat
thirty= hogeita hamar
fourty= berrogei
fifty= berrogeita hamar
sixty= hirurogei
seventy= hirurogeita hamar
eighty= laurogei
ninety= laurogeita hamar
one hundred= ehun
thousand= mila
million= milioi bat
Politeness Dictionary |
|||
| Castilian | Basque | English | Russian |
| Adios, saludo, hola | Agur | Good-bye, greetings, (hello..) | Goodbye, greetings, (hello...) |
| Hola | Kaixo | Hi | Hello |
| Qué tal? | Zer moduz? | How are you? | How are you doing? |
| Buenos Days | Egun on | Good morning | Good morning |
| Buenas tardes | Arratsalde on | Good afternoon | Good afternoon |
| Buenas nights | Gabon | Good evening | Good evening |
| Hasta mañana | Bihar arte | See you tomorrow | Till tomorrow |
| Hasta luego | Gero arte | See you later | Bye |
| Por favor | Mesedez | Please | Please |
| Perdon! | Barkatu! | Sorry! | Sorry! |
| Gracias | Mila esker, eskerrik asko | Thank you | Thank you |
| De nada | Ez horregatik | You are welcome, my pleasure | Please |
| Si | Bai | Yes | Yes |
| No | Ez | No | No |
Captions (in alphabetical order) |
|||
| Castilian | Basque | English | Russian |
| Cena | Afaria | Dinner | Dinner |
| Albergue | Albergea | Hostel | Dormitory, camp site |
| Se alquila | Alokatzen da | To let, to hire, to rent | Rent, hire, rent |
| Aparcamiento | Aparkalekua | Car park | Car parking |
| Establishment of autobuses | Autobus Geltokia | Bus station | Bus station |
| Funciona | Badabil | In running order | Works |
| Comida | Bazkaria | Lunch | Second breakfast (lunch) |
| Farmacia | Botika | Chemist | Pharmacy |
| Oficina | Bulegoa | Office | Office |
| Iglesia | Eliza | Church | Church |
| Señoras | Emakumeak, Andreak | Ladies | Ladies |
| Plaza | Enparantza | Square | Square |
| Avenida | Etorbidea | Avenue | Avenue |
| No funciona | Ez dabil | 0ut of order | Does not work |
| No fumar | Ez Erre | No smoking | No smoking |
| Hombres | Gizonak | Gentlemen | Gentlemen |
| Desayuno | Gosaria | Breakfast | Breakfast |
| Restaurante autoservicio | Har eta Jan | Self service restaurant | Self-service restaurant |
| Playa | Hondartza | Beach | Beach |
| Hotel | Hotela | Hotel | Hotel, hotel |
| Abierto | Irekita | Open | Open |
| Salida | Irteera | Exit | Exit |
| Cerrado | Itxita | Closed | Closed |
| Restaurante | Jatetxea | Restaurant | Restaurant |
| Puerto | Kaia | Port | Port |
| Calle | Kalea | Street | Street |
| Cuidado! | Kontuz! | Caution!, look out! | Attention! |
| W.C. | Komuna | Toilets | Toilet |
| Libreria | Liburudenda | Book shop | Book Shop |
| Biblioteca | Liburutegia | Library | Library |
| Hospital | Ospitalea | Hospital | Hospital |
| Paseo | Pasealekua | Promenade | Walk |
| Correos | Posta bulegoa | Post office | |
| Entrada | Sarrera | Way in | Entrance |
| Se vende | Salgai (dago) | For sale | For sale |
| Estación de train | Tren geltokia | Railway station | Railway station |
| Oficina de turismo | Turismo bulegoa | Tourist Office | Travel Bureau |
| Ayuntamiento | Udaletxea | Town Hall | Town Hall |
| Policia Municipal | Udaltzaingoa | Municipal Police | Municipal police |
| Abierto | Zabalik | Open | Open |
| Cine | Zinema | Cinema | Cinema |
At the bar (how to order) |
|||
| Castilian | Basque | English | Russian |
| Vino | Ardoa | Wine | Wine |
| Vino tinto | Ardo beitza | Red wine | Red wine |
| Un vino tinto | Ardo beitza bat | A red wine | Red wine (any) |
| Un tinto | Beltza bat | A wine | Wine (any) |
| Dos claros | Bi ardo gorri | Two roses | Two roses |
| Tres blancos | Hiru ardo txuri | Three reasons | Three glasses of white wine |
| Cuatro cervezas | Lau garagardo | Four beers | Four beers |
| Cinco cafés con leche | Bost-kafesne | Five white coffees | Five coffees with milk |
| Leche | Esnea | Milk | Milk |
| Cafe solo | Kafe uza | Black coffee | Black coffee |
| Cafe cortado | Kafe ebakia | Coffee with a little milk | Coffee with a little milk |
| Sidra | Sagardoa | Cider | Cider |
| Te | Tea | Tea | Tea |
| Texas | Txakolina | Txakoli (sharp-tasting Basque white wine) | Txakoli (basque white wine with a spicy taste) |
| Agua | Ura | Water | Water |
| Agua mineral | Ur minerala | Mineral water | Mineral water |
| Vasito de cerveza | Zuritoa | Small glass of beer | small glass of beer |
Basque Dictionary of Place Names
Many place names found here must be accompanied by a physical description. Therefore, it would be useful to know some of the most commonly used words.
| Castilian | Basque | English | Russian |
| lugar de | yeah | place of | place … |
| Pena | Aitz or haitz | Rock | Rock |
| Valle | Aran | Valley | Valley |
| Roble | Aritz | Oak tree | Oak |
| Caserio | Baserri | Basque farmstead | Basque manor |
| Nuevo | Berri | New | New |
| Cabana | Borda | Hut | Hut |
| Laurel | Ereñotz | Laurel | Laurel |
| Arroyo | Erreka | Stream | Flow |
| lugar de | eta | place for | the place for … |
| Casa | Etxe | House/home | House |
| sobre, encima | -gain | On, over, upon | On, over |
| Rojo, pelado | Gorri | Red | Red |
| Pueblo | Herri | Small town | town |
| Rio | Ibai | River | River |
| Fuente | Iturri | Fountain | Fountain |
| Pasto | Korta | Pasture | Pasture |
| Puerta rústica, portilla | Langa | Rustic door | gates |
| Fresno | Lizar | Ashtree | Rowan |
| Monte | Mendi | Mountain | Mountain |
| Haya | Pago | Beechtree | Beech |
| debajo | pe(an) | under | under |
| Zabal | Amplio, abierto | Wide, broad, open | Wide, open |
| Viejo | Zarra,Zaharra | Old | Old |
| Puente | Zubi | Bridge | Bridge |
There are three nationalities on the globe - the Guanches, Basques and Etruscans, the mystery of whose origin remains an unsolved mystery for many scientists to this day.
The Basques are an ancient people whose origins are still a mystery. These people live in the Pyrenees Mountains (which form the border between Spain and France) and surrounding regions.
The Basque language, the only Western European language not belonging to the Indo-European family, is related to a group of dialects of small isolated peoples living in the valleys of the Caucasus Mountains.
Representatives of Western European classical linguistics began to approach this topic. De Charency, Louis-Lucien Bonaparte, Arnaud Grimm, and later Winkler compared Basque with the Ural-Altaic languages. K. Oshtir tried to include it in the “Alarodian” circle of languages, to which, in addition to Basque, he includes Etruscan, Illyrian, Raetian, Ligurian, Egyptian and non-Indo-European languages of the Caucasus.
Yes. Now I remember that I read one unscientific article where the author claimed that some American Indians and Basques could even understand each other. This has been cited as evidence that Basque is the language spoken in Atlantis.
The Basques interested anthropologists for another reason - besides the fact that their language is unlike any other language in the world. Now it turns out that their blood type is different from the blood groups of other peoples. One out of every three Basques has Rh negative blood. This means that the frequency of the Rh-negative gene among them is 60 out of a hundred.
Although the Basques are very similar in appearance to their French and Spanish neighbors, they have the lowest prevalence of the third blood group gene (initially it was not present at all) and the highest concentration of the first blood group gene in Europe. The Basques are thus considered to be the descendants of an ancient race - they did not mix much with later newcomers because they lived in remote mountainous areas.
The ancestors of modern Basques are the Vascones from whom they inherited their name. The Vascons were Huguenots, and the rest of France were Catholics.
The Parisians did not like the Huguenots - they were different, savage mountaineers (Navarre is a mountainous region), they behaved arrogantly and defiantly in the capital. And their leader Coligny was the King's best friend and adviser.
But it was not defiant behavior that caused the Night of St. Bartholomew, but the struggle for power and influence over the king.
And the result of this night was not a victory over the Huguenots - but the fact that Henry was on the throne of France4.
The Valois dynasty ended with the very king under whom the massacre occurred.
Famous Huguenots
The American Indians are another example of “ancient peoples” who have survived to this day. It has been noted that purebred American Indians have blood type O and are Rh negative.
Paul Kane. Portrait of Omoxesisixany or Big Snake, Chief of the Blackfeet Indians
Young Omaha, War Eagle, Little Missouri and Pawnee, 1821. C. B. King
Basques and Basque country. Almost not Spain
Spain, strange as it may sound to some, is a multilingual country. In addition to Spanish (which in turn consists of many dialects), there are officially two other full-fledged languages - Catalan and Basque. The Basque language, or Euskara, is the one and only language, shrouded in mystery of origin. His relationship to the others has never been established.
How the Basques took his famous sword from Roland
Learned historians and philologists from different countries have been struggling with the genealogy of the Basque language for almost 200 years - and all in vain! The German linguist Hugo Schuchardt and the French scientist Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte tried to somehow classify it. Wilhelm von Humboldt died without completing his research. Sometimes they find similarities with Caucasian languages, sometimes there are distant hints of kinship with the Afro-Asian family of languages. But all these connections are so weak that linguists around the world have agreed to consider it exceptional and standing apart from everyone else. Meanwhile, now in the Basque Country alone it is spoken by more than a million people on both sides of the border between Spain and France, and about 120 thousand Basques living in Latin America and the USA.
It is generally accepted that the Basques are the most ancient people of Western Europe. In any case, they appeared in the Pyrenees long before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans. Roman authors mentioned the Bascon tribes in their writings. It seems that these same tribes subsequently stubbornly resisted all the newcomers in a row: the Visigoths and the Franks, the Normans and the Moors, and thus happily survived to this day, preserving their unique language. In particular, the famous “Song of Roland” describes in detail how the Basque tribes cut off and defeated the rearguard of Charles’s army at the Battle of Roncesvalles back in 778. Most historians are inclined to believe that Euskara was spoken long before the Roman legionnaires came to Europe. Nevertheless, over a couple of thousand years of proximity to its Romance neighbors, this language absorbed something from the Latin vocabulary, but mainly in areas related to administrative, commercial and military activities.
We call the Basque ditty bertzolaria!
Since ancient times, the Basque language has had and still maintains a rich tradition of oral versification, the so-called bertzolaria and chants (pastorals). Traditional berzolaria are characterized by rhymed improvisations in a certain rhythm. Moreover, the themes are by no means limited to satirical and comic plots characteristic of folk art (remember our ditties!), but are also rich in lyrical components. To this day, folk bertsolaris competitions (txapelketak de bertsolaris) are regularly held in the Basque Country. The beautiful polyphonic singing of the mountaineers fascinates listeners in the same way as it did a thousand years ago. It is curious that the first texts written in Euskara can be found already in the "Praises of Emilia", a work of the 10th century, considered one of the very first collections of Spanish romance. In the 12th century, interspersed Basque words and expressions with translations were noted in Castilian literature. Meanwhile, the first book printed in Euskara proper dates back to 1545, called “Languages of the Ancient Basques” (Linguae Vasconum Primitiae), its author is Bernard Dechepare.
Since then, literature in the Basque language has developed rapidly and reached its peak by the 20th century. This tradition was temporarily interrupted during the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of General Franco. The main cities of the Basque Country, Bilbao and Guernica, lay in ruins, and any, even oral, use of euskara was prohibited.
Almost half a century later, the dictatorship collapsed, and in return, Spanish society received a wonderful product of the era - the Basque Freedom Movement and its extremist wing - ETA (Euzkadi Ta Azkatasuna), which periodically excites the whole of Spain with its terrorist antics.
And this despite the fact that, according to the president of the Spanish Club in Kiev, Don Alfredo (Basque by origin, which is why he also added the prefix Arrieta to the surname Fernandez), the distinctive features of his people are kindness, love of polyphonic singing and sophistication in clothing, the main the subject of which for men is a beret. Women are distinguished by exceptional beauty and modesty. And the cuisine, which has been elevated to the rank of high art, is not at all similar to Spanish, but rather reminiscent of Georgian. So if in Spain you meet a man in a beret named José, but with a hooked nose and an atypical Spanish surname Aguirreburualde, most likely you are looking at a Basque, and you can safely say to him: “Caisho, sir modus?”, which means in Euskara : "Hi, how are you?" He'll probably be happy...
As for the language itself, it really does sound a little like Georgian or Armenian. We will still provide some linguistic equivalents for travelers to this curious country with excellent cuisine, which even the Spaniards themselves speak with admiration of, and where portions, according to eyewitnesses, are never less than half a kilogram in weight.
baq(B); eus (T)
Basque (Basque. Euskara) is the language of the Basques, the people inhabiting the Basque Country - the northern regions of Spain and the adjacent southern regions of France. The Basque language, unlike other languages of Europe, does not belong to the Indo-European languages, nor to any of the other known families of languages, and is a so-called pseudo-isolated language. The genetic connections of the language have not been established, but Basque is traditionally included by scientists in the so-called Paleo-Spanish languages, and more broadly in the unclassified and probably heterogeneous group of Mediterranean languages.
The total number of speakers is about 800,000 people, most of whom (700 thousand) live in the Basque Country, of which more than 500 thousand live in the Spanish part. A small number of speakers live in other regions of Europe, America and Australia.
The Basque language is divided into a number of dialects, very different from each other. The unified literary Basque language was created in the 1960s by the linguist Koldo Michelena. The reconstruction of the Proto-Basque language was carried out by Michelena, A. Tovar and L. Trask.
Hypotheses about external relatedness
Until recently, it was believed that the oldest inscriptions in the Basque language date back to the 3rd century. n. e. found during excavations of a Roman city conventionally called Iruña Velea (after the modern name of the area); Later, an independent commission of 17 experts determined that these inscriptions were falsifications.
The first book in the Basque language is a collection of poems, Linguae Vasconum Primitiae,.
The Basque language is not related to any known language family. There is an assumption about its connection with the Aquitanian language (see links in the article Iberian letter). According to another hypothesis, the Basque language reveals an ancient relationship with the Sino-Caucasian macrofamily.
In the USSR, since the 1920s, the hypothesis about the relationship of the Basque language with the “Iberian-Caucasian languages” gained popularity. Despite the controversy of many of its provisions, to the point that the very term “Iberian-Caucasian languages” was recognized as untenable, this hypothesis played a positive role, as it led to the emergence of a school of Basque studies in the USSR, mainly on the territory of Georgia. Well-known supporters of this hypothesis were N. Ya. Marr, Sh. V. Dzidziguri and Yu. V. Zytsar. Modern supporters of the Nostratic school (G.S. Starostin and others) suggest a relationship between Basque and North Caucasian languages (sometimes also Western Caucasian), while rejecting its connection with Kartvelian.
Euskera ( Euskara listen)) is the official language of the Basque Country since 1982. The geographical properties of the region contributed to the preservation of linguistic features. This fact leads some linguists to believe that there are 7 varieties of the Basque language. To overcome this division, the Royal Academy of the Basque Language, founded in 1919, created a standardized Basque grammar for official use, called batua.
Prevalence in the world
Number of native speakers
Basque is currently spoken by about 700,000 people, primarily in northern Spain and southwestern France. There are no data on native speakers outside the Basque Country, but it is estimated that 90,000 people in other parts of Europe and America speak or at least understand Basque. This brings the total number of speakers to approximately 800,000 people. Different institutions and publications give different numbers of speakers: the 1998 Encyclopedia Britannica gives higher numbers; A 2006 Ethnologue, using data from the 1991 census, estimates the number of speakers at 650,000. The EU statistical office Eurostat contains data on 690,000 people. in Spain in 1999. Instituto Cultural Vasco counted 56,000 people over 15 years of age in France in 1997.
Almost all Basque speakers also speak the official language of their country of residence. In the Spanish part of the Basque Country (provinces of Gipuzkoa, Vizcaya, Navarre and Alava), Basque has been the regional official language since 1978. France, in accordance with its language policy, does not even conduct an official census of native speakers. Basque communities estimate the total number of speakers at 2 million people, but do not distinguish between active and passive speakers. In Spain, about 4.5 million people have Basque surnames.
Geographical distribution
Alphabet
The Basque alphabet consists of 22 letters: a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, r, s, t, u, x, z . The language does not have a standard pronunciation, but the dialectal differences in it are not so great as to interfere with mutual understanding. The stress (expiratory, or force) is on the second syllable from the beginning of the word. In four-syllable words, there is an additional stress on the last syllable.
Grammar
Typologically, the Basque language is an agglutinative ergative language with some nominative deviations. Morphology is developed both in the name (categories of case, number, definiteness) and in the verb (tense, aspect, mood, voice, person, number, in some cases gender, nominal forms). There are analytical forms (especially in the verb), polypersonal conjugation. Cases of names and pronouns express both syntactic and spatial-temporal relations; analogues of cases in the verb replace subordinate clauses. The numeral system is decimal. Definitions form a single group with the name. Word formation is quite developed. The word order is relatively free, but “Subject - Object - Predicate” is considered typical. The order of words is influenced by the actual division of the sentence.
Vocabulary
Complete dictionaries of the Basque language contain up to half a million lexical items. This is explained by the large number of synonyms and dialect variants (the number of dialects is actually equal to the number of settlements). Along with native Basque words, borrowings from Latin, Spanish, French, Celtic, Arabic, Hebrew, and English are widely represented. Neologisms are both foreign language borrowings and Basque formations themselves.
Basque-Gypsy language
Romani people living in the Basque Country speak a creole language, Errominchela, based on Basque grammar and predominantly Romani vocabulary.
see also
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Notes
Links
Literature
- Shishmarev V.F. Essays on the history of the languages of Spain. - M.; L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1941. - 340 p.
- Bengtson J.D. . Mother Tongue 8: 21-39. 2003.
- Bengtson J.D. . Cahiers de l'Institut de Linguistique de Louvain 30.4: 33-54. 2004.
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An excerpt characterizing the Basque language
“Brigand, tu me la payeras,” said the Frenchman, removing his hand.– Nous autres nous sommes clements apres la victoire: mais nous ne pardonnons pas aux traitres, [Robber, you will pay me for this. Our brother is merciful after victory, but we do not forgive traitors,” he added with gloomy solemnity in his face and with a beautiful energetic gesture.
Pierre continued in French to persuade the officer not to punish this drunken, insane man. The Frenchman listened silently, without changing his gloomy appearance, and suddenly turned to Pierre with a smile. He looked at him silently for several seconds. His handsome face took on a tragically tender expression, and he extended his hand.
“Vous m"avez sauve la vie! Vous etes Francais, [You saved my life. You are a Frenchman," he said. For a Frenchman, this conclusion was undeniable. Only a Frenchman could accomplish a great deed, and saving his life, m r Ramball "I capitaine du 13 me leger [Monsieur Rambal, captain of the 13th light regiment] - was, without a doubt, the greatest thing.
But no matter how undoubted this conclusion and the officer’s conviction based on it were, Pierre considered it necessary to disappoint him.
“Je suis Russe, [I am Russian,”] Pierre said quickly.
“Ti ti ti, a d"autres, [tell this to others," said the Frenchman, waving his finger in front of his nose and smiling. "Tout a l"heure vous allez me conter tout ca," he said. – Charme de rencontrer un compatriote. Eh bien! qu"allons nous faire de cet homme? [Now you'll tell me all this. It's very nice to meet a compatriot. Well! What should we do with this man?] - he added, addressing Pierre as if he were his brother. Even if Pierre was not a Frenchman, having once received this highest title in the world, he could not renounce it, said the expression on the face and tone of the French officer. To the last question, Pierre once again explained who Makar Alekseich was, explained that just before their arrival this a drunken, crazy man stole a loaded pistol, which they did not have time to take away from him, and asked that his act be left unpunished.
The Frenchman stuck out his chest and made a royal gesture with his hand.
– Vous m"avez sauve la vie. Vous etes Francais. Vous me demandez sa grace? Je vous l"accorde. Qu"on emmene cet homme, [You saved my life. You are a Frenchman. Do you want me to forgive him? I forgive him. Take this man away," the French officer said quickly and energetically, taking the hand of the one who had earned him for saving his life into the French Pierre, and went with him to the house.
The soldiers who were in the yard, hearing the shot, entered the vestibule, asking what had happened and expressing their readiness to punish those responsible; but the officer strictly stopped them.
“On vous demandera quand on aura besoin de vous,” he said. The soldiers left. The orderly, who had meanwhile managed to be in the kitchen, approached the officer.
“Capitaine, ils ont de la soupe et du gigot de mouton dans la cuisine,” he said. - Faut il vous l "apporter? [Captain, they have soup and fried lamb in the kitchen. Would you like to bring it?]
“Oui, et le vin, [Yes, and wine,”] said the captain.
The French officer and Pierre entered the house. Pierre considered it his duty to again assure the captain that he was not a Frenchman and wanted to leave, but the French officer did not want to hear about it. He was so courteous, kind, good-natured and truly grateful for saving his life that Pierre did not have the spirit to refuse him and sat down with him in the hall, in the first room they entered. In response to Pierre's assertion that he was not a Frenchman, the captain, obviously not understanding how one could refuse such a flattering title, shrugged his shoulders and said that if he certainly wanted to pass for a Russian, then let it be so, but that he, despite then, everyone is still forever connected with him with a feeling of gratitude for saving his life.
If this man had been gifted with at least some ability to understand the feelings of others and had guessed about Pierre’s feelings, Pierre would probably have left him; but this man’s animated impenetrability to everything that was not himself defeated Pierre.
“Francais ou prince russe incognito, [Frenchman or Russian prince incognito," said the Frenchman, looking at Pierre’s dirty but thin underwear and the ring on his hand. – Je vous dois la vie je vous offre mon amitie. Un Francais n "oublie jamais ni une insulte ni un service. Je vous offre mon amitie. Je ne vous dis que ca. [I owe you my life, and I offer you friendship. The Frenchman never forgets either insult or service. I offer my friendship to you. I say nothing more.]
There was so much good nature and nobility (in the French sense) in the sounds of the voice, in the facial expression, in the gestures of this officer that Pierre, responding with an unconscious smile to the Frenchman’s smile, shook the outstretched hand.
- Capitaine Ramball du treizieme leger, decore pour l "affaire du Sept, [Captain Ramball, thirteenth light regiment, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor for the cause of the seventh of September," he introduced himself with a smug, uncontrollable smile that wrinkled his lips under his mustache. - Voudrez vous bien me dire a present, a qui" j"ai l"honneur de parler aussi agreablement au lieu de rester a l"ambulance avec la balle de ce fou dans le corps. [Will you be so kind as to tell me now who I am with I have the honor of talking so pleasantly, instead of being at a dressing station with a bullet from this madman in my body?]
Pierre replied that he could not say his name, and, blushing, began, trying to invent a name, to talk about the reasons why he could not say this, but the Frenchman hastily interrupted him.
“De grace,” he said. – Je comprends vos raisons, vous etes officier... officier superieur, peut être. Vous avez porte les armes contre nous. Ce n"est pas mon affaire. Je vous dois la vie. Cela me suffit. Je suis tout a vous. Vous etes gentilhomme? [To be complete, please. I understand you, you are an officer... a staff officer, perhaps. You served against us . This is not my business. I owe you my life. This is enough for me, and I am all yours. Are you a nobleman?] - he added with a hint of a question. Pierre bowed his head. - Votre nom de bapteme, s"il vous plait? Je ne demande pas davantage. Monsieur Pierre, dites vous... Parfait. C "est tout ce que je desire savoir. [Your name? I don’t ask anything else. Monsieur Pierre, did you say? Great. That’s all I need.]
When fried lamb, scrambled eggs, a samovar, vodka and wine from the Russian cellar, which the French had brought with them, were brought, Rambal asked Pierre to take part in this dinner and immediately, greedily and quickly, like a healthy and hungry person, began to eat, quickly chewing with his strong teeth, constantly smacking his lips and saying excellent, exquis! [wonderful, excellent!] His face was flushed and covered with sweat. Pierre was hungry and gladly took part in the dinner. Morel, the orderly, brought a saucepan with warm water and put a bottle of red wine in it. In addition, he brought a bottle of kvass, which he took from the kitchen for testing. This drink was already known to the French and received its name. They called kvass limonade de cochon (pork lemonade), and Morel praised this limonade de cochon, which he found in the kitchen. But since the captain had wine obtained during the passage through Moscow, he provided kvass to Morel and took up a bottle of Bordeaux. He wrapped the bottle up to the neck in a napkin and poured himself and Pierre some wine. Satisfied hunger and wine revived the captain even more, and he talked incessantly during dinner.
- Oui, mon cher monsieur Pierre, je vous dois une fiere chandelle de m"avoir sauve... de cet enrage... J"en ai assez, voyez vous, de balles dans le corps. En voila une (he pointed to his side) a Wagram et de deux a Smolensk,” he showed the scar that was on his cheek. - Et cette jambe, comme vous voyez, qui ne veut pas marcher. C"est a la grande bataille du 7 a la Moskowa que j"ai recu ca. Sacre dieu, c"etait beau. Il fallait voir ca, c"etait un deluge de feu. Vous nous avez taille une rude besogne; vous pouvez vous en vanter, nom d"un petit bonhomme. Et, ma parole, malgre l"atoux que j"y ai gagne, je serais pret a recommencer. Je plains ceux qui n"ont pas vu ca. [Yes, my dear Mr. Pierre, I am obliged to light a good candle for you because you saved me from this madman. You see, I've had enough of the bullets that are in my body. Here is one near Wagram, the other near Smolensk. And this leg, you see, doesn’t want to move. This was during the big battle of the 7th near Moscow. ABOUT! it was wonderful! You should have seen it was a flood of fire. You gave us a difficult job, you can boast about it. And by God, despite this trump card (he pointed to the cross), I would be ready to start all over again. I feel sorry for those who did not see this.]
“J"y ai ete, [I was there],” said Pierre.
- Bah, vraiment! “Eh bien, tant mieux,” said the Frenchman. – Vous etes de fiers ennemis, tout de meme. La grande redoute a ete tenace, nom d"une pipe. Et vous nous l"avez fait cranement payer. J"y suis alle trois fois, tel que vous me voyez. Trois fois nous etions sur les canons et trois fois on nous a culbute et comme des capucins de cartes. Oh!! c"etait beau, Monsieur Pierre. Vos grenadiers ont ete superbes, tonnerre de Dieu. Je les ai vu six fois de suite serrer les rangs, et marcher comme a une revue. Les beaux hommes! Notre roi de Naples, qui s"y connait a crie: bravo! Ah, ah! soldat comme nous autres! - he said, smiling, after a moment of silence. - Tant mieux, tant mieux, monsieur Pierre. Terribles en bataille... galants... - he winked with a smile, - avec les belles, voila les Francais, monsieur Pierre, n "est ce pas? [Bah, really? All the better. You are fierce enemies, I must admit. The big redoubt held up well, damn it. And you made us pay dearly. I've been there three times, as you can see me. Three times we were on the guns, three times we were knocked over like card soldiers. Your grenadiers were magnificent, by God. I saw how their ranks closed six times and how they marched out like a parade. Wonderful people! Our Neapolitan king, who ate the dog in these matters, shouted to them: bravo! - Ha, ha, so you are our brother soldier! - So much the better, so much the better, Mr. Pierre. Terrible in battle, kind to beauties, these are the French, Mr. Pierre. Is not it?]
The captain was so naively and good-naturedly cheerful, whole-hearted, and pleased with himself that Pierre almost winked himself, looking at him cheerfully. Probably the word “galant” made the captain think about the situation in Moscow.
- A propos, dites, donc, est ce vrai que toutes les femmes ont quitte Moscow? Une drole d"idee! Qu"avaient elles a craindre? [By the way, please tell me, is it true that all the women left Moscow? A strange thought, what were they afraid of?]
– Est ce que les dames francaises ne quitteraient pas Paris si les Russes y entraient? [Wouldn’t the French ladies leave Paris if the Russians entered it?] said Pierre.
“Ah, ah, ah!..” The Frenchman laughed cheerfully, sanguineally, patting Pierre on the shoulder. - Ah! “elle est forte celle la,” he said. – Paris? Mais Paris Paris... [Ha, ha, ha!.. But he said something. Paris?.. But Paris... Paris...]
“Paris la capitale du monde... [Paris is the capital of the world...],” said Pierre, finishing his speech.
The captain looked at Pierre. He had the habit of stopping in the middle of a conversation and looking intently with laughing, affectionate eyes.
- Eh bien, si vous ne m"aviez pas dit que vous etes Russe, j"aurai parie que vous etes Parisien. Vous avez ce je ne sais, quoi, ce... [Well, if you hadn’t told me that you were Russian, I would have bet that you were a Parisian. There is something about you, this...] - and, having said this compliment, he again looked silently.