The Basque Language in the French State

Abstract

This article presents an historical and sociological interpretation of the place the Basque language holds in France.After resisting the drive of the French language with flying colors until the end of 19th century,the Basque language experienced a slow decline throughout the 20th century,to the point where it was threatened with extinction at the beginning of the 21st century.However,when the Basque language in France appeared to be about to take its last breath,an unprecedented mobilization in its favor appeared.A hypothesis is considered,in terms of a search for identity and linguistic emotion in a postmodernist world,as an explanation of this phenomenon.