Why did we visit?
The visit's main purpose was to develop an international network of scholars interested in border issues and exchange ideas about encouraging critical views of borders among secondary school students.
Historical reasons make the Basque Country a border area with distinctive characteristics, and one where language dynamics are directly involved in the (de)construction of borders. Basque-speaking territories straddle the border between Spain and France - the following images were taken on either side of the Spanish-French border.
Directional sign, Hondarribia, Spain (Engl. ‘Old Town’):
Town Hall, Hondarribia, Spain (Basque ‘Udaletxea’):
Bilingual street-name sign, Hendaye, France (Engl. ‘Port Road’):
Bilingual French-Basque sign in Hendaye, France (Engl. ‘Shops-Restaurants’):
DREAM
DREAM (Donostia Research group on Education and Multilingualism) is made up of a friendly group of academics, graduate students and research associates who carry out projects and activities in relation to the use of the Basque language in Spain, and of its maintenance and normalisation as the medium of instruction in educational establishments.
During my stay I gave a lecture about Linguistic Landscape approaches fostering educational journeys, both in a holistic sense (drawing on a case study about the Occitan-speaking town of Guardia Piemontese, Italy) and in a practical sense (drawing on preparations for work with Liverpool secondary schools led by Dr Jessica Hampton). I participated in seminars and other academic activities, shared research interests and plans with colleagues and PG students and visited a Basque-medium secondary school.
The group is particularly dynamic and collaborates with both academic and non-academic organisations. One such organisation is the Soziolinguistika Klusterra (Sociolinguistics Cluster), which has recently celebrated 20 years since its foundation. A meeting with Director Imanol Larrea and his team was an opportunity to learn about the many projects carried out to survey and promote Basque language uses, a recent example being experimental work towards changing language habits in the workplace.
Many thanks to Professors Eli Arocena, Oihana Leonet, Eider Saragueta, Asun Martinez and Karin van der Worp, and their delightful graduate students, for giving me such a warm welcome and for making my stay very enjoyable and productive.
Copyright © Stefania Tufi 2024. All images belong to Stefania Tufi and you may not reproduce or use without consent