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Basque

vr.tr.basque · thing-q8752

Let an agent describe Basque as a language with its dialects, standard form, legal status and history, relay codes and speaker figures from linguistic and official sources, present its origin and political questions with attribution, and route learning and translation questions to resources.

Thing Registry Information and virtual systems INF.MED
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Identify What Basque is.

Language

Language and codes.

Language

Language.

  1. What is Basque, what are its codes, and what makes it a language isolate? definition
  2. Is the question about the language, the people or the region? boundary

Dialects

Dialects and standard.

Dialects

Dialects.

  1. What dialects exist, and how does Batua relate to them? definition
  2. Which entry fits a specific dialect? action
Status Status and vitality.

Legal

Legal status.

Legal

Legal.

  1. What legal status does Basque have in Spain and France, and what policies support it? provenance
  2. Which entry fits language policy? action

Speakers

Speakers and trends.

Speakers

Speakers.

  1. How many people speak Basque, and how is that changing, from surveys? measurement
  2. Which sources are cited? provenance
History Origins and history.

Origins

Origin hypotheses.

Origins

Origins.

  1. What is known and hypothesised about the origins of Basque, with positions attributed? provenance
  2. Is the presentation clear about what is unproven? boundary

Modern

Suppression and revival.

Modern

Modern.

  1. How was Basque treated under the Franco regime, and how has it been revived since? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance
Use Learning and culture.

Learning

Learning resources.

Learning

Learning.

  1. How can Basque be learned, and which dictionaries and courses exist? provenance
  2. Which entry fits language learning? action

Culture

Literature and media.

Culture

Culture.

  1. What literature, media and education exist in Basque? provenance
  2. Which entry fits Basque literature? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Information and virtual systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
INF
Domain
INF.MED
Other names and narrower kinds
Basque language in Francoist Spain, Erromintxela, ancient Basque, Basque dialects, Navarro-Labourdin, Basque in the Catalan Pyrenees, Standard Basque, Souletin, Algonquian–Basque pidgin, Eastern Navarrese, Alavese Basque, Roncalese

What it is Filled

A language isolate spoken in the Basque Country of northern Spain and south-western France by several hundred thousand people, with an established relationship to historical Aquitanian but no established relationship to any other living language, and with regional ancestry predating the spread of Indo-European languages there; standardised as Batua in the twentieth century alongside several dialects, co-official in the Basque Autonomous Community and parts of Navarre, and the object of revitalisation after suppression under the Franco regime.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent describe Basque as a language with its dialects, standard form, legal status and history, relay codes and speaker figures from linguistic and official sources, present its origin and political questions with attribution, and route learning and translation questions to resources.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Language isolate
  • Ergative-absolutive alignment
  • Standard form Batua since 1968
  • Co-official status and revitalisation

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Present proposed relationships beyond the established relationship with historical Aquitanian as established fact.
  • Take sides in political questions about the Basque Country when describing the language.
  • Belittle Basque or its speakers or treat it as a curiosity.
  • Produce Basque text for official use without saying it has not been checked by a qualified speaker.

Only with a human decision

  • Publishing official, legal or medical translations into Basque requires human review.

May

  • Explain Basque as a language isolate and describe its dialects and standard form.
  • Help people learn or translate Basque with care for dialect and register.
  • Relay its legal status and revitalisation from official and scholarly sources.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Basque was suppressed in the past, so respect for it is tied to its speakers' dignity.
  • Political debate around the region means neutrality matters when describing the language.

Who is affected

  • Basque speakers
  • Learners and translators
  • People in the Basque Country

Owners Filled

Steward

The speech community; the Basque language academy maintains the standard.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q129256519 - registry parent class
  • Q85380120 - registry parent class

related

  • language isolate - no demonstrated relatives
  • Basque Country - the region
  • Euskaltzaindia - the Royal Academy of the Basque Language
  • Basque people - the community

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.basque
  • Wikidata: Q8752 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8752)
  • ISO 639-1: eu
  • ISO 639-3: eus
  • Glottolog: basq1248

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

  • speakers: about 750000 people - estimates vary; more with passive knowledge
  • main dialects: 5 or 6 dialects - by classification

Plane INF: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Language isolate with ergative grammar
  • Standard Batua and dialects
  • Spanish and French are the neighbouring, unrelated languages
  • Written in Latin script with letters such as tx, tz and x; distinctive ergative grammar and vocabulary unlike neighbouring languages.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • explain the language and its dialects
  • relay codes, status and speaker figures
  • present origin hypotheses and history with attribution
  • find learning and translation resources

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Claims of relationship to other languages presented as fact
  • Language shift outside the core area
  • Political questions about the Basque Country presented as settled

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country and Navarre language laws on co-official status
  • Euskaltzaindia standards for Batua
  • European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

Context of use required Filled

  • Communication and identity in the Basque Country.
  • Standard Basque or Batua
  • Western, Central, Navarrese, Navarro-Lapurdian and Souletin dialects
  • historical stages such as Aquitanian and old Basque
  • Basque-influenced mixed languages such as Erromintxela
  • Basque in the diaspora

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q8752: Basque - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Basque language - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should each dialect be a separate entry?
  • How should speaker surveys be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases for historical stages, dialects and a mixed language; should they be split off?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q8752/spec.json