What is Basque language?
{{Infobox language |name=Basque |nativename=Euskara |familycolor=Isolate |states=Spain, France |region=[[Basque Country]] |speakers=715,000 |ref=<ref name=VInkesta>{{cite web |url=http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-738/es/contenidos/noticia/inkesta_soziol_2012/es_berria/berria.html |title=V. Inkesta Soziolinguistikoa |author=Gobierno Vasco |date=July 2012 |publisher=Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco |access-date=18 July 2012}}</ref> |date=2012 |ethnicity=[[Basque people|Basque]] |script=[[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Basque alphabet]]) |family= [[Language isolate]] |ancestor=[[Proto-Basque]] |ancestor2=[[Aquitanian language|Aquitanian]] |nation=[[Basque Country]] |agency=[[Euskaltzaindia]] |iso1=eu|iso2b=baq|iso2t=eus|iso3=eus |lingua=40-AAA-a }} [[File:Basque Country location map.png|right|300px|Basque Country in Spain and France]] [[File:Basque dialects-en.svg|thumb|290px|Basque dialects]] [[File:Euskararen bilakaera laburra.ogg|thumb|Spoken Basque]] '''Basque''' (Basque: '''{{lang|eu|Euskara}}''') is the [[language]] spoken by the [[Basque people]] in the [[Basque Country]] and its [[diaspora]]. Although most other Europeans speak [[Indo-European languages]], Basque is a [[language isolate]] and is not related to them or to any other language in the world. == History and classification == The ancestors of Basques are among the oldest residents of [[Europe]], and their origins are unknown, as are the origins of the language. Many scholars have tried to link Basque to [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]], [[African languages]], [[Languages of the Caucasus|Caucasian languages]] and so on, but most see Basque as a [[language isolate]]. A connection with the [[Iberian language]] has given some hope, but it is unclear whether similarities are caused by genetic relations or mere vicinity. It was spoken long before the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] brought Latin to the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. == Geographic distribution == [[File:Euskara.png|thumb|180px|left|Percentage of fluent speakers of Basque.]] Basque is spo