These conversation practice programmes bring together people used to speaking in Basque with those who are not in the habit of doing so. That way, the members achieve oral fluency, they reinforce the networks of Basque language lovers and exert an influence on the use of Basque.
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\nThe conversation regulars meet in groups of five or six people to speak in Basque about subjects of their choice. They meet during their free time in public places (cafés, parks, etc.), and are among friends in a pleasant, friendly and participatory atmosphere.
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\nRight now, there are 6,000 members in over 80 municipalities and regions across the Basque Country. Depending on the location, the programme goes by the name of Mintzalagun, Berbalagun, Mintzakide, Solaskide or Solaslagun.
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\nTwo types of Basque speakers meet during this conversation practice. Firstly, those who are not in the habit of conducting their daily lives in Basque: those who do not have the chance to speak the language on a day-to-day basis in their milieu, those who are learning Basque, those who haven't spoken it for a long time and who want to revive their fluency, those who want to get into a Basque lovers’ environment, etc. The programme offers these participants the chance to practice and speak in Basque. And then many Basque speakers want to contribute towards the language normalisation process by helping in these initiatives through conversation with Basque speakers with difficulties. Furthermore, the conversation practice programmes reinforce the local networks of Basque speakers.
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\nEach group meets for at least one hour a week. But apart from the weekly get-together, extra activities are organised occasionally so that the members of the conversation practice groups can get to know each other and so that the network of contacts can be extended: courses, excursions, lunches and dinners, shows, family events, etc. There are also special modalities of conversation groups, such as groups formed by parents (Gurasolaguna), groups for doing sports and groups to work on the dialects of Basque.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
These conversation practice programmes bring together people used to speaking in Basque with those who are not in the habit of doing so. That way, the members achieve oral fluency, they reinforce the networks of Basque language lovers and exert an influence on the use of Basque. The conversation regulars meet in groups of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-23660","ekitaldia","type-ekitaldia","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n