by Wim Jansen (Author)
Basque is a language spoken in Europe's Basque country, a region in the western Pyrenees that includes parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque is considered to be a language isolate, or one that has no genealogical relationship with other languages. There are over 700,000 native speakers in Basque country and nearly 2 million non-native or "passive" speakers worldwide. Because it is unrelated to other languages and has a complex grammar system, it has been deemed the hardest language in the world to learn. Scholars, polyglots and anyone interested in studying a linguistic mystery have enthusiastically taken on the challenge of learning Basque. Ideal for those new to Basque, learning at home or in the classroom, Beginner's Basque with Online Audio includes a brief introduction to Basque history and culture; 12 carefully-paced and practical lessons with dialogues, vocabulary, and expressions; exercises for each lesson with answer key; Basque-English and English-Basque glossaries; an alphabet and pronunciation guide; and online MP3 audio files for free download featuring pronunciation by native speakers.