They are fluent Basque speakers and studied by themselves, never went to the Basque Country or have any family conexion there. Jose Miguel Ramírez Giraldo was the first, from Pereira, Colombia. He started uploading videos speaking in different languages. In one of those, Maria Spantidi, native of Athens, Greece saw him speaking in Basque and she decided to respond to him also in Basque with another video. Jose Miguel’s videos have been viewed around 7,000 times. Maria’s first and only one, more than 15,000 times. Both of them talked to Euskalkultura.com.
Loa Angeles, CA, USA. Ramírez Giraldo is able to speak in 15 languages but, in his own words, Basque is his “favorite one.” “I really like it and would like to see it grow and expand,” he said. Maria Spantidi, in an interview with Basque public radio (audio available in Basque only) said she is “in love” with Euskara and she admits that it is the language's “musicality” that she enjoys the most. “It is a beautiful language and I feel so happy when I use it or when I listen to it.”
When he uploaded his first video, the intention of the Colombian euskaldun or Basque speaker was “to fill a gap.” “I wanted to show as many people as possible that it is your will what counts when learning Euskara, not the material you have at hand, or where you live.” In fact, in the videos Ramírez Giraldo watched on the internet, all the euskaldunberris or Euskara learners knew a proficient speaker that helped them, unlike him. On top of that, he thought that this way he might get in touch with other learners, and so that is what he did, he says.
Spantidi watched his video from Athens. “When I watched Jose Miguel’s video I felt very happy to see there were more people learning Basque outside the Basque Country,” she says. “He learned Basque by himself and that encouraged me to keep learning.” Jose Miguel also has good things to say to his counterpart: “I would note Maria’s fluency, the sweetness of her sound, and the accuracy of her vocabulary. In a few words, Maria is a role model for all the young Euskara students.”
From Greece and Colombia, both of them encourage people to learn Basque: “I know it’s not the easiest language of the world –she says−, but it’s worth it. Those who don’t learn it don’t know what they are missing.” Ramírez Giraldo quoted the first Basque writer ever to be published, Bernat Etxepare: “Basque, go out into the world! I think that idea is reflected in all my videos, especially with all the links I add.”
Maria also wanted to share how learning Euskara helped her in her personal life: “It helped me to be a better person. Thanks to Euskara I modified my perfectionism and that has been very important to me. I feel very proud of being able to talk in such a special language, I don’t know how to express what I feel but it’s something very positive and I really would like more people to feel the same.”
Please find below the links to Jose Miguel’s and Maria’s videos:
Maria Spandini: “Maria speaking Basque [Beste euskaldun autodidakta bat]
Jose Miguel: “Euskaldun berri autodidakta” (subtitles in English)
Jose Miguel: “Gu euskaldun berriok (Euskaldun berri autodidakta, 2. Bideoa)”
Jose Miguel: “Polyglot speaking 15 languages - Políglota hablando en 15 idiomas”
[in English (1:25), in French (1:53), in Basque (7:14), i Spanish (9:42)]
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