‘My Basque has no swag’: the lack of a dialect as an obstacle to the colloquial use of Basque language among college students

Although knowledge of Basque has become widespread over recent decades, its use has not increased to the same extent. Given that one’s time at university may offer an ideal setting in which to change one’s language habits, this study examines student discourses at the University of the Basque Country. Data were collected through 15 focus groups with students enrolled in the Primary Education degree at the Donostia campus. The analysis reveals that participants attribute the highest legitimacy to speakers who employ a Basque dialect, because they associate speaking a dialect with a high degree of language ability, intensive use, and nativeness. What is more, in the participants’ discourse, using a dialect is associated with having a young Basque style. The very ideologies, which reproduce this differentiation, are, therefore, an obstacle to undertaking muda for young Basques who speak the standard variety. These findings point to the need for further research and interventions addressing the role of language ideologies and linguistic styles in shaping opportunities for expanded Basque use in higher education contexts.