The Basques call themselves euskaldunak, that is to say, the speakers of the Basque language. The Basque Country is in Europe, astride the Pyrenees, with one foot in the French and Spanish states. It lies beside the Bay of Biscay.

In the distant past, the Basque language covered a larger area than it does at present: all Aquitaine (the great region of Bordeaux) is supposed to have spoken Basque or some language related to it. Basque is a sonorous and sweet-sounding language, with five clearly defined vowel sounds and an extraordinarily regular verb system.

It is also an island-language, devoid of known relatives, and is classified as pre-Indo-European. It has no structural relationship with the Romance languages nor with the Germanic ones. Several hypotheses are put forward as to its origin: some say that Basque is the old Iberian language, while others associate it with Caucasian languages. Others think it may own its origin to a common Saharan-Berber root.

Studies on the Basque language and literature have an important reference point in the University of Reno (USA), and its Center for Basques Studies.

Considered an obstacle for political assimilation, this language has been ridiculed, prohibited and persecuted over the centuries by the powerful and centralist French and Spanish states. The French Revolution considered it an enemy of "enlightenment" and an instrument of Catholic reaction, whereas Franco considered it an enemy of God and Spain.