Though the Basque and Armenian languages share no superficial resemblances, they do share a baffling litany of words and grammatical elements. A few steps from the entrance to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, one of San Sebastian’s most visible landmarks with its sky-piercing gothic spire, lies a simple, two-faced earthen slab. In this corner …
Continue reading Europe’s baffling linguistic enigma (BBC Travel)
The late Basque and Armenian linguist Vahan Sargsyan complied a list of 600 shared words between the two languages in a 1998 publication conducted with experts from both languages. Unfortunately, Sargsyan passed away suddenly in 2011, leaving hundreds of more proposed shared words between Basque and Armenian unpublished. Below is the full list (in Armenian) …
Plastics and chemicals pollute our oceans and contaminate seafood. Now, a new sea-to-plate data chain could track fish from ocean to local shops, clamping down on dishonest labelling. It has become a new, horrible norm. Our marine life is today being choked by a gathering minefield of plastic in our oceans, and the images make …
Continue reading How to make sure the fish we eat is safe (BBC Future)
Bayonne, France -- It didn’t take long after my arrival in Bayonne, France, to realise that this riverside town of meandering medieval alleyways flanked by narrow wooden-framed homes is a different kind of Basque Country. French Basque Country counts a population of just less than 300,000, compared to more than two million Spanish Basques, with …
Continue reading The French region with a new currency (BBC Travel)
Valletta, Malta -- There is a competitive nature that courses through Malta so raw and unbridled that it’s written into the skyline of its capital, Valletta, and permeates across all walks of life on the archipelago. I’m talking about pika – a Maltese word that roughly means ‘a neighbourly rivalry’, but is one of those terms that feels like a fool’s errand when foreigners try to interpret it.
Justin Calderón 