Performing a linguistic muda in favour of Basque at University: choices, hopes and reality

In the context of minoritised languages, efforts to strengthen the use of these languages and to gain new speakers tend to offer interesting research topics. Linguistic mudas related to activating speakers are also located in this context. This study examines the linguistic mudas of university students. Participants in the study were pre-service primary school teachers at the Donostia/San Sebastián campus of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, and both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather the data (292 questionnaires and 15 focus group discussions). The results show that the university setting can be an ideal context for linguistic mudas to take place. The participants said that they did not notice any significant muda, but did note a tendency to use Basque more than they had prior to entering university. The findings, thus, indicate that specific plans must be designed and implemented in order to foster mudas towards Basque.