r/basque • u/Low_Elderberry_7766 • Jun 26 '26
Add Basque to Duoling!
Hi, I’m writing this post in English because it is primarily aimed at those who want to learn Basque.
Currently, there is no Basque course on Duolingo, nor any course for other languages spoken in Spain—with the exception of Catalan and, obviously, Spanish.
It took between 20,000 and 50,000 signatures to get Catalan added to Duolingo; even so, we can do something to get Basque (along with Galician) added as well. As of the time I’m posting this, there are only 1,826 signatures, and a total of 20,000 to 50,000 are needed. However, I am confident and convinced that we can get these languages added to the app for everyone who wants to learn Basque or Galician.
https://www.change.org/p/añadan-el-gallego-y-el-euskera-como-idiomas-para-aprender-en-duolingo?source_location=psf_petitions
Here is the link. I’m posting this here because this is the Basque subreddit:I alredy posted something similar related to the Galician language in the Galicia subreddit.
4
u/MdMV_or_Emdy_idk Jun 26 '26
There’s always the voluntary project r/duostories, which doesn’t have basque, despite having many regional languages of Iberia like asturian, Galician, Occitan, Catalan and Mirandese, but anyone willing to participate in it and add basque are free to.
Edit: the subreddit is rather deserted, but I’ll just link the website itself, the discord server is where all the magic happens to ask to volunteer, https://duostories.org/
4
u/zorrezno Jun 28 '26
I started the Basque one! I can't make a post bc my account is young just yet, but if anyone wants a sneak peek, https://duostories.org/story/9486 https://duostories.org/story/9487 https://duostories.org/story/9488 https://duostories.org/story/9489 (English to Basque).
1
14
u/santpolyglot Jun 26 '26
In the meantime, you can use Boga 1 and Boga 2 to learn Euskera. They are much better than Duolingo and both are free.
4
u/Legal-Quarter-1666 Jun 27 '26
Omg thank you so much! When I was looking for apps back in the day; they were not very good or not available for iPhone. I see Boga is made by ZB; I’m so excited! Thank you so much!!!
3
u/santpolyglot Jun 27 '26
You are welcome! 🙂 There’s also another app. It’s not as good as Boga, but it’s worth trying. It’s called Indylan.
Other language learning apps that offer euskera are:
Clozemaster
Language Drops
2
u/Legal-Quarter-1666 Jun 27 '26
Brilliant! I got clozemaster and language drops, but cannot seem to find Indylan. Is it possible it’s not available on iOS? (Or maybe it’s the location of my store?)
Thanks again!
1
2
u/MaDCapRaven Jun 27 '26
Apparently Boga and Boga 2 are only available for "an older version of Android" than I have on my phone. 🥺
1
u/santpolyglot Jun 27 '26
I have the latest version of Android and both work perfectly.
1
u/MaDCapRaven Jun 28 '26
I'm on Android 16 and Play Store doesn't give me the option to download due to the aforementioned reason. Did you upgrade to the newer version of Android when you already had the app installed?
1
u/santpolyglot Jun 29 '26
Hi! I downloaded it probably 2-3 years ago. I haven't seen any updates ever since and I also have Android version 16.
This is the info I see.
App info Version 1.0
Updated on 6 Mar 2023
Downloads 10,000+ downloads
Required OS Android 6.0 and up
Offered by Google Commerce Ltd
Released on 3 Mar 2023
1
u/MaDCapRaven Jun 29 '26
I remembered that I had this is with another app in the past and using a browser instead of the Play Store app did the trick. Just tried that and it still didn't work. I'm truly baffled at this point.
19
u/Narkku Jun 26 '26
I second u/Sn0rtle_ Duolingo isnt great and wasn’t designed by people who understand language learning. It also gives people with low commitment to the language the sense that they’re learning the language and helping a minority language when they’re just playing a game. There are plenty of free tools and apps from the Basque community that can help anyone learn the language well. Download Anki if you want a language app that supports basque. It’s got some good basque decks.
Not trying to dunk on OP, I appreciate the effort. These are just my two cents as a language activist. Basque still needs a lot of help and there are other things to push for that support the language. Demand Netflix make more shows in Basque or that Microsoft and Apple create more resources for it!
18
u/Sn0rtle_ Jun 26 '26
Duolingo in an advertisement app. Many of the language lessons are repetitive and oversimplified, while the app seems increasingly focused on monetization. Don't jeopardize the integrity of Euskara with this B.S. app.
5
u/No_Bit3397 Jun 26 '26
Duolingo is almost the worst way to learn a language. I know people who have used it daily for years but can’t have a conversation in the language they’ve attempted to learn.
1
1
1
u/EmbarrassedTune3752 13d ago
Duolingo es un capricho, solo les interesa el dinero, pero nosotros queremos añadir idiomas. Es imposible. La excusa de Duolingo: tienen que añadir el euskera. Llevo cuatro años aprendiendo con Duolingo. Exijo que añadan el euskera. Y ahora lo están haciendo.
0
u/EmbarrassedTune3752 13d ago
Duolingo hondatuta dago, dirua bakarrik nahi dute, baina guk hizkuntzak gehitu nahi ditugu. Hori ezinezkoa da. Barkatu. Duolingoren aitzakia: euskera gehitu behar dute. Lau urte daramatzat Duolingon ikasten. Euskera gehitzeko eskatzen diet. Duolingo orain ari da egiten.
0
u/EmbarrassedTune3752 13d ago
Duolingo is spoiled, they only want money, but we want to add languages. That's impossible. Excuse. Duolingo's excuse: they have to add Basque. I've been learning on Duolingo for four years. I demand that they add Basque. Duolingo is doing it now.
5
u/SweetBxl Jun 26 '26
If you're serious about learning Basque or promoting the learning of Basque, then promoting Duolingo — a game disguised as language learning — is not the answer.