Grammatical gender agreement in Ondarroa Basque: A triangulation study of production and attitudes

Basque (Euskera) and Spanish are two languages in contact in the Basque Country. One linguistic aspect both languages diverge in is grammatical gender agreement: while Spanish produces grammatical gender agreement, Basque does not. Interestingly, some western Basque varieties have been reported to exhibit Spanish-style gender marking with some adjectives derived from Spanish and only in oral production. However, no empirical study has corroborated this observation. Thus, with the aim of delimiting the (in)existence of grammatical gender agreement in Basque, this project triangulates the production of and attitudes towards grammatical gender use with 20 Ondarroa Basque speakers (a western Basque variety belonging to the province of Bizkaia). Results suggest that Spanish-style grammatical gender agreement is possible with Spanish-originated and Basque adjectives, and that it is perceived as natural, respectful, and part of Basque.