Dialects

This is the particular dialect of the Salazar valley. In the classification made by prince Bonaparte, the Salazar dialect was considered a variant of the Lower Navarrese,
just like the Basque spoken in Valcarlos. However, it has its own individuality and it can be considered as an independent dialect, as it has been regarded by the Basque General Dictionary.

It is a form of speech in almost complete decline. Some speakers of this variety remain, but the language is not being passed on in any natural manner.

Beyond the general characteristics of spoken Basque, the Salazar dialect deviates from the standard form in the following features:

Morphology (verbal, nouns), Phonetics, Lexicon and Syntax

.

MORPHOLOGY

VERBAL

1- The verbal pluralizing -te (standard dute, dakite, zenuten, zuten, zekiten) appears like -e:

A. In the third person of the transitive verbs: die, zien, zakien, zaela (standard dute, zuten, zekiten, (de)zatela):

eta behar baldin bazien xan

lo egiten zien egunaz

orai guziek eragutzen die ogia atariala

oseake nee etxean etzien hitzegiten erdaraz batere

Amorziak eta aitaborziak bazakien zerbait erdara

eta aitak eta amak beti euskaraz egiten zien ele haien artean

akaso kontu da baia esaten zien

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

abrek ermaten zien lasterka

etxe kontako nagusi-etxekoandriek izan zaela gaba on, abalili

B. In the second person of the past of the auxiliaries: zinien, zintzaien (zenuten, zineten).

This produces certain changes to maintain the oppositions between both persons: duela/diela (batua duela/dutela), zuen/zien (zuen/zuten), zinuen/zinien (zenuen/zenuten):

Badakizua non duen xigante goitti kartan?

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

kueban erraten zuen

lo egiten zien egunaz

2- The intransitive auxiliary is regulated by way of the root -za- (<izan): nintzan, zintzan, zintzaien, gintzan (but zen):

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

baratzen gintzan ongi

3-The nor-nori-nork is constructed, as in the continental Basque, by the root -erau contracted to -au-:

ta ze behar dauzut erran?

For the third persons, however, forms in -ako- are used.

4- -a- appears in the past tense of the strong verbs (synthetics): nakien, zakien, zabilen... etc, (standard neukan, zebilen... etc.):

Amorziak eta aitaborziak bazakien zerbait erdara

But cf. with -e- (from foreign influence?):

orduan garbi zegonian igaretzen zen handik

Iriña errotan, eho, bazegon Otsagin errota

5- Just as in the Northern High Navarrese and the Southern High Navarrese it is quite common to find the aphaeresis of the auxiliary transitive in the present: tut, tuzu, etc (ditut, dituzu, etc):

Pues goiti kartan tugu

6- Conditional intransitives can be heard in -ke: daike, zaiken etc (standard daiteke, zitekeen):

Gogorra, buf! trabajo kura etzaiken sobrelleba

Although more standardized forms also heard:

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

7- The second person in the present tense plural of nor-nork is in -zie (standard -zue), like in Ultzama and part of Northern High Navarrese.

8- Just as in the Ultzama, the connected forms zaidan, didan ,etc have produced free analogical forms in -da:

anitz fatia Erribrala, tokatu zaida bai

9- Verbal forms of the past can be sporadically heard with -n, of the Southern High Navarrese and of the Lower Navarrese. But this is quite rare. In Ochagavía only -n exists. In Esparza, more to the south and closer to the Southern High Navarrese, both -n and -0:

izan ze ene senarra, faten zena artzai

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

but cf:

Etxen, baginuen labea

kan bar zen egon

10- With verbs finishing in -n (edan, egon, izan etc ) the future form is in -en:

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

11- As in Southern High Navarrese this dialect also has the form -rik of the verbal participle in common use, yet this is unusual or very rare in the Northern High Navarrese (except in the Barranca). After -tu it appears characteristically syncopated in -trik:

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

eta ni handitrik ere bai

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

ezartzen zen espartzitrik

egosten da lebadurara, prestatrik baitago bezperan

12- In the subjunctive, conditional and imperative the radical verb is always used, even in recent loan words:

Gogorra, buf! trabajo kura etzaiken sobrelleba

13- Just like the Southern High Navarrese this dialect does not recognize the verbal nouns in -iten (emaiten, erraiten) which are characteristics of the Northern High Navarraese and the French-Basque dialects:

Ori kukulian kukulian meza ematen

abrek ermaten zien lasterka

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

kueban erraten zuen

14- As well as the previous mannerisms, which are systematic, in this dialect it is possible to hear many other non-standard verbal inflections: niz, ginuen, etc. The version in standard Basque clarifies the equivalence in each case.

15- The advanced stage of erosion of this dialect could explain aberrant usage and some of the forms as sporadic cross -overs due to linguistic insecurity:

zortzi oro bihar nuen nik ogiak egin

guziak egiten nuen

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

Pues, begi, ba, begiak eta ardiak, pues gauza kuetarik ermaten gintzan

NOMINAL

16- The most noticeable feature - something exclusive to the Salazar dialect- is the form in -ra of the determined singular of themes in -a: bordara, elizara, euskarara (standard borda, eliza, euskara, biscayan bordea, eleizea, etc, < a+a):

Baginuen errotara

eta orduan galdu zen euskarara

esertzeko kozinillara

Bai, guti egoten zen musikara, guti...

17- The additive is in -ala, just as in the Souletin dialect and parts of the Lower Navarrese (The Roncalese has -ara…) This suffix acts like as the locative -an i.e. as if it started with a consonant. It is added directly after the vowel (erdiala, as erdian) but after a consonant it needs a connecting vowel -e-: oihaneala, as oihanean. *Oihanala would be agrammatical. (As would *oihanan):

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

Keen bai bordala, bordala

eta ez gintzan xausten halik eta larunbateala artio labetik elki zaku batiala

Erribrala fan bage

ala! bazterriala!, ala! erdiala, erdiala!

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

Sometimes the -e- of -eala- is assimilated by the previous palatal:

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

18- It distinguishes -ak from -ek in plurall:

Emaztiek, emaztiek egiten ginuen lan yago

nik egitatzen nuen gizonek biño yago

orai guziek eragutzen die ogia atariala

19- The instrumental is -z, but in Esparza there is a vacillation with the form in -s, typical of the Southern High Navarrese and Aezkoan:

lo egiten zien egunaz

bi behi xuntatu buztarriaz eta ala

guri zomait aldiz

erraten ginuen erdaraz parva hori da eultzia

The vacillation with -s seems to be limited to Esparza, closer to the Southern High Navarrese:

ta bihar zen egon hirur orones

20- The normal contraction of the genitive singular is -ain.

21- For the numbers forms with -tan are used: hirutan hogei, lautan hogei (=hirurogei, laurogei).

22- The nondik case is indefinite and in the plural it is formed in -tarik:

guzietarik izan ginuen

Xei? pues igandetarik

leku koitaik faten gintzan, bai

23- -arendako is used for -arentzat.

Abelgorriendako, eta aberendako ere bai...

24- In words such as artzain, arrrain, haurtzain, etc. throughout the dialect (just as in the Northern and Southern High Navarrese ) the forms in -ai predominate: artzai, arrai, haurtzai etc (as against the -ain found in the Baztanese, the Lower Navarrese, and the Labourdin):

izan ze ene senarra, faten zena artzai

Artzai, artzai

25- Se mantiene la final castellana -ón en los préstamos (en batua -oi): pantalona, perdigona, kamiona, botona, xabona.

26- The demonstratives have an inicial k-, as in the Roncal dialect (Lower Navarrese g-) kau, kori, kor etc. However, a certain vacillation may be detected, perhaps due to the influence of foreign words:

oihaneala, lan egitra kan

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

eta ni kemen berzeekin

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

ya konen denbran etzen egiten ogirik

Badakizua non duen xigante goitti kartan?

orai kau faten da elkitzera kanpo

But cf. too:

Anitz, anitz da hori

baia lenbizikoa, ikasi nuen hori, euskaraa

Nik ez dut izaundu hori, len ez dakit

27- This dialect freely constructs syntagmas in the indefinite where it would be impossible in other dialects:

len egiten ginuen ogi haundi

Ah, bai, zamariarekin, zamari ez, mando ginuen

ene denbran beti izan ginuen mando

28- On the other hand, some reduplicated adverbs take an article:

polliki-pollikia

29- The suffix -tarik has the western meaning of ´each´ in expressions of time:

Xei? pues igandetarik

30-The intensive pronouns are of the eastern type guhaur, nihaur, etc.

elkitzen zelaik zonbait modorra, pues kurak guaurek hiltzen ta xaten gintzaka

31- Just as in the Souletin, the indefinite archaism of etxe: etxen ´at home´ as against etxean ´in the house´:

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

Etxen, baginuen labea

egiten ginuen orduan ogia etxen

32- Numbers have many non-standard forms: laur, hirur, bedratzi, egun, bida (pronoum; bi adjective):

lauregun edo kala, edo borzegun edo kala, ermaten zuen

egiten nituen hamabi hamahirur ogi

bedratzi eta hamar libra ogi bakotxa

ta bihar zen egon hirur orones

33- The pronouns inor, inon, etc have forms without -n- (ior, iora etc.)

FONÉTICA

34- Just as in Southern High Navarrese, the automatic palate sound of n is only voiced after the semivowel i (beño, gañean):

su gaiñean ginuen labea

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

nik egitatzen nuen gizonek biño yago

Pues guzietarik, baia oiñez mandoan beño yago.

but not after i vowel:

Etxen, baginuen labea

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

eta Amaberjina ere bai ezta?

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

It is unusual to hear ñ after i vowel, no doubt, due to the foreign influence:

Iriña errotan, eho, bazegon Otsagin errota

(Cf: berexi irina )

Neither t nor l become palatal after i:

astelenean egiten nuen

-Jo, jo, Manex, aita hil duk.

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

ll can be heard in recient loanwords:

esertzeko kozinillara

35- In the declination, -ea (etxea) the sound is -ia:

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

ala! bazterriala!, ala! erdiala, erdiala!

Amorziak eta aitaborziak bazakien zerbait erdara

xiten zienian Otsagira

Ori kukulian kukulian meza ematen

But we can also hear -ea:

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

-oa hiatus does not change:

baia lenbizikoa, ikasi nuen hori, euskaraa

-Olloak xan

pues al lau, ondoan.

36- There is a tendency to pronounce these hiatus (although not always) in monosyllabic (like a diphthong) perhaps as a consequence of the accent:

pues al lau, ondoan.

Due to this, sometimes -e- is assimilated by its previous consonant:

Ori kukulian kukulian meza ematen

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

37- Vocalic harmony (dirua>dirue, ogia>ogie) does not exist:

guziak egiten nuen

erkaituak erraten baizen orduan

38- The loss of a vowel in the middle of a word is frequent (syncope):

*in odd words: abre, erman, atra, denbra, graitzu, bedratzi, Erribra:

abrek ermaten zien lasterka

ene denbran beti izan ginuen mando

ya konen denbran etzen egiten ogirik

kori usatzen ginuen denbra guzian...

-Graitzupean. -Graitzua non?

bedratzi eta hamar libra ogi bakotxa

Ez, ni Erribrala ez nintzan fan batere

Erribrala fan bage

anitz fatia Erribrala, tokatu zaida bai

*in the declination: -tra, trik (<-tara, -tera, -turik):

oihaneala, lan egitra kan

hamahirutra etzen heltzen

eta ni handitrik ere bai

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

ezartzen zen espartzitrik

But not in nondik case: (-taik, -tarik):

leku koitaik faten gintzan, bai

guzietarik izan ginuen

Xei? pues igandetarik

39- As a trace of the old aspirated h, sometimes the g is kept in:

xagutu eta orduan sartu ogia

Pues, begi, ba, begiak eta ardiak, pues gauza kuetarik ermaten gintzan

lauregun edo kala, edo borzegun edo kala, ermaten zuen

40- The phonological rules of bait + auxiliary govern in bait+d, but not in other cases:

erkaituak erraten baizen orduan

baginuen bertze gauza bat, torno erraten baiginuen

egosten da lebadurara, prestatrik baitago bezperan

41- In words such as joan jarri, jende, etc. in this dialect the inicial sound is -x, xan, xin, xei, xunto, xarduki:

ez gintzan xausten arts´artio

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

eta behar baldin bazien xan

bi behi xuntatu buztarriaz eta ala

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

etxakin zomana, eraukizu kozu bana xakiteko zomana

xiten zienian Otsagira

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

But it sometimes sounds as j-, in recient loanwords from Spanish and in the word amaberjina: (cf. Aezkoan amaberkina, with -k- also of jey)..

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

eta Amaberjina ere bai ezta?

LEXICON

42- The Salazar dialect is not very characterized by its lexicon. There is little vocabulary, variants, or admittances from the corpus that can be considered exclusive or almost exclusive to this dialecto: izaundu, `to know´, ozteki `burial´ (<ortzi `to bury´), xateki `banquet´, xarduki `to talk´, eseri `to put´, oritu `to remember´:

Nik ez dut izaundu hori, len ez dakit

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

eta gero zakuetan eseri garia

eta han esertzen da ura

Esan dut ez nintzala oritzen baia orai oritu naiz, eta da larraiña

43- The most manifest lexicon irregularities are due to the oriental character of the variants and terms used in this dialect (often shared by the Southern High Navarrese): guti `a little´, bertze `another´, erran `to say´, xin `to come´, Manex `Juan´, murru `wall´, orai `now´, zonbait `someone´, zomat `how much´, zamari `horse´, ele egin `to talk´, egotzi `to throw´, baratu `to stay´, hirur `three´, laur `four´, biztu `to light´, xukatu `to dry´, eragu `to carry´, altzin `in front of´, elki `to go out, to take out´, ortzi `to bury´, yago, yagoen `more, the most´, igare ´to cross´, goatze `bed´, eho `to mill´:

Bai, guti egoten zen musikara, guti...

baginuen bertze gauza bat, torno erraten baiginuen

ta ze behar dauzut erran?

halik eta martxoaren azkenial´artio etzen xiten

-Jo, jo, Manex, aita hil duk.

Baratzeko murrutik erori duk.

ez orai bezala, ez

guri zomait aldiz

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

Ah, bai, zamariarekin, zamari ez, mando ginuen

eta gero ez niz oroitzen noiz artio elegin nuen

eta haiziala egotzi goiti eta agotza ermaten zuen haizea(k)

bi semerekin baratzen nintzan

egiten nituen hamabi hamahirur ogi

eta gero bizten da labea

ez zen xukatzen nola oraikoa

orai guziek eragutzen die ogia atariala

etxakin zomana, eraukizu kozu bana xakiteko zomana

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

labetik elki zaku batiala

nik egitatzen nuen gizonek biño yago

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

hori xateko eta goatzea egiteko ere bai

Iriña errotan, eho, bazegon Otsagin errota

44- There are two lexicon variants which are noticeable for their frequency and they are also used in the Barranca: fan ´to come´ and baia ´but´:

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

akaso kontu da baia esaten zien

45- It must be underlined that strange expressions can often be heard in this dialect (oso, asko, esan, hitzegin), which indicates that there is frequent interaction with other variations (and erosion of this dialect):

ta orduan baratzen zen oso garbi

eta nasi anitz anitz, asko

Esan dut ez nintzala oritzen baia orai oritu naiz, eta da larraiña

amak esaten zuen eskolara fan artio

oseake nee etxean etzien hitzegiten erdaraz batere

SYNTAX

46- Forms of the relative (explicative) with the prefix bait- can often be heard:

baginuen bertze gauza bat, torno erraten baiginuen

egosten da lebadurara, prestatrik baitago bezperan

47- The verbal interrogative suffix -a is used:

Badakizua non duen xigante goitti kartan?

48- The suffix -nez exists in indirect absolute interrogatives:

eztakiat orai Santiago ta festi kuek guardatzen direnez

49- In this dialect the suffix -larik predominates over -nean, although the latter also exists:

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

okurritzen zelarik, pues ollo-zopa ere bai

elkitzen zelaik zonbait modorra, pues kurak guaurek hiltzen ta xaten gintzaka

orduan garbi zegonian igaretzen zen handik

xiten zienian Otsagira

The scant use of -nean would lead one to deduce foreign influence or to accommodate the speech of the interviewer.

50- Comparatives with nola are often heard, like in Aezkoan:

ez zen xukatzen nola oraikoa

51- The expression halik eta ´until´ is used with nouns with a time significance::

eta ez gintzan xausten halik eta larunbateala artio

halik eta martxoaren azkenial´artio etzen xiten

This is the particular dialect of the Salazar valley. In the classification made by prince Bonaparte, the Salazar dialect was considered a variant of the Lower Navarrese,
just like the Basque spoken in Valcarlos. However, it has its own individuality and it can be considered as an independent dialect, as it has been regarded by the Basque General Dictionary.

It is a form of speech in almost complete decline. Some speakers of this variety remain, but the language is not being passed on in any natural manner.

Beyond the general characteristics of spoken Basque, the Salazar dialect deviates from the standard form in the following features:

Morphology (verbal, nouns), Phonetics, Lexicon and Syntax

.

MORPHOLOGY

VERBAL

1- The verbal pluralizing -te (standard dute, dakite, zenuten, zuten, zekiten) appears like -e:

A. In the third person of the transitive verbs: die, zien, zakien, zaela (standard dute, zuten, zekiten, (de)zatela):

eta behar baldin bazien xan

lo egiten zien egunaz

orai guziek eragutzen die ogia atariala

oseake nee etxean etzien hitzegiten erdaraz batere

Amorziak eta aitaborziak bazakien zerbait erdara

eta aitak eta amak beti euskaraz egiten zien ele haien artean

akaso kontu da baia esaten zien

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

abrek ermaten zien lasterka

etxe kontako nagusi-etxekoandriek izan zaela gaba on, abalili

B. In the second person of the past of the auxiliaries: zinien, zintzaien (zenuten, zineten).

This produces certain changes to maintain the oppositions between both persons: duela/diela (batua duela/dutela), zuen/zien (zuen/zuten), zinuen/zinien (zenuen/zenuten):

Badakizua non duen xigante goitti kartan?

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

kueban erraten zuen

lo egiten zien egunaz

2- The intransitive auxiliary is regulated by way of the root -za- (<izan): nintzan, zintzan, zintzaien, gintzan (but zen):

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

baratzen gintzan ongi

3-The nor-nori-nork is constructed, as in the continental Basque, by the root -erau contracted to -au-:

ta ze behar dauzut erran?

For the third persons, however, forms in -ako- are used.

4- -a- appears in the past tense of the strong verbs (synthetics): nakien, zakien, zabilen... etc, (standard neukan, zebilen... etc.):

Amorziak eta aitaborziak bazakien zerbait erdara

But cf. with -e- (from foreign influence?):

orduan garbi zegonian igaretzen zen handik

Iriña errotan, eho, bazegon Otsagin errota

5- Just as in the Northern High Navarrese and the Southern High Navarrese it is quite common to find the aphaeresis of the auxiliary transitive in the present: tut, tuzu, etc (ditut, dituzu, etc):

Pues goiti kartan tugu

6- Conditional intransitives can be heard in -ke: daike, zaiken etc (standard daiteke, zitekeen):

Gogorra, buf! trabajo kura etzaiken sobrelleba

Although more standardized forms also heard:

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

7- The second person in the present tense plural of nor-nork is in -zie (standard -zue), like in Ultzama and part of Northern High Navarrese.

8- Just as in the Ultzama, the connected forms zaidan, didan ,etc have produced free analogical forms in -da:

anitz fatia Erribrala, tokatu zaida bai

9- Verbal forms of the past can be sporadically heard with -n, of the Southern High Navarrese and of the Lower Navarrese. But this is quite rare. In Ochagavía only -n exists. In Esparza, more to the south and closer to the Southern High Navarrese, both -n and -0:

izan ze ene senarra, faten zena artzai

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

but cf:

Etxen, baginuen labea

kan bar zen egon

10- With verbs finishing in -n (edan, egon, izan etc ) the future form is in -en:

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

11- As in Southern High Navarrese this dialect also has the form -rik of the verbal participle in common use, yet this is unusual or very rare in the Northern High Navarrese (except in the Barranca). After -tu it appears characteristically syncopated in -trik:

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

eta ni handitrik ere bai

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

ezartzen zen espartzitrik

egosten da lebadurara, prestatrik baitago bezperan

12- In the subjunctive, conditional and imperative the radical verb is always used, even in recent loan words:

Gogorra, buf! trabajo kura etzaiken sobrelleba

13- Just like the Southern High Navarrese this dialect does not recognize the verbal nouns in -iten (emaiten, erraiten) which are characteristics of the Northern High Navarraese and the French-Basque dialects:

Ori kukulian kukulian meza ematen

abrek ermaten zien lasterka

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

kueban erraten zuen

14- As well as the previous mannerisms, which are systematic, in this dialect it is possible to hear many other non-standard verbal inflections: niz, ginuen, etc. The version in standard Basque clarifies the equivalence in each case.

15- The advanced stage of erosion of this dialect could explain aberrant usage and some of the forms as sporadic cross -overs due to linguistic insecurity:

zortzi oro bihar nuen nik ogiak egin

guziak egiten nuen

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

Pues, begi, ba, begiak eta ardiak, pues gauza kuetarik ermaten gintzan

NOMINAL

16- The most noticeable feature - something exclusive to the Salazar dialect- is the form in -ra of the determined singular of themes in -a: bordara, elizara, euskarara (standard borda, eliza, euskara, biscayan bordea, eleizea, etc, < a+a):

Baginuen errotara

eta orduan galdu zen euskarara

esertzeko kozinillara

Bai, guti egoten zen musikara, guti...

17- The additive is in -ala, just as in the Souletin dialect and parts of the Lower Navarrese (The Roncalese has -ara…) This suffix acts like as the locative -an i.e. as if it started with a consonant. It is added directly after the vowel (erdiala, as erdian) but after a consonant it needs a connecting vowel -e-: oihaneala, as oihanean. *Oihanala would be agrammatical. (As would *oihanan):

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

Keen bai bordala, bordala

eta ez gintzan xausten halik eta larunbateala artio labetik elki zaku batiala

Erribrala fan bage

ala! bazterriala!, ala! erdiala, erdiala!

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

Sometimes the -e- of -eala- is assimilated by the previous palatal:

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

18- It distinguishes -ak from -ek in plurall:

Emaztiek, emaztiek egiten ginuen lan yago

nik egitatzen nuen gizonek biño yago

orai guziek eragutzen die ogia atariala

19- The instrumental is -z, but in Esparza there is a vacillation with the form in -s, typical of the Southern High Navarrese and Aezkoan:

lo egiten zien egunaz

bi behi xuntatu buztarriaz eta ala

guri zomait aldiz

erraten ginuen erdaraz parva hori da eultzia

The vacillation with -s seems to be limited to Esparza, closer to the Southern High Navarrese:

ta bihar zen egon hirur orones

20- The normal contraction of the genitive singular is -ain.

21- For the numbers forms with -tan are used: hirutan hogei, lautan hogei (=hirurogei, laurogei).

22- The nondik case is indefinite and in the plural it is formed in -tarik:

guzietarik izan ginuen

Xei? pues igandetarik

leku koitaik faten gintzan, bai

23- -arendako is used for -arentzat.

Abelgorriendako, eta aberendako ere bai...

24- In words such as artzain, arrrain, haurtzain, etc. throughout the dialect (just as in the Northern and Southern High Navarrese ) the forms in -ai predominate: artzai, arrai, haurtzai etc (as against the -ain found in the Baztanese, the Lower Navarrese, and the Labourdin):

izan ze ene senarra, faten zena artzai

Artzai, artzai

25- Se mantiene la final castellana -ón en los préstamos (en batua -oi): pantalona, perdigona, kamiona, botona, xabona.

26- The demonstratives have an inicial k-, as in the Roncal dialect (Lower Navarrese g-) kau, kori, kor etc. However, a certain vacillation may be detected, perhaps due to the influence of foreign words:

oihaneala, lan egitra kan

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

eta ni kemen berzeekin

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

ya konen denbran etzen egiten ogirik

Badakizua non duen xigante goitti kartan?

orai kau faten da elkitzera kanpo

But cf. too:

Anitz, anitz da hori

baia lenbizikoa, ikasi nuen hori, euskaraa

Nik ez dut izaundu hori, len ez dakit

27- This dialect freely constructs syntagmas in the indefinite where it would be impossible in other dialects:

len egiten ginuen ogi haundi

Ah, bai, zamariarekin, zamari ez, mando ginuen

ene denbran beti izan ginuen mando

28- On the other hand, some reduplicated adverbs take an article:

polliki-pollikia

29- The suffix -tarik has the western meaning of ´each´ in expressions of time:

Xei? pues igandetarik

30-The intensive pronouns are of the eastern type guhaur, nihaur, etc.

elkitzen zelaik zonbait modorra, pues kurak guaurek hiltzen ta xaten gintzaka

31- Just as in the Souletin, the indefinite archaism of etxe: etxen ´at home´ as against etxean ´in the house´:

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

Etxen, baginuen labea

egiten ginuen orduan ogia etxen

32- Numbers have many non-standard forms: laur, hirur, bedratzi, egun, bida (pronoum; bi adjective):

lauregun edo kala, edo borzegun edo kala, ermaten zuen

egiten nituen hamabi hamahirur ogi

bedratzi eta hamar libra ogi bakotxa

ta bihar zen egon hirur orones

33- The pronouns inor, inon, etc have forms without -n- (ior, iora etc.)

FONÉTICA

34- Just as in Southern High Navarrese, the automatic palate sound of n is only voiced after the semivowel i (beño, gañean):

su gaiñean ginuen labea

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

nik egitatzen nuen gizonek biño yago

Pues guzietarik, baia oiñez mandoan beño yago.

but not after i vowel:

Etxen, baginuen labea

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

eta Amaberjina ere bai ezta?

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

It is unusual to hear ñ after i vowel, no doubt, due to the foreign influence:

Iriña errotan, eho, bazegon Otsagin errota

(Cf: berexi irina )

Neither t nor l become palatal after i:

astelenean egiten nuen

-Jo, jo, Manex, aita hil duk.

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

ll can be heard in recient loanwords:

esertzeko kozinillara

35- In the declination, -ea (etxea) the sound is -ia:

hobeenian faten nintzan keendik ilunian e

ala! bazterriala!, ala! erdiala, erdiala!

Amorziak eta aitaborziak bazakien zerbait erdara

xiten zienian Otsagira

Ori kukulian kukulian meza ematen

But we can also hear -ea:

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

-oa hiatus does not change:

baia lenbizikoa, ikasi nuen hori, euskaraa

-Olloak xan

pues al lau, ondoan.

36- There is a tendency to pronounce these hiatus (although not always) in monosyllabic (like a diphthong) perhaps as a consequence of the accent:

pues al lau, ondoan.

Due to this, sometimes -e- is assimilated by its previous consonant:

Ori kukulian kukulian meza ematen

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

37- Vocalic harmony (dirua>dirue, ogia>ogie) does not exist:

guziak egiten nuen

erkaituak erraten baizen orduan

38- The loss of a vowel in the middle of a word is frequent (syncope):

*in odd words: abre, erman, atra, denbra, graitzu, bedratzi, Erribra:

abrek ermaten zien lasterka

ene denbran beti izan ginuen mando

ya konen denbran etzen egiten ogirik

kori usatzen ginuen denbra guzian...

-Graitzupean. -Graitzua non?

bedratzi eta hamar libra ogi bakotxa

Ez, ni Erribrala ez nintzan fan batere

Erribrala fan bage

anitz fatia Erribrala, tokatu zaida bai

*in the declination: -tra, trik (<-tara, -tera, -turik):

oihaneala, lan egitra kan

hamahirutra etzen heltzen

eta ni handitrik ere bai

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

ezartzen zen espartzitrik

But not in nondik case: (-taik, -tarik):

leku koitaik faten gintzan, bai

guzietarik izan ginuen

Xei? pues igandetarik

39- As a trace of the old aspirated h, sometimes the g is kept in:

xagutu eta orduan sartu ogia

Pues, begi, ba, begiak eta ardiak, pues gauza kuetarik ermaten gintzan

lauregun edo kala, edo borzegun edo kala, ermaten zuen

40- The phonological rules of bait + auxiliary govern in bait+d, but not in other cases:

erkaituak erraten baizen orduan

baginuen bertze gauza bat, torno erraten baiginuen

egosten da lebadurara, prestatrik baitago bezperan

41- In words such as joan jarri, jende, etc. in this dialect the inicial sound is -x, xan, xin, xei, xunto, xarduki:

ez gintzan xausten arts´artio

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

eta behar baldin bazien xan

bi behi xuntatu buztarriaz eta ala

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

etxakin zomana, eraukizu kozu bana xakiteko zomana

xiten zienian Otsagira

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

But it sometimes sounds as j-, in recient loanwords from Spanish and in the word amaberjina: (cf. Aezkoan amaberkina, with -k- also of jey)..

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

eta Amaberjina ere bai ezta?

LEXICON

42- The Salazar dialect is not very characterized by its lexicon. There is little vocabulary, variants, or admittances from the corpus that can be considered exclusive or almost exclusive to this dialecto: izaundu, `to know´, ozteki `burial´ (<ortzi `to bury´), xateki `banquet´, xarduki `to talk´, eseri `to put´, oritu `to remember´:

Nik ez dut izaundu hori, len ez dakit

-Erran die xiteko oztekiala.

Oztekiala enaztekela xin, baia yatekiala fanen nizala.

ta kala xardukitzen ginue

eta gero zakuetan eseri garia

eta han esertzen da ura

Esan dut ez nintzala oritzen baia orai oritu naiz, eta da larraiña

43- The most manifest lexicon irregularities are due to the oriental character of the variants and terms used in this dialect (often shared by the Southern High Navarrese): guti `a little´, bertze `another´, erran `to say´, xin `to come´, Manex `Juan´, murru `wall´, orai `now´, zonbait `someone´, zomat `how much´, zamari `horse´, ele egin `to talk´, egotzi `to throw´, baratu `to stay´, hirur `three´, laur `four´, biztu `to light´, xukatu `to dry´, eragu `to carry´, altzin `in front of´, elki `to go out, to take out´, ortzi `to bury´, yago, yagoen `more, the most´, igare ´to cross´, goatze `bed´, eho `to mill´:

Bai, guti egoten zen musikara, guti...

baginuen bertze gauza bat, torno erraten baiginuen

ta ze behar dauzut erran?

halik eta martxoaren azkenial´artio etzen xiten

-Jo, jo, Manex, aita hil duk.

Baratzeko murrutik erori duk.

ez orai bezala, ez

guri zomait aldiz

zonbat biaje dauket eginik

Ah, bai, zamariarekin, zamari ez, mando ginuen

eta gero ez niz oroitzen noiz artio elegin nuen

eta haiziala egotzi goiti eta agotza ermaten zuen haizea(k)

bi semerekin baratzen nintzan

egiten nituen hamabi hamahirur ogi

eta gero bizten da labea

ez zen xukatzen nola oraikoa

orai guziek eragutzen die ogia atariala

etxakin zomana, eraukizu kozu bana xakiteko zomana

borda altzinean bazen leku bat prestatrik hortako

labetik elki zaku batiala

nik egitatzen nuen gizonek biño yago

larunbatean xauntsi, igandea igare etxen

hori xateko eta goatzea egiteko ere bai

Iriña errotan, eho, bazegon Otsagin errota

44- There are two lexicon variants which are noticeable for their frequency and they are also used in the Barranca: fan ´to come´ and baia ´but´:

oihaneala bai, faten gintzan, oihaneala

akaso kontu da baia esaten zien

45- It must be underlined that strange expressions can often be heard in this dialect (oso, asko, esan, hitzegin), which indicates that there is frequent interaction with other variations (and erosion of this dialect):

ta orduan baratzen zen oso garbi

eta nasi anitz anitz, asko

Esan dut ez nintzala oritzen baia orai oritu naiz, eta da larraiña

amak esaten zuen eskolara fan artio

oseake nee etxean etzien hitzegiten erdaraz batere

SYNTAX

46- Forms of the relative (explicative) with the prefix bait- can often be heard:

baginuen bertze gauza bat, torno erraten baiginuen

egosten da lebadurara, prestatrik baitago bezperan

47- The verbal interrogative suffix -a is used:

Badakizua non duen xigante goitti kartan?

48- The suffix -nez exists in indirect absolute interrogatives:

eztakiat orai Santiago ta festi kuek guardatzen direnez

49- In this dialect the suffix -larik predominates over -nean, although the latter also exists:

euri egiten zuelarik ituxurak gaiñala

okurritzen zelarik, pues ollo-zopa ere bai

elkitzen zelaik zonbait modorra, pues kurak guaurek hiltzen ta xaten gintzaka

orduan garbi zegonian igaretzen zen handik

xiten zienian Otsagira

The scant use of -nean would lead one to deduce foreign influence or to accommodate the speech of the interviewer.

50- Comparatives with nola are often heard, like in Aezkoan:

ez zen xukatzen nola oraikoa

51- The expression halik eta ´until´ is used with nouns with a time significance::

eta ez gintzan xausten halik eta larunbateala artio

halik eta martxoaren azkenial´artio etzen xiten