Unamuno, Lorea; Abasolo, Juan; Aurrekoetxea, Gotzon
lorea.unamuno@ehu.eus; juan.abasolo@ehu.eus; gotzonaurre@gmail.com
University of the Basque Country

The two recent works published on the new classification of Basque dialects (Aurrekoetxea et al. 2019, 2020) present a different perspective. The so far existing classifications within traditional dialectology defend that there are eight (Bonaparte 1869) or five dialects (Zuazo 1998, 2005), while the new contributions, using new methodology (hierarchical classification or cluster analysis), conclude that there are three dialects.

This contribution addresses three points: first, it analyses in depth the differences between these classifications, explaining what causes the inequality in the number of dialects (basic data, methodology used, etc.). Secondly, it investigates the nature of the boundaries between dialects, explaining the gross boundaries or transition spaces, using quantitative tools. Thirdly and finally, it proposes another type of analysis (MultiDimensional Scaling-MDS, Multiple Correspondence Analysis-MCA, etc.) in order to demonstrate the objectivity of recent classifications.