Fontes Linguae Vasconum has published papers written by several researchers from the Faculty of Letters of the UPV/EHU on the Hand of Irulegi. In short, most professors say that the Hand of Irulegi is not written in Basque or in another language related to it.

The arguments of the UPV/EHU faculty are absolutely questionable. For example, when Lakarra says, “it is impossible to say that the word refers to the word happiness… because all these forms are more “morous” than the piece of Irulegi.” It has to be said that what is taught in the Faculty of Letters are the “theories” of Mitxelena and Lakarra, because we have had very few ancient writings. Therefore, as more labels appear, they will have to model or correct those theories and not say that for these theories there can be no text in Basque like this.

Professors Manterola and Mounol have studied Irulegi’s word “sorioneku” “in the mirror of the phonetic evolution of the words lekuine, right and grandfather,” and have concluded that “the first word of the Hand of Irulegi has not followed the path followed by these other models.” We are all aware that there are irregularities in all languages and that is why we find it contrary to the logic of not considering the word “happiness” as an Basque.

On the other hand, Mikel Martínez-Areta says that “...a bridge cannot be built between the language appearing in the Hand of Irulegi and the Basque who appears centuries later”. But many researchers have made interpretative proposals of the Hand of Irulegi from the Basque Country, based on the General Dictionary. What happens is that you have to know the dialect thoroughly to know that “kebe” means “here”, etc.

Finally, Velaza and Gorrochategui tell us that there are lines next to the letters made with holes in the writing and that perhaps it does not make “lucky”. We believe that the latest version – the one that was written – should serve: “sorioneku”. And if the sign had been found in Morocco, perhaps the reading could be questioned, but questioning it in the Basque Country has no good intention.

Knowledge of some research is essential to address this issue from a broader perspective. For example, at the conference “Euskaliberic Words on the steles of the entire peninsula” we saw I, II, that in the third century many words appear in Basque or Iberian in the whole peninsula to Portugal. These appear in the “celtiberian area” driven by official education, so what needs to be questioned is what is behind that “celtiberia”: ATTA (Guadalajara, Portugal...), ATTAEGINA (Extremadura), AMMA (Portugal, León, Salamanca, Zamora...), AMENA (Extremadura, Portugal...), LETONDO (Portugal, Soria...), EGUSCO and EGUZCINI (Zamora), IBARRA (Extremadura), SESENCO (Soria)…

These are not theories, but scientific evidence. In view of these, how dare you say here that the Basque language is a new language, or that there was talk of Celta… if in the whole area where Celta was said (the Peninsular West) is plagued by Basque or Iberian words?

But there's more scientific evidence that Euskera and Iberico shared a few things, not just graphics, like in Irulegi, for example, numbers. And, therefore, that the presence of Irulegi in Basque is absolutely normal. Professors Orduña and Ferrer confirmed that the numbers of Iberian and Basque come from the same place. Faced with this, Lácar and De la Refrigeracion told us no, there is no connection. What do you think? BAN, BIN, IRUR, FOUR, BORSTE-BORS, SEI, SISBI, SORSE, ABAR-BAR, ORKEI (TWENTY).

But the evidence is not over, and there is Asturias-Veleia, the excavation that during these months has suffered for the fourth time the destruction of some areas with excavators. The words that appeared there, sixteen years later, are still not dated in European laboratories. Texts with soot, texts written before the firing of bricks, words with letters coated with carbonate, can date but do not want or allow to do so, since the theories of some Basque philologists and late Euskaldunization could break ahead.

It has to be said that at the moment there is a great ideological struggle. The Spanish State, through the Academy of History and its collaborators, is trying to devalue our language (which has taken most other languages...) or to extend the late Euskaldunization (in the school books, in the ETB documentary...). Its objective is to belittle or explain Euskera as an oppressive language, as it supposedly represented the Celtic. We Basques should be aware of the scope of this hidden attack and who is driving it forward.

Finally, we would like to point out that at the October meeting of Euskeraren Jatorri the seventeen interpretative proposals we received on the Hand of Irulegi were presented. Many authors interpret it from Euskera, others from the Iberian and also from both, and one from “Celtiberism”.

No, the Faculty of Letters of the UPV will not steal “Zorioneku” as Iruña Veleia wanted us to steal!

Joseba Mintegi, Euskeraren Jatorri Elkartea