If the Basques are a mystery, so is their language. It is the only one in Western Europe that does not belong to the Indo-European family. It buzzes with zz’s, rattles with rr’s and has been linked by experts with every tongue from Caucasus Mountain dialects to Gaelic and Welsh, Finnish and Japanese and even Eskimo.

Basques say the devil himself gave up on the Basque language. After seven years of hiding behind the door of a Basque farmhouse and listening to conversations, he mastered but two simple words: "Yes, Ma’am."

This, say the Basques, is a tribute to their women as well as their tongue-twisting language. In this regard, we would like to invite you to pronounce the longest surname in Euzkara: