While most languages have evolved within a family from a common ancestor, the Basque language stands alone. Classified as a language isolate, Basque is unique due to the fact that it is unrelated to any other language. Spoken primarily in southwestern Europe, Basque has around 1,000,000 current speakers.
Basque first appeared in Latin texts dating from the 11th century. However, it was not until the 20th century when the rise of the Basque language occurred. In 1918, the Society of Basque held its first congress to create the Basque Language Academy in the following year. There was no conventional spelling system in the Basque language due to the fact that it developed orally. Thus, reading and writing conventions were adopted from Spanish and French. By 1964, the Royal Basque Language Academy was able to develop a standardized spelling system, which paved the way for a unified language.