Hitzaren artelana

Abstract

This article summarises some basic principles of classical oratory as a linguistic art form and points to some literary resources from the Basque oral tradition currently in downright generational decline. In the face of a dominating culture defined by technocracy and out-and-out productivity, it would seem fitting to find a place for the marginalised referent of classical language. The deterioration of human formation is already giving way to an impoverishment of the day-to-day specific lexicon in favour of a general terminology for general topics and the decadence of language in such a way as to jeopardise the basic rules of grammar. A future society with a full command of video games, interactive television and state-of-the-art computers may well fall victim of a void of creative ideas which it can transfer to the electronic devices that it handles.