Vernacular

" 'Where you go now?'

'Up to Burguete to fish.'

'Well,' he said, 'I hope you catch something.'

He shook hands and turned around to the back seat again. The other Basques had been impressed. He sat back comfortably and smiled at me when I turned around to look at the country. But the effort of talking American seemed to have tired him. He did not say anything after that." Page 113

I found this passage interesting because it showed me two very important points. First of all, it pointed out the vernacular of the area. These peasants probably either spoke Spanish or Basque, not French which is the main language that the characters speak even though it is translated for the readers. And they certainly did not normally speak English. This was an important passage because it introduced the setting. Bill and Jake were in a very foreign land and they could not speak the language well, if at all.

This passage also showed an important aspect of the Basques and their culture. They seemed friendly and welcoming, but they were not educated in areas such as English. I found it very interesting that the Basques were so impressed that one could speak the American language. This showed how uncommon it was. In France, many knew English but in this remote area it was much less common.