The aim of this article was to present a new tool for doing dialectometry. The program, called ‘DiaTech’, incorporates features of previous programs, especially features of the VDM program created under the direction of H. Goebl. Its main goal is to motivate dialectology studies and dialectologists by providing a new comfortable and efficient tool. With regard to the linguistic features of the program, the most novel feature of ‘DiaTech’ is its ability to manage ‘multiple responses’, that is, for each question, the dialectologist has the option to record more than one item. As far as its basic technological features are concerned, the ‘DiaTech’ program can be used with different platforms; it has an interface in different languages. Regarding statistical procedures, the DiaTech program gives access to a wide variety of distances, including those that are most typically used in dialectometry for bidimensional and multivariate analyses (cluster, correlation, etc.). In addition, the program makes use of different algorithms for visualization and classification. Finally, it provides the necessary tools to create different types of maps with a polygonized background: question by question maps (as in a linguistic atlas), identity maps, honeycomb maps, synopsis of skewness, standard deviation, dendrogramic maps, correlation maps, etc.

The lack of homogeneous data recorded by similar methodologies has been a handicap to the development of more advanced studies on the dialectal variation of Basque. Now that the first five volumes of the Linguistic Atlas of the Basque Language have been published, researchers have access to a great amount of data and the possibility to use more sophisticated procedures to analyze the variation of the Basque language from a geolinguistic point of view. In this contribution, we use data taken from the fifth volume of this atlas, which is devoted to noun morphology. First, these data will be analyzed linguistically, and instead of using the phonetic representation, we will use the phonological or underlying representation. In order to do this, we will analyze the inventory of the morphological suffixes used in nominal inflexion cases and the phonological rules which appear in these cases (mainly assimilation, dissimilation, insertion and deletion), using the classical view of generative phonology. As far as the cartography of the data is concerned, we will use the recently created Diatech tool, instead of other dialectometrical tools, because of the multiple responses (MR) which that data show. In effect, the Diatech tool provides a more accurate processing of the MR than other tools. As well as conceptual maps, synthetic maps will be presented; these maps will show different geographical organizations of the suffixes and phonological rules.

Comparing the dialectal classifications into disjointed zones with the representation of populations in a geolectal continuum has emphasized the importance of transition regions. Identifying these regions has been the subject of study in the scientific literature, although research has not been conducted in a reliable manner. Based on the Basque ‘Bourciez’ Corpus, we have highlighted the limitations of dialectal classifications using deterministic methods along with the possibilities provided by fuzzy logic. By contributing objectivity to the analysis, the C-means classification has allowed us to retain information from the deterministic classification, identify transition regions, emphasize the geolectal continuum and minimize the artificial isolation of certain populations in the classification. Classifying the French-Basque territory into two groups has separated the populations into two nearly-disjointed dialectal zones. Classifications into three and four groups have underscored the broad overlap between adjacent linguistic zones. This paper’s contribution has provided a new explanatory dimension and consequently improves the linguistic interpretation. In this sense, the results are in accordance with the previous contributions described in the literature and have justified the integration of different viewpoints.

Far from the uniformity of language and the ideal speaker, it is assumed that language varies even within the same speaker, and that such variation is intrinsic to this speaker. This intra-individual variation has been understood mostly as stylistic variation (Hernández-Campoy & Cutillas-Espinosa, 2012) and is becoming increasingly important (Werth et al., 2021) in the scholarly literature. Admitting that stylistic variation exists, I argue that not all intra-individual variation is conditioned and conscious, according to my data. The analysis will be carried out with data from the Basque linguistic atlas (EHHA) (Aurrekoetxea & Videgain, 2010–2020), which examines systematically the intra-individual variation of speakers in the elicitation phase. Based on these data, the aim of this paper is to show that there are also non-conditioned and unconscious types of variation, and to give a preliminary outline of a theory that accommodates these types of variation.

Euskalkien sailkapen berria deitu liburuak (Aurrekoetxea, Gaminde, Ormaetxea & Videgain 2019) izan dituen lehen kritiketan agertzen diren datu eta iritziak zuzentzea du xede artikulu honek. Iritzi eta datuok bi multzotan sailkatzen ditugu: batetik, Euskal Herriko Hizkuntza Atlasa-EHHA egitasmo erraldoiaren ezaugarri ezezagun nabarmenenen berri emango da. Bestetik, euskalkien sailkapen berrian erabilitako metodologiaz jardungo da.