L. L. Bonaparte, in 1869, classified it as part of Northern Upper-Navarrese Basque and, within it, in the Guipúzcoa sub-dialect and Irún variety. In a document from 1778, it is stated about Basque in Fuenterrabía: “Up to now it has not been d romanized, nor is it believed it can be d so, because the native, common, and ordinary language is Bascongada, which all or most understand, both inside and outside the city walls and in many farmhouses, and in these all; and those who only speak Castilian are very few and are limited to the king’s dependents, since it is his garrison town, and doubtless it was for them that the religious custom of preaching in Castilian was introduced for their spiritual sustenance, but without omitting Basque…” (Varios: G. H. L. V., Auñam., 1960, vol. I, pp. 67-102).
In the first third of the 19th century, Añibarro included it, for preaching purposes, in a list of strictly Basque-speaking localities (Varios: op. cit., pp. 44-60).
Currently (1970), the number of Basque speakers rises to 6,800 people, representing 65% of its total population (P. de Y.: Los D. y V., sep. B. R. S. V. A. P., 1973, p. 42). Regarding the use of Basque in 1778, see also Satrústegui: Plática vasca del año 1778 en el proceso de Fuenterrabía, FLVSD no. 32, pp. 287-302.
In May 1979, the new Hondarribia City Council agreed, by 13 votes in favor and 2 abstentions, that the minutes of municipal plenary sessions would be written in Euskara without Castilian translation. This unprecedented decision broke a tradition only otherwise surpassed by some letters from the Hendaye City Council on fishing matters preserved in the archives.