Txillardegi | |
|---|---|
 Txillardegi in 2008 | |
| Born | José Luis Álvarez Enparantza (1929-09-27)27 September 1929 San Sebastián (Donostia),Spain |
| Died | 14 January 2012(2012-01-14) (aged 82) San Sebastián (Donostia),Spain |
| Occupation | Linguist, politician, and writer |
| Language | Basque |
| Genre | Novel,Essay |
| Subject | Standard Basque,Basque nationalism |
| Notable works | Leturiaren egunkari ezkutua (1957) Huntaz eta hartaz (1965) Hizkuntza eta pentsakera (1972) Euskal Herria helburu (1994) |
José Luis Álvarez Enparantza (27 September 1929 – 14 January 2012), better known by his pseudonymTxillardegi, was aBasquelinguist,politician, andwriter. He was born and raised in theBasque Country, and although he did not learn theBasque language until the age of 17, he later came to be considered one of the most influential figures inBasque nationalism andculture in the second half of the 20th century.[1] He was one of the founders ofETA, but in 1967 he left because he did not agree with its political line.[2]
Álvarez Enparantza (the maternal surname was sometimes Hispanicised as Emparanza) studiedengineering at theUniversity of Bilbao, andlinguistics at theUniversity of Paris. In 1957, he became a corresponding member of theEuskaltzaindia (Academia de la Lengua Vasca, Academy of the Basque Language), which adopted most of his proposals on the orthography and morphology ofStandard Basque. In 1993 he became a member of its Commission on Pronunciation.[3] His name was put forward twice to become a full member of the Euskaltzaindia but he was turned down for political reasons. When he was going to be proposed for a third time, he himself turned down the proposal.[4]
He was a major contributor to the standardisation of Basque. His philosophy was based on the following points:
He was also a well-known writer and linguist under the pseudonymsLarresoro,Igara andUsako. He was a writer influenced byexistentialism ofKierkegaard,Unamuno andSartre, and also by the writerBertrand Russell.[5] He has had many books published, mostly to do with the Basque language and its grammar. He has also written novels and political essays. His workLeturiaren egunkari ezkutua (1957) is considered the first modern novel written in Basque and makes a clear dividing line inBasque literature. Other work included the novelsHaizeaz bestaldetik (1979) andPutzu (1999); the influential essaysHuntaz eta hartaz (1965),Hizkuntza eta pentsakera (1972) andEuskal Herria helburu (1994), and the academic worksEuskal fonologia (1980),Euskal azentuaz (1984) andElebidun gizartearen azterketa matematikoa (1984).
In 1968 he won the Txomin Agirre award for his novelElsa Scheelen. He also won the Andima award in Caracas in 1969 for books on teaching mathematics. He won theSilver Lauburu for his bookEuskal Gramatika in Bilbo in 1980.
In the 1970s Txillardegi co-founded theEuskal Herrian Euskaraz Basque language movement. In 1982 he began lecturing in theUniversity of the Basque Country, of which he later became a professor emeritus.[3]
The database of the Basque scientific-intellectual communityInguma shows references to 122 products (paper, books, talks etc.) created by Txillardegi.[6]
A member of theBasque Nationalist Party (PNV) in his youth, he promoted the defence and study of theBasque language as the basis of Basque identity.
After becoming disillusioned with the PNV, Txillardegi was one of the founders ofETA in 1959, together with a group of young nationalists and was the visible leader of the cultural branch of the movement. In 1961 he fled into exile, in Paris and Brussels, returning in 1967. In 1976 he andIñaki Aldekoa formed a political party, theEuskal Sozialista Biltzarrea (ESB:Congreso de Socialistas Vascos, Basque Socialist Congress).[3]
Txillardegi participated in the foundation in 1977 ofHerri Batasuna and was elected senator for theabertzale coalition in the first elections.
Coming to believe that the armed struggle was unviable, for a time he was active inAralar. In the general elections of 2008, he announced his Senate candidacy for theEusko Abertzale Ekintza party (Acción Nacionalista Vasca, Basque Nationalist Action) for the precinct of Guipúzcoa.[7]
