Germà Colón i Doménech (30 November 1928 – 22 March 2020)
[ was a Spanish ]philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
of Romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
philology and Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
lexicology. He was appointed a professor at the University of Basel
The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...
, in Switzerland.
Biography
Born on 30 November 1928 in Castellón de la Plana
Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...
, Colón studied romance philology in the University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
with noted philologists such as Antoni Maria Badia i Margarit and Martí de Riquer, before graduating in 1951. He got his PhD the next year in the University of Madrid, with a thesis about dialectology Dialectology (from Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , '' -logia'') is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their ass ...
(about the Castelló dialect).
Afterwards he got a grant and went to Leuven and Zurich, where he met some of the most prestigious European romanists, such as dialectologist Sever Pop
Sever may refer to:
Places in Portugal
* Sever (Santa Marta de Penaguião), a civil parish in the municipality of Santa Marta de Penaguião
* , a civil parish in Moimenta da Beira Municipality
* Sever do Vouga Municipality, a municipality in t ...
(1901–1961), author of ''La dialectologie''. The Swiss philologist Walther von Wartburg
Walther von Wartburg (-Boos) (18 May 1888; Riedholz – 15 August 1971; Basel) was a Swiss philologist and lexicographer. He was the editor-in-chief of the '' Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch'' (FEW).
After studying at the universiti ...
proposed him as a lecturer of Spanish in the University of Basel
The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...
, where he remained. Since then, he was promoted gradually: ''Privat-Dozent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
'' since 1959, university teacher in 1963, and professor since 1967. After 1997, he became professor emeritus. He was at the same time a teacher at the University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
(from 1968 to 1972) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona
The Autonomous University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; , es, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; UAB), is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain.
...
(1973–74).
He became a member of the ''Real Academia de las Buenas Letras de Barcelona'' and the Commission for the publication of Ramon Llull's works. He joined as a member of the consultant board of the ''Els Nostres Clàssics'' collection and the editorial staff of the magazine ''Estudis de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes''.
He had been an honorary consultant of the International Association of Catalan Language and Literature (he was president from 1976 to 1982) and member of the Institute of Catalan Studies
The Institute for Catalan Studies ( ca, Institut d'Estudis Catalans, ), also known by the acronym IEC, is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture". It is based in Barcelona, Catalon ...
. He received the Sanchis Guarner prize, that was given by the Jaume I Foundation (1987), the Honorary Prize of the Valencian Letters (1988), the Prat de la Riba prize (given by the) IEC (1979), the Serra d'Or prize (1981), the Creu de Sant Jordi
The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English ' St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It was established by the Generalit ...
(1985) and the Literature Prize of the Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...
(1987). In 1999, he received also the ''Gran Cruz de Alfonso X el Sabio''.
He received an honorary degree from the University of Valencia
The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...
in 1984, from the University of Alicante
The University of Alicante ( ca-valencia, Universitat d'Alacant, italic=no, ; es, Universidad de Alicante, italic=no, ; also known by the acronym ''UA'') was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies (CEU), which was fo ...
in October 1990, from the University Jaume I of Castellón and the Autonomous University of Barcelona
The Autonomous University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; , es, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; UAB), is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain.
...
in January 2003. He donated his personal library (more than 20,000 volumes) to the University Jaume I of Castellón.
Death
Colón died in his home in Barcelona on 22 March 2020, at the age of 91. The cause of death was reported as COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
, and had been suffering from respiratory problems for several years before.
Selected works
* ''El léxico catalán en la Romania'' (1976).
* ''La llengua catalana en els seus textos'' (1978).
* ''El panorama de la lexicografia catalana'' (1986).
* ''Problemes de la llengua a València i als seus voltants'' (1987).
* ''El español y el catalán, juntos y en contraste'' (1989).
* ''Estudis de filologia catalana i romànica'' (1997).
* ''Para la historia del léxico español'' (2002).
* ''De Ramon Llull al'' Diccionari ''de Fabra. Acostament lingüístic als monuments de les lletres catalanes'' (2003).
References
External links
Biography of Germà Colon in the UAB website (in Catalan).
Foundation Germà Colon i Domènech website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Germa
1928 births
2020 deaths
Linguists from Catalonia
University of Barcelona alumni
Academic staff of the University of Basel
People from Castellón de la Plana
Complutense University of Madrid alumni
Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain