Francisco Villar Liébana (born 23 May 1942) is a Spanish

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, full professor of Indoeuropean linguistics at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

, beginning in 1979.

Biography

Liébana was a disciple of Francisco Rodrigues Adrados, though later in his career he developed independent views and ideas. He was Professor of Indoeuropean linguistics from 1967 till 1979 at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

, when he became a tenured Professor in the same discipline at the University of Salamanca.

Scope and focus of his work

Francisco Villar Liebana has completed several studies on the Paleohispanic languages, particularly on Celtiberian phonetics and morphology, contributing to the understanding and appreciation of the Botorrita Bronzes (one of the most relevant testimonies of celtiberian writings), and more generally on

Continental Celtic The Continental Celtic languages are the now-extinct group of the Celtic languages that were spoken on the continent of Europe and in central Anatolia, as distinguished from the Insular Celtic languages of the British Isles, Ireland and Brittany. ...

and to the development of studies about the Tartessian and Lusitanian languages. He has also contributed to the development of the Indoeuropean Linguistics, supporting the

Kurgan hypothesis The Kurgan hypothesis (also known as the Kurgan theory, Kurgan model, or steppe theory) is the most widely accepted proposal to identify the Proto-Indo-European homeland from which the Indo-European languages spread out throughout Europe and part ...

proposed by Marita Gimbutas, and opposing to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

hypothesis proposed on the basis of archeology, by

Colin Renfrew Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, (25 July 1937 – 24 November 2024) was a British archaeologist, paleolinguist and Conservative peer noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, ...

. Other contributions concern Indoeuropean Dialectology and reconstruction of the spread of Indoeuropean languages in Eurasia, with a particular focus on the contributions coming from studies on populations genetic and prehistoric Indoeuropean toponymy in Europe and Occidental Asia; in this context, he led a multi-disciplinary team dedicated to inquire on the origins of Indoeuropean through an ethnic-linguistic and toponymic study of the

farmers and the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

populations. Among his many publications and books, particularly important is ''Los indoeuropeos y los orígenes de Europa''. Lenguaje e historia (1991), translated into several languages and considered a reference textbook for current Indoeuropean studies. During 1977-78, he translated Kalidasa's Meghdoot and The Brihadaranyak (Upanisad del Gran Aranyak) to Spanish.Meghaduta , Biblioteca de la sabiduria oriental, 2002.

Works

* ''Lenguas y pueblos indoeuropeos'', Madrid, Istmo, 1971. * ''Origen de la flexión nominal indoeuropea'', Madrid, Instituto "Antonio de Nebrija", 1974. . * ''Dativo y locativo en el singular de la flexión nominal indoeuropea'', Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1981. . * ''Ergatividad, acusatividad y género en la familia lingüística indoeuropea'', Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1983. . * ''Los indoeuropeos y los orígenes de Europa. Lenguaje e historia'', Madrid, Gredos, 1991 (1996²). . * ''Estudios de celtibérico y de toponimia prerromana'', Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1995. . * ''Indoeuropeos y no indoeuropeos en la Hispania prerromana. Las poblaciones y las lenguas prerromanas de Andalucía, Cataluña y Aragón según la información que nos proporciona la toponimia'', Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 2000. . * ''El IV bronce de Botorrita (Contrebia Belaisca): arqueología y lingüística'', Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 2001. . * ''Vascos, celtas e indoeuropeos. Genes y lengua'' (con Blanca M. Prosper), Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 2005. .
''Indoeuropeos, iberos, vascos y sus parientes, Estratigrafía y cronología de las poblaciones prehistóricas''
Universidad de Salamanca,2014. Estudios Filológicos.

References

External links

*
Libros y artículos del autor catalogados en Dialnet

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villar Liebana, Francisco 1942 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Salamanca People from Torredonjimeno Linguists of Indo-European languages 20th-century Spanish linguists 21st-century Spanish linguists Academic staff of the Complutense University of Madrid