Fernando Venâncio (13 November 1944 – 30 May 2025) was a Portuguese-born writer, intellectual, literary critic,

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 ...

, and academic. He held Dutch nationality.

Biography

Fernando Venâncio was born in Mértola and spent his childhood in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and completed his secondary school in the northern Portuguese city of

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

. He studied Philosophy in Vila Nova de Ourém and Theology in Lisbon. In 1970 he moved to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where he eventually completed his studies in linguistics at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

in 1976. Two years later, he began lecturing at the department of Portuguese studies in the

University of Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistently been included in ...

. From 1984 to 1988 he taught at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

, eventually returning to the University of Amsterdam to teach Portuguese language and culture. In 1995 Venâncio completed his

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degree with a thesis on

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...

. He was an accomplished author and a contributor to prestigious journals such as ''Jornal Literário'', ''Ler'' and ''Colóquio/Letras'', where he worked as a literary critic. He also published in the Portuguese newspaper ''Expresso'' and in the magazine ''Visão''. Until March 2008, he was a regular contributor in the collective blo
''Aspirina B''
Venâncio, although controversial in some issues, expressed pro-

reintegrationism Reintegrationism (, , ), or Lusism, is a linguistic movement in Galicia that advocates for the recognition of Galician and varieties of the Portuguese language as a single language. Reintegrationists argue that the different dialects of Galician ...

views, referring to the relationship between the Galician and Portuguese languages.

Death

Venâncio died on 30 May 2025, aged 80, in his hometown of Mértola.

Selected works

* ''Uma migalha na Saia do Universo'', 1997 (poetry collection, translated from

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

) * ''Estilo e Preconceito. A Língua Literária em Portugal na Época de Castilho'', 1998 (doctoral thesis, published by Edições Cosmos) * ''Um Almoço de Negócios em Sintra'', 1999 (translation of the work by

Gerrit Komrij Gerrit Jan Komrij (30 March 1944 – 5 July 2012) was a Dutch poet, novelist, translator, critic, polemic journalist and playwright. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s, writing poetry that sharply contrasted with the free form poetry, free- ...

) * ''Os Esquemas de Fradique'', 1999 * ''Jose Saramago: A Luz e o Sombreado'', 2000 * ''El-Rei no Porto'', 2001 * ''Maquinações e Bons Sentimentos'', 2002 * ''Ensaios Literários'', 2002 * ''Quem Inventou Marrocos: Diários de Viagem'', 2004 * ''Último Minuete em Lisboa'', 2008.

Notes

External links

Fernando Venâncio in ''Aspirina B''
(in Portuguese)

(in Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Venancio, Fernando 1944 births 2025 deaths People from Mértola Portuguese male writers Dutch people of Portuguese descent