Resurrección María de Azkue (5 August 1864 – 9 November 1951) was an influential
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
priest, musician, poet, writer, sailor and academic.
[Etxegoien, J. ''Orhipean, Gure Herria ezagutzen'' Xamar: 1996 ] He made several major contributions to the study of the
Basque language
Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...
and was the first head of the
Euskaltzaindia
Euskaltzaindia (; often translated Royal Academy of the Basque Language) is the official academic language regulatory institution which watches over the Basque language. It conducts research, seeks to protect the language, and establishes stand ...
, the Academy of the Basque Language. In spite of some justifiable criticism of an imbalance towards unusual and archaic forms and a tendency to ignore the
Romance
Romance may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...
influence on Basque, he is considered one of the greatest scholars of Basque to date.
[Trask, L. ''The History of Basque'' Routledge 1997]
His full name is Resurrección de Jesús María de las Nieves Azkue Aberásturi, but he is commonly known as Resurrección María de Azkue, R. M. Azkue, or simply Azkue.
Biography
Azkue was born in the
Biscay
Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...
an town of
Lekeitio
Lekeitio (; ) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northeast from Bilbao. The municipality has 7,307 inhabitants (2019) and is one of the most important fishing po ...
, was a native speaker of
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
[ and the son of ]Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
poet Eusebio
María de los Dolores Azkue Barrundia who was from Lekeitio himself and
María del Carmen Aberásturi.[
After taking nautical studies in Lekeitio, he went on to ]Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
to do his baccalaureate and then Vitoria
Vitoria or Vitória may refer to:
People
* Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian
* Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer
* Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer
* Sofia Vitória ( ...
and 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 ...
to study theology and philosophy. He gained priesthood in 1888.[
That same year, the Foral Government of Biscay invited new applicants for the chair of Basque Studies.][ Azkue, ]Sabino Arana
Sabino Policarpo Arana Goiri (in Spanish language, Spanish), Sabin Polikarpo Arana Goiri (in Basque language, Basque), or Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin (self-styled) (26 January 1865 – 25 November 1903), was a spaniards, Spanish writer and the ...
and Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (; ; 29 September 1864 – 31 December 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek and Classics, and later rector at the University of Salamanca.
His major philosophical ...
all applied but Azkue was awarded the position. He initiated many initiatives related to orthographic issues and the teaching of Basque, including the two magazines ''Euskalzale'' and ''Ibaizabal''.
Although he considered himself a Basque patriot (or abertzale
''Abertzale'' (; English: "patriot", literally "fond of the fatherland") is a Basque term usually referring to people or political groups who are associated with Basque nationalism.
Although the term is a synonym of "patriot", its common use in ...
) and although he was in contact with nationalist figures such as Sabino Arana
Sabino Policarpo Arana Goiri (in Spanish language, Spanish), Sabin Polikarpo Arana Goiri (in Basque language, Basque), or Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin (self-styled) (26 January 1865 – 25 November 1903), was a spaniards, Spanish writer and the ...
and Ramón de la Sota, he is not considered to have been a Carlist
Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...
and frequently disagreed with Arana and de Soto, particularly on Basque linguistic issues. More enamoured with the Basque language and culture, he tried to avoid politics in favour of cultural activities.
Notwithstanding, for many years there were two main camps of Basque writers and supporters of Basque culture – those that leaned towards Azkue's approach (the so-called ''Azkuezaleak'') and those that leaned towards Arana's approach (the so-called ''Aranazaleak''). Over time, the popularity of Arana's somewhat puristic approach eventually waned.
In 1904, Azkue left Bilbao to travel Europe for 5 years, with major stops in Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
, Brussels and Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, where he completed his musical studies. On returning to Bilbao in 1909 he further busied himself with academic work (such as ''Ortzuri'' in 1911 and ''Urlo'' in 1914), boosting the emergence of the academic study of Basque. He was one of the most important supporters of establishing the Euskaltzaindia
Euskaltzaindia (; often translated Royal Academy of the Basque Language) is the official academic language regulatory institution which watches over the Basque language. It conducts research, seeks to protect the language, and establishes stand ...
, the Academy of the Basque Language, at the 1918 congress of Eusko Ikaskuntza
The ''Basque Studies Society'' (; '' 'EI-SEV' '') is a scientific-cultural institution created in 1918 by the Provincial Councils of Álava, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa and Navarra a stable and lasting resource to develop the Basque culture ". The member ...
in Oñati
Oñati (, ) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the north of Spain. It has a population of approximately 10,500 and lies in a valley in the center of the Basque country. It lies abo ...
and was its first head from its birth in 1919 onwards.[
He vacated his chair of Basque studies in 1920 to immerse himself fully with the work of the Euskaltzaindia, pushing initiatives to codify and promote the Basque language, against considerable opposition from official quarters and the Arana camp. His main study on Basque morphology, 'Morfología Vasca' and the collection of Basque folks songs, ''Cancionero Popular Vasco'', fall into this period. He also developed the famous ''Erizkizundi Irukoitza'' ('Triple Questionnaire'), a substantial tool to elicit information on vocabulary, morphology and pronunciation of Basque from informants.][
1935 saw the publication of ''Euskaleŕiaren Yakintza'', a 4 volume collection of traditional lore and a major push to develop the ''Gipuzkera Osatua'' project.
During the ]Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
ordered the closure of the Euskaltzaindia but Azkue managed to avoid exile as he was both of an advanced age and not a prominent political figure. Eventually, he managed to re-open the Euskaltzaindia in 1941 with the help of the young Federico Krutwig
Federico Krutwig Sagredo (Getxo, 15 May 1921 – Bilbao, 15 November 1998) was a Spanish Basque writer, philosopher, politician, and author of several books, with ''Vasconia'' standing out in the political domain for its influence in the early ...
. Azkue eventually died in 1951 shortly after accidentally falling into the Ibaizabal
The Ibaizabal (''wide river'' in Basque) is a river that drains southeastern Biscay to the Estuary of Bilbao. It is long from its source at Elorrio to the Nervión, and it passes by the towns of Durango and Amorebieta and joins the Nervión r ...
river in Bilbao.
Studies
Azkue spent most of his life studying the Basque language and his works continue to be a major source of information to anyone working with the Basque language. Most of his work focussed on lexicography
Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines:
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoretical le ...
, grammar and popular literature. Some of his most important works include:
*''Euskal Izkindea-Gramática Euskara'' (1891). A study on the Basque verb which Azkue in later years called a "sin of his youth" as it sought to present an idealised and "purified" picture of the Basque language. Although Azkue himself left this approach behind soon, Euskal Izkindea inspired a school of thought that for many years sought to promote such an idealised view of the Basque language.
*''Diccionario Vasco-Español-Francés'' ("Basque-Spanish-French dictionary") (1905). Originally published in two parts, this is the publication that Azkue is most widely known for today. It lists Basque words from all Basque dialects in unmodified form and is considered a major source of dialectal material. Azkue collected the data for this dictionary from existing sources and his own research.[ It has been reprinted numerous times.
*''Diccionario de Bolsillo Vasco-Español y Español-Vasco'' (1918), a Spanish-Basque pocket dictionary.
*''Cancionero Popular Vasco'' (1918–1921), a compilation of music and songs.
*''Morfología Vasca'' (1923), a study on Basque suffixes. This publication too still constitutes a major source of information on morphological data, including forms and features that are no longer in use.][
*''Euskaleŕiaren Yakintza'' ("the knowledge of the Basque Country") (1935–1947), a major collection of traditional basque lore.
*''Gipuzkera osotua'' (1935), Azkue's documentation on a standardised form of Gipuzkoan.
Between them, ''Euskaleŕiaren Yakintza'' and ''Cancionero'' constitute a major collection of Basque folklore, containing songs, poems, ]sotie
A ''sotie'' (or ''sottie'') is a short satirical play common in 15th- and 16th-century in France. The word (compare modern ''sottise'') comes from the ''sots'', "fools", who appeared as characters in the play. In the plays, these fools would make ...
s, children's games, tonguetwisters, customs, beliefs, folk remedies and over 2900 proverbs.[ He also revised ]Lucien Bonaparte
Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (; born Luciano Buonaparte; 21 May 1775 – 29 June 1840), was a French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to ...
's original distinction of eight dialects into seven.[
]
Contribution to Batua
In relation to the efforts to find a literary standard for the Basque language, Azkue was a proponent of Gipuzkera Osotua ('Completed Gipuzkoan'). This was in essence a codified form of the Gipuzkoan dialect as the balance of power had by then shifted from the Northern Basque dialects
Basque dialects are linguistic varieties of the Basque language which differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar from each other and from Standard Basque. Between six and nine Basque dialects have been historically distinguished:
* Biscaya ...
to the South, with the majority of Basque speakers now concentrated in Biscay
Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...
and Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...
.[
His novels, such as ''Ardi Galdua'' ('the lost sheep'), were written in ''Gipuzkera Osotua'' and it was to be a major influence on the later development of ]Standard Basque
Standard Basque () is a standardised version of the Basque language, developed by the Basque Language Academy in the late 1960s, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken Basque-language version throughout the Basque Country. Heavil ...
.
References
*Etxegoien, J. ''Orhipean, Gure Herria ezagutzen'' Xamar: 1996
*Kintana Goiriena, J. ''Vizcaytik Bizkaira? R.M. Azkue Euskaltzaindia sortu aitzin (1888–1919)''. BBK and Euskaltzaindia 2002.
External links
The Azkue Library of the Euskaltzaindia
R.M Azkue, ''Gipuzkera Osotua''
PopwerPoint Presentation by Jurgi Kintana on Azkue's work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azkue, Resurreccion Maria de
1864 births
1951 deaths
People from Lea-Artibai
Basque Roman Catholic priests
19th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests
Linguists of Basque
Indigenous_linguists
University of Salamanca alumni
Basque language activists
20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests