Peter Bakker

Peter Bakker (Dordrecht 1959) 1997tik hona hizkuntzalari lanean ari da Aarhuseko Unibertsitatean, Danimarkan. Nederlandistika, kultur antropologia eta hizkuntzalaritza orokorra ikasi zituen Amsterdameko Unibertsitatean, eta bretoiera eta euskara Leidengo Unibertsitatean. Antropologiak, historiak eta hizkuntzalaritzak partekatzen duten alorrean, batez ere hizkuntza berrien sorkuntzaren nolakotasunez eta zergatiaz arduratu da. 1992an Mixif hizkuntzaz doktoratu zen; aditz indigenak eta izen frantsesak dituen Kanadako hizkuntza nahasiaz, alegia. Euren hizkuntza sortzen duten bikiei buruz argitaratu du, halabeharrez egindako merkataritza-hizkuntzei buruz (pidgin izenekoei buruz) eta kreolerei buruz, hau da, iturri mugatutik sorturiko ama hizkuntzen inguruan. Horrez gain, Ijitoen romani hizkuntzan interesaturik dago, Ameriketako hizkuntz ugaritasun handian – bertan ia 200 hizkuntz familia baitaude – eta Karibe aldeko hizkuntzetan. Euskarak beste hizkuntza batzuekin izandako harremanei buruzko hainbat idazlanen egilea da, eta XVI. mendean Kanada ekialdeko indiarrek euskara hizkuntza atzerritar moduan ikasi zutela frogatu zuen. Gaur egun ere, Mikmak hizkuntzan euskal maileguak aurki daitezke. Islandiako XVII. mendeko merkataritzako euskarari buruz ere idatzi du, erromintxela izeneko euskal ijitoen euskararekin nahasitako hizkuntzari buruz, eta beste herri batzuek mailegaturiko baleen euskal izenei buruz. Peter Bakker 1979an izen zen lehen aldiz Euskal Herrian, eta dagoeneko ez dauka jakiterik zenbat aldiz izan den bertan. Garai batean, bere iritziz, euskaraz ongi egiten zuen, baina orain, gutxitan erabili izanagatik, nekezago.

Esperanto as a national language: the Italian army invaded a rebellious foreign power

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Today it is Esperanto Day. For that occasion, we investigate truth and reality of one of the states that had Esperanto as a national language. Now a major film.

In 1968, the world was in uproar. Demonstrations by young people against the establishment in major cities in Europe, North and South America. That year, an Italian engineer in his 40s, has succeed in building an island, somewhat like a drilling platform, outside of the territorial waters of Italy. Giorgio Rosa was his name. His micronation, covering 400 square meters, had a bar, a post office, a restaurant. Tourists arrived by boat, mainly from the harbor of Rimini in Italy, a 20-minute sailing tour. The builders of the island declared independence, … ↪

Micronations and their national languages

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Ladonia

What is a micronation? Maybe some people think of small countries like San Marino or Andorra. No, those are too big. A micronation can be as small as 186 square meters, as the Barony of Caux, surrounded by the city of Toronto, Canada. Or even smaller. One of them is even mobile.

There are several dozens of micronations. In the tourist guide “Micronations. The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations” many of them are dealt with, including just as many shortlived ones. The cover contains a warning: REAL PEOPLE. REAL PLACES. 100% TRUE. The copy in my possession is from 2006. It has not been updated or reprinted since. Below you can find links to uptodate information about most of … ↪

Free Ukrainian! Special linguistic operation for the Ukraine: Free Ukranian-Danish-Ukrainian dictionary for displaced Ukrainians and their helpers.

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udvalgt billede

(див. український текст нижче)

When I visited an old friend, a farmer, in the countryside, he told me that he had given a safe haven in his farmhouse to a couple of Ukrainians who had fled the violence in their homecountry. The ladies and their families were very happy with their new place. In the meantime, they have moved on to Horsens and Hammel.

The challenge was, that my friend and the Ukrainians could not communicate with each other, because they had no language in common. The Ukrainians only spoke Ukrainian. It is an illusion that “everybody” speaks English. I estimate that one in 30 of the refugees speak some (some) English.

Then I thought: there is a task for … ↪

The dictionary game: for learning and entertainment

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bennet family

The dictionary game is an entertaining board game and it costs nothing. That is, if you already have a dictionary, sheets of paper that are blank on at least one side, and a number of pens / pencils, so that everyone has a sheet of paper and something to write with.

I’ve played it with between six and eighteen people. You play individually, and it may be less important who wins, than about having fun.

The game is simple. You take a dictionary from your bookshelf in a language that everyone knows, or a language that no one knows, but then it should be a bilingual dictionary, preferably in both directions. It is usually played with a (not too elementary) … ↪

Sietze Norder and languishing languages and islands

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As a co-author of a recently published article on languages on islands, I was delighted to learn that there was a biologist who had written a book on islands in which he also wrote something about languages. The author of the book is called Sietze Norder.

I was even more delighted to learn that this researcher was now part of the research group of linguist Rik “Enrique” van Gijn in Leiden. At the end of the 1990s, Rik van Gijn was in Aarhus for half a year to write his thesis on the sound systems of mixed languages, for which he had sought my expertise. Van Gijn is now working at the University of Leiden on the languages ​​of … ↪

My favorite popularizing book about linguistics (after “Limits of Language”, that is)

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Language myths, mysteries and magic.

by Karen Stollznow. 269 pages. Price: too expensive.

Palgrave MacMillan 2014.

 

Originally, I bought this book in a sale, in order to hand it over to the people behind Linguistic Mythbusters. A book with such a title would contribution to their mission to debunk widespread but untrue ideas about languages. The book has “language myths” in the title, so it should fit their turf. But I thought, I will read it myself first. And while I was reading it, I thought, I am going to keep it for myself, it is too good to give away. In the meantime, it also appeared to me that Linguistic Mythbusters’ activity level was so low, that … ↪

Irish Travellers and their Language

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Now I must begin with a confession: I have never been to Ireland and I do not personally know any Irish Travellers, but I have always been fascinated by their language. I know that there are some every year in my hometown in Denmark, and most often they are heading north with their caravans. I once saw, on my way to work, a group at Tangkrogen in Aarhus, but when I came back they were gone. As far as I understood, they were sent away by the police.

Irish Travellers are a minority ethnic group.  This status was recognised by the Irish State on 1st March 2017.  The Equal Status Act refers to Irish Travellers in the following way: “Traveller … ↪