Pompeu Fabra

Pompeu Fabra i Poch (Catalan pronunciation: [pumˈpɛw ˈfaβɾə]) (Gràcia, Barcelona, 20t Februar 1868 - Prada de Conflent, 25t December 1948) wis a Spainish ingineer an grammarian. He wis the main author o the normative reform o contemporar Catalan leid.

Life

Pompeu Fabra wis born in Gràcia, that at that time wis still separate fae Barcelona, in 1868. He wis the last o twal bairns born tae Josep Fabra i Roca an his wife Carolina Poch i Martí. Whan Pompeu wis sax, the faimilie flittit tae Barcelona.

Fae a fairlie young age Fabra dedicatit himsel tae the studie o the Catalan leid. Throu the jurnal an publishin hoose L'Avenç, he participatit in a campaign tae reform Catalan orthographie atween 1890 an 1892. He publisht Tractat d'ortografia catalana wi the writer an publisher Jaume Massó i Torrents an Joaquim Casas i Carbó, a faur-kent advocate an writer, in 1904.

In maugre o his personal interest in linguistics, Fabra studied industrial ingineerin in Barcelona an in 1902 acceptit a cheer o chemistrie ingineerin at the Schuil o Ingineerin in Bilbao. In his tenure in Bilbao, Fabra participatit activelie in the First International Congress o the Catalan Leid haudit in 1906. This event gied him a certain prestige in the field o Catalan linguistics. In 1911, he returned tae Barcelona tae become a professor (catedràtic) o Catalan — a poseetion creatit bi the diputació (local govrenment) o Barcelona — an a member o the depairtment o philology at the newlins shapit Institut d'Estudis Catalans, whase preses he wad later become. In 1912 he publisht his Gramática de la lengua catalana (in Spainish).

The Institute publisht the Normes ortogràfiques in 1913, the Diccionari ortogràfic in 1917, an its offeecial Gramàtica catalana in 1918. That same year, Fabra forby editit the textbeuk Curs mitjà de gramàtica catalana, publisht bi l'Associació Protectora de l'Ensenyança Catalana. His "Converses filològiques," first publisht in the newspaper "La Publicitat," wis later collectit as "Popular Barcino." Probablie his most faur-kent wark wis the Diccionari General de la Llengua Catalana (1932) -- the first edeetion later becam the Institute's offeecial dictionar.

In 1932, awnd tae his scienteefic prestige, he wis unanimouslie named a professor (catedràtic) o the Republican Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (no tae be confuised wi the later Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona creatit in the 1960s throu the Francoist régime). The follaein year he wis named Preses o the University's governin council, that resultit in his imprisonment in 1934 follaein the "events o 6t October" whan troops o the Second Spanish Republic pat doun a Catalan govrenment uprisin led bi Lluis Companys.

Fabra wis reinstatit tae his facultie poseetion efter the elections o Februar 1936, but the Spainish Ceevil War began in Julie o that year, an he buid flee his kintra whan Barcelona wis bein invadit bi the Francoist airmie. Bi 1939 he wis in exile in Fraunce whaur he tholed monie hairdships. He bidit in Pairis an Montpellier, whaur he presidit ower the Jocs Florals leeterar competeetion in 1946. He eventuallie flittit tae Prada de Conflent in the Catalan-speakin area o Fraunce, an he dee'd thair on 25t December 1948. At some pynt in the exile he made his will in Andorra, sae that it wad be daen in a kintra whaur Catalan wis the offeecial leid.

Legacie

Ilka year, his lair in the Cuixà monasterie near Prada is visitit bi thoosands o Catalans.

The Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona bears his name.

Beuks

The monolith that staunds as a homage tae Pompeu Fabra on the Plaça Lesseps in Barcelona

Tractat de ortografia catalana (1904)
Qüestions de gramàtica catalana (1911)
La coordinació i la subordinació en els documents de la cancilleria catalana durant el segle XIV (1926)
Diccionari ortogràfic abreujat (1926)
La conjugació dels verbs en català (1927)
Diccionari ortogràfic: precedit d'una exposició de l'ortografia catalana (1931)
El català literari (1932)

External links

"Pompeu Fabra i Poch". Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana. Enciclopèdia Catalana. (in Catalan) Inglis version
Biographical notice bi Josep Pla (in catalan)