Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda
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| Native name |
Mossèn Alcover
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| Born | 2 February 1862 Santa Cirga, Manacor |
| Died | 8 January 1932 (aged 69) Palma, Majorca |
| Occupation | parish priest |
| Language | Catalan; Spanish |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Notable works | Català-Valencià-Balear Dictionary |
Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda (born February 2, 1862 – died January 8, 1932) was a famous writer from Majorca, an island near Spain. People often called him Mossèn Alcover. He was a Catholic priest who wrote about many different things. These included the Catholic Church, old stories and traditions (called folklore), and how languages work (called linguistics).
Alcover is best known for helping to bring back interest in the Catalan language and its different ways of speaking. One of his most important projects was creating a huge dictionary for the Catalan, Valencian, and Balearic forms of the language.
Life of Antoni Maria Alcover
Antoni Maria Alcover was born in Santa Cirga, a small area between Manacor and Porto Cristo. His parents were laborers, meaning they worked hard with their hands. When he was 15, after studying Latin and classic subjects, he moved to Palma de Mallorca. There, he continued his studies to become a priest at a seminary (a school for religious training). He quickly became known for being very determined and good at arguing his points.
At first, Alcover wrote in Spanish. But after 1879, he started focusing on the Catalan language. From that time on, he began collecting old fables and folk stories from Majorca. He started publishing these stories in different magazines in 1880, using the pen name Jordi d'es Racó. He collected about 430 folk tales, and many of them have been translated into other languages, including English.
In 1886, he became a priest and served in his hometown of Manacor. Two years later, in 1888, he became a professor of church history at the seminary in Palma. In 1898, the new bishop of Majorca chose him to be the vicar general of the Diocese of Majorca. This was a very important position in the church. He stayed in this role until 1916. In 1905, he also became a special priest (called a canon) at the main Cathedral of Majorca.
In 1906, Alcover helped organize and lead the first Congrés Internacional de la Llengua Catalana (International Congress of the Catalan Language). He was also chosen to lead the language studies part of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (Institute for Catalan Studies). However, he soon left this position after a big disagreement with other members of the institute.
His biggest and most important work was the Català-Valencià-Balear Dictionary. Sadly, he passed away before it was completely finished. His helpers, Francesc de Borja i Moll and Irene Rocas i Romaguera, finished the huge dictionary after he died.
Alcover also had other important jobs. He was a special helper for the Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona in Barcelona. He also managed the publishing of the writings of Ramon Llull, another very famous Catalan writer.
What Antoni Maria Alcover Wrote
Antoni Maria Alcover's writings focused on several areas. He did a lot of research into languages, wrote about history, and collected information about popular customs and folklore. He also wrote biographies (stories about people's lives), travel stories, and even a novel.
Here are some of his important works:
- Antoni M. Alcover i Francesc de B. Moll, La flexió verbal en els dialectes catalans, 4 volumes, Barcelona, Biblioteca Balmes, 1929-1933. This work is about how verbs change in different Catalan dialects.
- Antoni M. Alcover, Aplec de rondaies mallorquines d'en Jordi d'es Racó, 24 volumes, Palma, Moll, 1968-1975. This is his famous collection of Majorcan folk tales.
- Antoni M. Alcover, Per la llengua, edited by Josep Massot i Muntaner, Mallorca-Barcelona, Secció de Filologia Catalana de la Universitat de Palma-Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, 1983. This book is about his work for the Catalan language.
- Antoni M. Alcover, Dietari de l'excursió filològica (1906), edited by Francesc de B. Moll, Barcelona, Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 1983. This is a diary from a trip he took for language research.
- Diccionari català-valencià-balear: inventari lexicogràfic i etimològic de la llengua catalana en totes les seves formes literàries i dialectals, started by Antoni Maria Alcover, written by Francesc de B. Moll, with help from Manuel Sanchis Guarner and Anna Moll Marquès, 10 volumes, Palma, Moll, 1993. This is his massive dictionary project.
See also
In Spanish: Antoni Maria Alcover para niños
