Germà Colón facts for kids

Germà Colón i Doménech (born November 30, 1928 – died March 22, 2020) was a famous Spanish philologist. A philologist is someone who studies languages, especially how they change over time. Germà Colón focused on Romance languages, which come from Latin (like Spanish, French, and Italian), and on Catalan lexicology. Lexicology is the study of words and their meanings. He was a professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

Germà Colón's Life and Studies

Germà Colón was born on November 30, 1928, in Castellón de la Plana, Spain. He studied Romance philology at the University of Barcelona. He learned from important philologists like Antoni Maria Badia i Margarit and Martí de Riquer. He finished his studies in 1951.

His PhD and Early Career

The next year, in 1952, he earned his PhD from the University of Madrid. His PhD paper was about dialectology, which is the study of different dialects of a language. He focused on the dialect spoken in Castelló.

After getting his PhD, he received a special grant. This allowed him to travel to Leuven and Zurich. There, he met many respected European experts in Romance languages. One of them was Sever Pop, who wrote a famous book about dialectology.

Becoming a Professor in Switzerland

A Swiss philologist named Walther von Wartburg suggested that Germà Colón become a Spanish lecturer. This was at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Germà Colón stayed there for many years.

He slowly moved up in his career. In 1959, he became a Privat-Dozent (a type of university lecturer). By 1963, he was a university teacher, and in 1967, he became a full professor. After 1997, he was named a professor emeritus, which means he retired but kept his title.

He also taught at other universities. He worked at the University of Strasbourg from 1968 to 1972. He also taught at the Autonomous University of Barcelona during 1973 and 1974.

Important Roles and Awards

Germà Colón was a member of several important groups. He joined the Real Academia de las Buenas Letras de Barcelona. He was also part of the group that published the works of Ramon Llull, a famous writer. He helped guide the Els Nostres Clàssics collection and worked on the magazine Estudis de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes.

He was an honorary consultant for the International Association of Catalan Language and Literature. He even served as its president from 1976 to 1982. He was also a member of the Institute of Catalan Studies.

Germà Colón received many awards for his work. These include:

• The Sanchis Guarner prize (1987)
• The Honorary Prize of the Valencian Letters (1988)
• The Prat de la Riba prize from the IEC (1979)
• The Serra d'Or prize (1981)
• The Creu de Sant Jordi (1985)
• The Literature Prize of the Generalitat de Catalunya (1987)
• The Gran Cruz de Alfonso X el Sabio (1999)

Honorary Degrees and Library Donation

Many universities recognized his great contributions. He received honorary degrees (special titles) from:

• The University of Valencia in 1984
• The University of Alicante in 1990
• The University Jaume I of Castellón in 2003
• The Autonomous University of Barcelona in 2003

He generously gave his personal library to the University Jaume I of Castellón. This library had more than 20,000 books!

Germà Colón's Passing

Germà Colón passed away at his home in Barcelona on March 22, 2020. He was 91 years old. His death was reported to be from COVID-19. He had been dealing with breathing problems for several years before.

Selected Works

Here are some of the important books and works by Germà Colón:

• El léxico catalán en la Romania (1976)
• La llengua catalana en els seus textos (1978)
• El panorama de la lexicografia catalana (1986)
• Problemes de la llengua a València i als seus voltants (1987)
• El español y el catalán, juntos y en contraste (1989)
• Estudis de filologia catalana i romànica (1997)
• Para la historia del léxico español (2002)
• De Ramon Llull al Diccionari de Fabra. Acostament lingüístic als monuments de les lletres catalanes (2003)

See also

In Spanish: Germán Colón para niños