Joan Solà i Cortassa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
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Born | Bell-lloc d'Urgell, Spain
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10 January 1940
Died | 27 October 2010 Barcelona, Spain
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(aged 70)
Joan Solà Cortassa (born in Bell-lloc d'Urgell on January 10, 1940 – died in Barcelona on October 27, 2010) was a famous Spanish expert in language. He was a professor of Catalan language and literature at the University of Barcelona. He also served as the vice president of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC), which is a very important group for the Catalan language.
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About Joan Solà's Life
Joan Solà studied Classical Philology and Catalan Philology at the University of Barcelona. He earned his first degree in 1965 and his PhD in 1970. Later, in 1977, he also got a master's degree in Linguistics from the University of Reading in England.
He started teaching at different universities in 1965. From 1984, he became a main professor of Catalan language and literature at the University of Barcelona. He was also part of the International Association of Catalan Language and Literature.
Joan Solà helped create the Obres completes de Pompeu Fabra, which are the complete works of a very important Catalan linguist named Pompeu Fabra. He also led the project for the Gramàtica del català contemporani (Grammar of Contemporary Catalan). At the time of his death, he was working on a new official grammar for the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. He became a member of this important institute in 1999.
He wrote many studies and nearly a thousand newspaper articles. Most of these articles were about how Catalan sentences are built (syntax) or the history of the Catalan language.
Joan Solà passed away on October 27, 2010, in Barcelona, at 70 years old. His last book, L’última lliçó (The Last Lesson), was published after he died in May 2011. This book included his public speeches from 2009, the year he received many major awards.
His family gave Joan Solà's private library to the CRAI Biblioteca de Lletres de la Universitat de Barcelona. They also donated his personal papers to the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
His Ideas About Language
As a language expert, Joan Solà believed that we should separate the rules of a language from how people actually use it. For example, grammar rules might say one thing, but people might use the language slightly differently in real life.
He also thought that all the different ways people speak Catalan (the dialects) should be included in the official grammar. He wanted the standard Catalan language to feel natural and familiar to all its speakers, no matter which dialect they spoke.
Joan Solà believed it was important to trust what native speakers felt was correct. He said that people shouldn't be afraid to use their local dialect across all Catalan-speaking areas. He also stated that an official grammar should first describe how the language is actually used, based on all the information gathered about it.
Awards and Honors
Joan Solà received many awards for his work. Some of them include:
- The Premi a la Investigació Lingüística (Award for Linguistic Investigation) in 1991.
- The Premi de Recerca Crítica Serra d’Or (Serra d’Or Award for Critical Research) in 1999 for his book Història de la lingüística catalana, 1775-1900, which he wrote with Pere Marcet.
- The Sanchis Guarner Award in 2002 for the Gramàtica del català contemporani, a big project he led.
- The Narcís Monturiol Medal for his scientific work on the Catalan language and for sharing his knowledge with everyone.
In 2005, he received the Creu de Sant Jordi, which is one of the highest honors given by the Catalan government. In 2009, the University of Lleida gave him an honorary doctorate. He also received the Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalanes, an award for his important work in literature and his contributions to society. In 2010, he was honored for his lifelong dedication to defending the Catalan language and culture at the Premis Joan Coromines.
In 2010, a book called Joan Solà. 10 textos d’homenatge (Joan Solà: 10 Texts in Homage) was published. Many people who worked with him wrote pieces about his life and work for this book.
Main Works
- Tots els llibres de la biblioteca Joan Solà a Universitat de Barcelona.
- Estudis de sintaxi catalana(1972-1973)
- A l'entorn de la llengua(1977)
- Del català incorrecte al català correcte(1977)
- "Ser" i "estar" en el català d'avui(1981)
- Sintaxi generativa catalana(1986), with Sebastià Bonet
- Qüestions controvertides de sintaxi catalana(1987)
- L'obra de Pompeu Fabra(1987)
- Bibliografia lingüística catalana del segle XIX(1989), with Pere Marcet
- Lingüística i normativa(1990)
- La llengua, una convenció dialèctica(1993)
- Sintaxi normativa: estat de la qüestió(1994)
- Història de la lingüística catalana, 1775-1900(1998), with Pere Marcet
- Parlem-ne(1999)
- Gramàtica del català contemporani(2002), edited with Maria-Rosa Lloret, Joan Mascaró and Manuel Pérez-Saldanya
- Ensenyar la llengua(2003)
- Pompeu Fabra: vida i obra(2007), with Jordi Ginebra
- Plantem cara. Defensa de la llengua, defensa de la terra(2009)
- L'última lliçó(2011)
Books About Solà
- "Qui és Joan Solà?", in Festes de setembre 1988. Bell-lloc d'Urgell, 1988, p. 2.
- BRANCHADELL, Albert: "La gramática de Solà", La Vanguardia, June 26, 2002, p. 5-6.
- PLA NUALART, Albert: "Doctor 'Laboris Causa'", Avui, May 10, 2009, p. 49.
- RIERA, Carles: "Joan Solà, lingüista", Serra d'Or, núm. 517, 2003, p. 23-24.
- SÀNCHEZ, Àngel: "Joan Solà", El Periódico, July 8 d 2002.
- NOGUÉ, Neus ... [et al.] ed. Joan Solà: 10 textos d'homenatge. Barcelona: Empúries, 2010.
- OLIVA, Salvador (ed.). Joan Solà, in memoriam. Girona: University of Girona, 2012.
- ADALIL SESPLUGUES, Xavier. "Bibliografia sobre Joan Solà". Bachelor's thesis. UOC, 2014.
- MARÍ I MAYANS, Isidor, "Joan Solà i Cortassa (1940-2010)" in Estudis Romànics34 (2012), p. 751-755.
See also
In Spanish: Joan Solà para niños