Pierre Bec facts for kids
Pierre Bec (pronounced PYEHR BEK) was a French poet and expert in languages. He was born in Paris, France, in 1921. He grew up in a place called Comminges, where he learned Occitan, a language spoken in parts of southern France. During World War II, he was forced to go to Germany from 1943 to 1945.
After the war, he studied in Paris and finished his studies in 1959. Pierre Bec helped start the Institut d'Estudis Occitans (Institute of Occitan Studies). He was also its president for many years, from 1962 to 1980.
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About Pierre Bec's Life
Pierre Bec spent his early years in Cazères-sur-Garonne, where he learned a type of Occitan called Gascon. In 1938, he helped Spanish people who had to leave their country and cross the Pyrenees mountains. This is how he learned about the Catalan language.
In March 1943, during World War II, he was sent to Germany. He was part of a program where people were forced to work.
Bec became a professor at Poitiers University. He also helped lead a center for studying medieval times. He is known as one of the most important experts in Occitan dialects and old Occitan literature. He worked in different areas:
- Supporting the Occitan language.
- Studying languages.
- Writing his own books and poems.
He also wrote for several important magazines about history and languages.
In 1982, he helped create rules for the Aranese language, which is spoken in a small part of Spain. He worked with Jacme Taupiac and Miquèu Grosclaude. They set up language rules that became official in 1983. These rules followed the guidelines from the Institut d'Estudis Occitans for the Gascon language.
Pierre Bec passed away in Poitiers on June 30, 2014. He was 92 years old.
His Work on Languages
As a language expert, Pierre Bec studied how different languages are connected. In one of his books, he explained that some languages in the Alps region (like Romansh, Friulian, and Ladin) are linked to languages in Northern Italy. These include Western Lombard, Eastern Lombard, Piedmontese, Venetan, Emiliano-Romagnolo, and Ligurian.
Another language expert from Australia, Geoffrey Hull, has also looked into these connections.
Pierre Bec's Books
Literature Works
- Petite anthologie de la lyrique occitane du Moyen Âge (1954) - A collection of old Occitan poems.
- Les saluts d'amour du troubadour Arnaud de Mareuil (1961) - He edited this work by a troubadour.
- La langue occitane (1963) - About the Occitan language.
- Burlesque et obscénité chez les troubadours (1984) - About humor in troubadour poetry.
- Chants d'amour des femmes troubadours (1995) - A collection of love songs by women troubadours.
- Au briu de l'estona (1955) - A book of poetry.
- Sonets barròcs entà Iseut (1979) - Another book of poetry.
- Lo hiu tibat (1978) - A novel.
- Sebastian (1980) - A novel.
- Raconte d’una mort tranquilla (1993) - A short story.
- Contes de l'unic (1977) - A collection of short stories.
Linguistics Works
- Manuel pratique d'occitan moderne (1973; 2nd edition 1983) - A practical guide to modern Occitan.
- Manuel pratique de philologie romane (1970 (vol. 1), 1971 (vol. 2) - re-edited 2000) - A practical guide to Romance languages.
- Les Interférences linguistiques entre gascon et languedocien dans les parlers du Comminges et du Couserans (1968) - A study of how Gascon and Languedocian languages mix in certain areas.
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Bec para niños
- Occitan language
- Aranese
- Gallo-Italic languages
