Guillermo Abadía Morales
Encyclopedia
Guillermo Abadía Morales (8 May 1912 – 21 January 2010) was a Colombia
n linguist, academic, anthropologist, folklore
researcher
and indigenous language expert
. Morales was one of he first to champion the study of indigenous language
s in Colombia
.
In 1934, Adabia Morales began living with seventeen separate indigenous Colombian tribes for ten years. Each of the tribes he observed represented a different language family within the country. Adabia Morales was able to classify the languages of 105 indigenous peoples into nine language families. He developed the "Abadia Classification" system to group the families by geographic distribution within Colombia.
Abadía Morales was the author of over twenty-five books on linguistics, folklore, and identity. His best known work, Compendio General de Folclor (General Folklore Compendium) has sold more than 40,000 copies since it was first published in 1970. Compendio is now widely used as a social science textbook in Colombia. He also created a series of educational broadcast focusing on folklore, which have been broadcast on Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia.
Abadia Morales served as the folklore coordinator
for the Musical Documentation Center at the Colombian Culture Institute, secretary of the National Folklore Board, and professor and head of the Center for Folklore Studies at the National University of Colombia
.
Guillermo Abadía Morales died of natural causes on 21 January 2010 at the age of 97.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n linguist, academic, anthropologist, folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
and indigenous language expert
Languages of Colombia
The official language of Colombia is Spanish, of which Colombian Spanish is the local variety. The indigenous languages spoken in Colombia are also official in the territories in which they are spoken.-Sign Languages:* Colombian Sign Language...
. Morales was one of he first to champion the study of indigenous language
Indigenous language
An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples but has been reduced to the status of a minority language. This language would be from a linguistically distinct community that has been settled in the area for many generations...
s in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
In 1934, Adabia Morales began living with seventeen separate indigenous Colombian tribes for ten years. Each of the tribes he observed represented a different language family within the country. Adabia Morales was able to classify the languages of 105 indigenous peoples into nine language families. He developed the "Abadia Classification" system to group the families by geographic distribution within Colombia.
Abadía Morales was the author of over twenty-five books on linguistics, folklore, and identity. His best known work, Compendio General de Folclor (General Folklore Compendium) has sold more than 40,000 copies since it was first published in 1970. Compendio is now widely used as a social science textbook in Colombia. He also created a series of educational broadcast focusing on folklore, which have been broadcast on Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia.
Abadia Morales served as the folklore coordinator
Coordinator
Coordinator may refer to:*In academics: one who administers the research and teaching activities of the other professors.*Coordinators , genetically engineered humans in the Gundam SEED series...
for the Musical Documentation Center at the Colombian Culture Institute, secretary of the National Folklore Board, and professor and head of the Center for Folklore Studies at the National University of Colombia
National University of Colombia
The Universidad Nacional de Colombia , also called UNAL or just UN, is a public, national, coeducational, research university, located primarily in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, Colombia...
.
Guillermo Abadía Morales died of natural causes on 21 January 2010 at the age of 97.