Rafael Lapesa
Encyclopedia
Rafael Lapesa Melgar was a Spanish
philologist, a historian
of language
and of Spanish literature
.
, Tomás Navarro Tomás, and Américo Castro
. He had met Pilar Lago de Couceiro while both were students, she also working at the Tribunal de Cuentas and he for an insurance company; they were married in 1932.
In Madrid from 1932 to 1941 he was professor of Spanish Language and Literature. In addition, during the Civil War he taught classes of republican soldiers how to read and write. By 1942 he had moved to the university at Oveido, and from 1942 to 1947 he was at Salamanca. Back in Madrid at the Universidad Complutense, he was Professor of the History of the Spanish Language from 1947 to 1978.
He became associated with the Seminario de Lexicografía de la Real Academia Española in 1947, serving as the Director from 1969 to 1981. There he participated on the Diccionario histórico de la lengua espanola. Traveling widely, he was visiting professor at many universities in Europe, North America, and South America. He also received numerous academic honors and other awards, e.g., the French Légion d'honneur
and the Prince of Asturias Award
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
philologist, a historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
and of Spanish literature
Spanish literature
Spanish literature generally refers to literature written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the state of Spain...
.
Biography
Born in Valencia, Spain, February 8, 1908, his family moved to Madrid when he was eight. By 1930 he had earned his professorship (catedra) for his work on the medieval dialect of western Asturias. At the Centro de Estudios Históricos he was under the guidance of Ramón Menéndez PidalRamón Menéndez Pidal
Ramón Menéndez Pidal was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore and folk poetry. One of his main topics was the history and legend of The Cid....
, Tomás Navarro Tomás, and Américo Castro
Americo Castro
Américo Castro y Quesada was a Spanish cultural historian, philologist, and literary critic who challenged some of the prevailing notions of Spanish identity, raising heated controversy with his conclusions that Spaniards didn't become the distinct group they are today until after the Islamic...
. He had met Pilar Lago de Couceiro while both were students, she also working at the Tribunal de Cuentas and he for an insurance company; they were married in 1932.
In Madrid from 1932 to 1941 he was professor of Spanish Language and Literature. In addition, during the Civil War he taught classes of republican soldiers how to read and write. By 1942 he had moved to the university at Oveido, and from 1942 to 1947 he was at Salamanca. Back in Madrid at the Universidad Complutense, he was Professor of the History of the Spanish Language from 1947 to 1978.
He became associated with the Seminario de Lexicografía de la Real Academia Española in 1947, serving as the Director from 1969 to 1981. There he participated on the Diccionario histórico de la lengua espanola. Traveling widely, he was visiting professor at many universities in Europe, North America, and South America. He also received numerous academic honors and other awards, e.g., the French Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and the Prince of Asturias Award
Prince of Asturias Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....
.
Selected works
- Rafael Lapesa, Historia de la lengua española (Madrid: Escelicer 1942, preface by Ramón Menéndez PidalRamón Menéndez PidalRamón Menéndez Pidal was a Spanish philologist and historian. He worked extensively on the history of the Spanish language and Spanish folklore and folk poetry. One of his main topics was the history and legend of The Cid....
; 9th ed., Madrid: Gredos 1991) - Rafael Lapesa, Historia lingűística y historia general (Madrid 1958)
- Rafael Lapesa, Sobre el texto y lenguaje de algunas "jarchyas" mozárabes (Madrid: Impr. S. Aguirre Torre 1960)
- Rafael Lapesa, Le dictionaire historique de la langue espagnole (Paris 1960)
- Rafael Lapesa, El andaluz y el español de América (Madrid 1964)
- Rafael Lapesa, De la Edad Media a nuestros días (Madrid 1967)
- Rafael Lapesa, Generaciones y Semblanzas de filólogos españoles (1998)
- Rafael Lapesa and Emilio García GómezEmilio García GómezEmilio García Gómez, 1st Count of Alixares was a Spanish Arabist, literary historian and critic, whose talent as a poet enriched his many translations from Arabic.-Life:...
, En el centario del nacimiento de don Miguel Asín (Madrid: CSIC 1969) - Rafael Lapesa and Constantino García, Léxico hispánico primativo: siglos VII-XII (Pozuelo de Alarcon: Espassa Calpe 2003)
See also
- Spanish languageSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
- History of the Spanish languageHistory of the Spanish languageThe language known today as Spanish is derived from a dialect of spoken Latin that developed in the north-central part of the Iberian Peninsula in what is now northern Spain. Over the past 1,000 years, the language expanded south to the Mediterranean Sea, and was later transferred to the Spanish...