Koldo Zuazo

Koldo Zuazo in 2011

Koldo Zuazo (Eibar, Gipuzkoa, 1956) is a Basque linguist, professor at the University of the Basque Country^[1] and specialist in Basque language dialectology and sociolinguistics.

He is famous because of his work on the Basque dialects, as he has drawn a new classification and a new map of these dialects—this has been a revolution in a field where few changes were made since the Louis Lucien Bonaparte's works (1863).^[2] As the Basque linguist Koldo Mitxelena, he considers that the historical and present characteristics of the Basque language show that this language broke up into dialects in the Middle Ages. Zuazo has identified the places of origin that current Basque dialects derive from; this is the list of those language-innovation centres in chronological order:^[3]

• Pamplona: Upper Navarrese, Lower Navarrese, Lapurdian and Gipuzkoan dialects.
• Vitoria-Gasteiz: Biscayan dialect and the Goierri variant of the Gipuzkoan dialect.
• Mauléon-Licharre and Atharratze-Sorholüze: Souletin dialect.
• The axis comprising San Sebastián-Hernani-Andoain-Tolosa: Gipuzkoan dialect.
• The central area of Biscay, i.e. Durango-Amorebieta-Gernika-Bermeo: Biscayan dialect.

Map of Basque dialects (Koldo Zuazo, 1998)

Bibliography

Non-fiction

• Euskararen batasuna (The standardization of Basque language). Euskaltzaindia, 1988.
• Euskararen sendabelarrak (Tips and solutions for some of the problems of Basque language). Alberdania, 2000.
• Euskara batua: ezina ekinez egina (The challenge of the standardization of Basque language). Elkar, 2005.
• Deba ibarreko euskara. Dialektologia eta tokiko batua (Basque language in the Deba Valley. Dialects and local standards). Badihardugu, 2006.
• Euskalkiak. Euskararen dialektoak (Description of the dialects of Basque language). Elkar, 2008.
• Sakanako euskara. Burundako hizkera (Basque language in the region of Burunda). Nafarroako Gobernua eta Euskaltzaindia, 2010.
• El euskera y sus dialectos (Basque language and its dialects). Alberdania, 2010.
• Arabako euskara (Basque language in Araba). Elkar, 2012.

Fiction

• Neure buruaren alde (novel). Alberdania, 2011.

References

1. ↑ (Basque) (Spanish) List of professors at the Arts Faculty of the University of the Basque Country. Retrieved on 2010-08-22.
2. ↑ Page on Basque dialects' classification, in the Media Archive of the Basque Language in Navarre (a project of Euskarabidea, the Basque Language Institute of the Government of Navarre). Retrieved on 2010-08-22.
3. ↑ Zuazo, Koldo (2010). El euskera y sus dialectos. Alberdania. ISBN 978-84-9868-202-1. 

External links

• Koldo Zuazo (2008), map of Basque dialects.
• Koldo Zuazo (2007), «Euskalkien jatorriaz eta bilakaeraz», Berria, 2007-12-09.
• Koldo Zuazo (1997), «Euskara Araban», Uztaro, 21. zenbakia.