On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death, the entire Spanish community wanted to justify Antonio de Nebrija. His work constitutes one of the milestones in the history of the Spanish language. He was a convinced humanist interested in good Latin studies and the recovery of original Latin texts. He raised the Castilian language to the status of the language of culture by writing the Grammar castellana (1492), which may be considered the first grammar of Spanish, and the configuration of the Spanish-Latin vocabulary (1495?), a fundamental piece for lexicography. from spanish.
The work of José Antonio Millán, Antonio de Nebrija, or the trail of truth (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2022) is framed within this conceptual framework: a biography that attempts to bring Nebrija’s life and work closer to the general public by “reviewing his own experiences. achievements in the context of knowledge” (p.189).
The biography consists of 18 short chapters divided into four sections, with a “Celestial Interlude” and an afterword highlighting the transcendence of his work over time. Millán chooses the chronological order from his birth year 1444 to his death in 1522. He uses the technique of constantly associating biographical data with the social and political situation in which he lives. His many land-owning family, his primary school, his going to Salamanca, the life of the students, his educational disciplines, and his time in Bologna form the first part of his biography: “a formation”. With all these data, in the second part, “Return”, how the university works and the commercial relations established with the invention of the printing press are explained.
In this need for a relationship between personal and social life, Juan José Millán writes what he calls the “Celestial Interlude”, thus explaining and contextualizing what the cosmography of time is and Nebrija’s participation in it; author’s attitudes.
The third chapter is devoted to a concise description of the «Works». Introduction Latinae (1488) occupies an important place, since knowledge of Latin was a necessity of the nobility (p. 110) and of any study, since ignorance of Latin causes all kinds of trouble (p. 112). It also shows us all the work behind such work, in which Nebrija, like other teachers, is actively involved, as the printing press facilitates a new trade of books away from previous dissemination channels. Grammar on the Castilian language (1492) would come later. It will be the first in vulgar language and the first in print. “Language has always been a companion of empire”, understood not as interpreted by some but as order and domination, would mark a turning point for the Castilian language. Nebrija wrote this sentence before the discovery of the Americas was known. In this grammar can be found ideas very characteristic of Castilian Spanish, such as the fact that it must be written as it is pronounced, or “very modern” ideas that the linguistic norm is derived from both a higher discretion and a language. usage agreement (always a warning to the dogmatic). Then his dictionaries will come, Latin-Castilian and Spanish-Latin Vocabulary will be structured as the basis of all major European bilingual and multilingual lexicography, down to the dictionary of the Academy in the 18th century. He will also devote his efforts to both the specialist lexicon, the legal lexicon, and the study of biblical texts in the fourth chapter and in his final years at the University of Alcalá. The biography concludes with a clear and comprehensive chronology of everything that made up his life’s journey.
And why should you read this fictional biography? It deals with a very important figure in Castilian Spanish, as in Castilian Spanish throughout its pages a good balance is struck between revealing and scientific, the former not distorting the latter, for this is an “intellectual biography”. life and culture intertwined.
Source: Informacion
