Welcoming the first Etxepare Alan R. King Professor in Residence

Dr Imanol Larrea Mendizabal from Soziolinguistika Klusterra will be the first Etxepare Alan R. King Professor in Residence at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies.

The Fellowship, named after the eminent linguist, the late Dr Alan R. King, is an opportunity for a scholar from the Basque Country to come to Wales to research and to contribute to teaching and knowledge exchange in these fields of sociolinguistics and language policy and planning.

Imanol Larrea will spend six weeks at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies in Aberystwyth, where he will develop research activities revolving around Basque sociolinguistics and language.

Professor Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, Director of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies said:

“We are honoured to be working with the Etxepare Basque Institute in establishing the Alan R King Chair in Sociolinguistics, in recognition of the remarkable contribution that he made to enhance the relationship between Wales and the Basque Country and to language sustainability across the world. This Chair creates the strategic stability that was needed for the academic collaboration in the field of sociolinguistics, language policy and planning between Wales and the Basque Country. This is an essential step towards the future of linguistic diversity and the revitalization processes of our languages.”

Dr Imanol Larrea, the first Professor in Residence said, “Research is essential for the revitalisation of our languages. We need applied research, with a bottom-up approach, strongly connected to the communities and agencies working for the minority language. And as well as analysis and an understanding of the sociolinguistic situation, we need appropriate methodologies in order to improve the situation effectively. For us at Soziolinguistika Klusterra, the exchange of experiences between the Welsh and the Basque language communities is crucial, because we are so similar in many aspects. The Alan R. King Chair gives us a great opportunity for that exchange to become real”.

Irene Larraza, Director of the Etxepare Basque Institute, said: “The revitalisation of the Basque language would not have been possible without the active and determined participation of civil society and institutions. Similarly, knowledge of the Basque language would not have been as extensive and well known without the work of leading foreign researchers and experts such as Alan R. King. And again, in the same way, Basque culture would not have been able to reach the world without close collaboration with the diaspora, Basque creatives, international universities and cultural institutions and programmes all over the world. It is this spirit that has brought us here today and I would like to express my gratitude to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in becoming our friend and partner in this endeavour.”

Garbiñe Iztueta, Director for the Promotion and Dissemination of the Basque Language, said: “In the opening edition of the Alan R. King Chair, the University and the Etxepare Basque Institute wanted to lay a solid foundation for this new Chair in Basque Sociolinguistics. That is why we will focus on the process of revitalisation of the Basque language and share the most important challenges facing Welsh and Basque speakers today. The Opening lecture, which will be delivered by Dr Imanol Larrea, Director of the Sociolinguistics Cluster, is key to making this solid start possible.

Professor Medwin Hughes, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David said: “The University is very proud of this special collaboration with the Etxepare Basque Institute. The Alan R. King Chair is an excellent opportunity for scholars from the Basque Country to come to Wales to research, to contribute to our learning programmes and to engage in public and professional exchanges in the field of sociolinguistics, language policy and planning. This is a very important step for the University and the Etxepare Basque Institute. It is the only Etxepare Chair in language policy and planning – a priority area for both Wales and the Basque Country. We very much look forward to Dr Imanol Larrea’s lecture and to the substantial programme of activities connected to this Chair.”

Imanol Larrea has a varied programme as part of his period as Professor in Residence in Wales.

The lecture by Dr Imanol Larrea is entitled, “Hizkuntza ohiturak aldatzeko ikerketa soziolinguistikoa Euskal Herrian: hainbat esperientzia”/Ymchwil Sosioieithyddol a newid arferion iaith: profiad Gwlad y Basg. [Sociolinguistic Methodologies and Changing Language Habits: experiences from the Basque Country]. The lecture will be held live on Thursday, 13 October, at 5.00 pm, in the Council Chamber, National Library of Wales, and online via Zoom. This will be a Basque language lecture with simultaneous translation into Welsh by Begotxu Olaizola, who was honoured at the National Eisteddfod in 2022 for her work in promoting the connections between Wales and the Basque Country.

This is a free event. Guests are requested to book in advance if they wish to attend the lecture on site at the National Library. Tea will be served at 4:15pm. Please send an RSVP to cawcs@wales.ac.uk.

To join online, please email cawcs@wales.ac.uk for the Zoom link.

Following the lecture there will be a Basque-Welsh reception and cultural event in the Council Chamber (in situ only) with Ned Thomas and poets from Wales and the Basque Country – Ifor ap Glyn and Aneirin Karadog, Beatriz Chivite and Juan Kruz Igerabide. This will start at 6.15pm and end at 8pm. Please send an RSVP to cawcs@wales.ac.uk.  

During the visit Imanol Larrea will also host a Workshop expanding further on the theme of the lecture. The Workshop will take place on 28 October 2-4.30pm. Further details from nld@wales.ac.uk. He will also offer seminars to undergraduate and postgraduate students on various courses at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. In addition, in partnership with the National Centre for Learning Welsh, he will offer Basque lessons for Welsh tutors.

Note to Editor

Contact: Prof Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, Director of CAWCS 07590 428404. elin.jones@uwtsd.ac.uk

1. The Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS) was established by the University of Wales in 1985 as a dedicated research centre conducting team-based projects on the languages, literatures, culture and history of Wales and the other Celtic countries. Its fields of research include Early Celtic Languages, Hagiography, Medieval Welsh Literature, Enlightenment and Romanticism in Wales and Europe, Welsh and British Name Studies, Welsh Lexicography, Literary Translation, Contemporary Sociolinguistics and Language Policy and Planning in Minoritized Languages. It is home the University of Wales Dictionary of the Welsh Language, which celebrated its centenary in 2021.

2. The Etxepare Basque Institute promotes collaboration in the areas of culture and academia with international partners (universities, cultural entities, festivals, art centres, etc.) to enhance the international presence and visibility of the Basque language and contemporary Basque creativity and to promote international cooperation and exchange.

3. The partnership between the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the Etxepare Basque Institute was agreed in 2022 in order to establish the Alan R. King Chair in Sociolinguistics, named after the eminent linguist. It is an annual programme with the aim of setting a firm foundation for the relationship between Wales and the Basque Country in this priority field for both countries. The Alan R King Chair is one of ten themed Chairs supported by the Etxepare Basque Institute at universities across the world and the only one that focusses on language policy and planning.

4. CAWCS offers unique opportunities for postgraduate students to work alongside specialists in a dynamic and supportive environment. It is located in Aberystwyth, adjacent to the National Library of Wales, which is an internationally-renowned copyright library with excellent research facilities. We welcome enquiries about MPhil/PhD topics in any of our research areas. For more information about research opportunities, or for an informal chat about possible topics, contact our Head of Graduate Studies, Dr Elizabeth Edwards: e.edwards@wales.ac.uk

Further Information

For more information please contact Arwel Lloyd, Principal PR and Communications Officer, on 01267 676663 / arwel.lloyd@uwtsd.ac.uk