Peter Bakker

Peter Bakker (Dordrecht 1959) 1997tik hona hizkuntzalari lanean ari da Aarhuseko Unibertsitatean, Danimarkan. Nederlandistika, kultur antropologia eta hizkuntzalaritza orokorra ikasi zituen Amsterdameko Unibertsitatean, eta bretoiera eta euskara Leidengo Unibertsitatean. Antropologiak, historiak eta hizkuntzalaritzak partekatzen duten alorrean, batez ere hizkuntza berrien sorkuntzaren nolakotasunez eta zergatiaz arduratu da. 1992an Mixif hizkuntzaz doktoratu zen; aditz indigenak eta izen frantsesak dituen Kanadako hizkuntza nahasiaz, alegia. Euren hizkuntza sortzen duten bikiei buruz argitaratu du, halabeharrez egindako merkataritza-hizkuntzei buruz (pidgin izenekoei buruz) eta kreolerei buruz, hau da, iturri mugatutik sorturiko ama hizkuntzen inguruan. Horrez gain, Ijitoen romani hizkuntzan interesaturik dago, Ameriketako hizkuntz ugaritasun handian – bertan ia 200 hizkuntz familia baitaude – eta Karibe aldeko hizkuntzetan. Euskarak beste hizkuntza batzuekin izandako harremanei buruzko hainbat idazlanen egilea da, eta XVI. mendean Kanada ekialdeko indiarrek euskara hizkuntza atzerritar moduan ikasi zutela frogatu zuen. Gaur egun ere, Mikmak hizkuntzan euskal maileguak aurki daitezke. Islandiako XVII. mendeko merkataritzako euskarari buruz ere idatzi du, erromintxela izeneko euskal ijitoen euskararekin nahasitako hizkuntzari buruz, eta beste herri batzuek mailegaturiko baleen euskal izenei buruz. Peter Bakker 1979an izen zen lehen aldiz Euskal Herrian, eta dagoeneko ez dauka jakiterik zenbat aldiz izan den bertan. Garai batean, bere iritziz, euskaraz ongi egiten zuen, baina orain, gutxitan erabili izanagatik, nekezago.

Intergalactic linguistics: The extraterrestrial language of Angine the Poitrine deciphered

16/06/2026 by Peter Bakker

By Retep Rakbek, Berte Pakker, Pratek Beek and Peter Bakker

The folk/rock/metal/electronic music band Angine de Poitrine is taking the world by storm. The two-person band is known for the music that is not from planet Earth, and apparently microtonal, according to musicologists. The first landing took place in the small town in Saguenay, Québec, a city of about 150,000 inhabitants. Their concerts tend to be sold out quickly. Their exoplanetary language has not been studied by linguists yet. This is the first analysis.

Language data

The musicians, despite their 333 year presence on our planet, have not yet learned to speak Earthian, but they understand enough French and English so as to give an occasional interview in which … ↪

Making fun of the English language

09/06/2026 by Peter Bakker

Girls and boys in airports, they may get bored. It could be you. What do you do? You find a bookstore. There you find a book that looks interesting, and you buy it, and you will start reading it – if you can find a place to sit. The book is non-fiction, and of course it is about language.

This happened to someone I know (I, on the other hand, take the train whenever I can), and she bought the book for me, not for herself as she works in the hard sciences, and I found it under the Christmas tree. Thank you.

The book is called The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia and has the subtitle an A-Z of linguistic curiosities. … ↪

Shaetlan: a young language with old roots – a Nordic language now officially recognized

30/12/2025 by Peter Bakker

A Danish review of the book can be read here.

Shetland is an archipelago and it belongs administratively to Scotland. Scotland belongs administratively to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is liberated from the European Union, but it used to be part of the EU. The British do not feel European, at least a small majority, so they brexited. The Scots do not feel English, but they are not allowed to vote for independence. The Shetlanders do not feel Scottish, and there are a fair few who would like to have Home Rule, somewhat like the Faroe Islands have within the Danish Kingdom. There are some 23,000 people in Shetland (yes, IN Shetland, not ON Shetland). They have their … ↪

Is Basque related to the African language Dogon?

03/12/2025 by Peter Bakker

Today is International Day of the Basque Language, which we celebrate at Lingoblog with an article by Peter Bakker.

One person in Spain has claimed that Basque is related with the Dogon language spoken in Mali in Africa. Does that claim make sense? It sounds unlikely, but it is important not to reject the idea without checking the evidence.

Background information:
Languages are classified into language families. The languages of a family have been proven to be related, i.e. scholars are certain that these languages descend from the same ancestor language, which was perhaps spoken many millennia ago. Some families are as small as one language, for instance Basque. A language like Basque is therefore strictly speaking not a family, … ↪

Teanga Chomharthaíochta na hÉireann: genesis of a gendered Irish sign language

23/09/2025 by Peter Bakker

Today it is September 23, and that means that it is International Day of Sign Languages, proclaimed as such by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This year, Lingoblog searched in vain for an expert in sign languages for the deaf to celebrate this with us. Peter Bakker fills in this year with a special sign language: Irish Sign Language, the only sign language for the deaf that has a so-called genderlect.

Irish sign language developed around schools for deaf girls and boys in the 1800s. It is documented that there were sign languages before that time as well in Ireland, but they were probably quite different across the country. When Irish deaf people were no longer kept at … ↪

Questions or answers in a book with a questionable title?

14/04/2025 by Peter Bakker

Who is Paul Anthony Jones, the author of the book under review? Is he related to John Paul Jones, the keyboard player in Led Zeppelin? Or was it bass? Why does this book have a question on the cover and not a statement, as all ‘normal’ books? Is it the only question discussed in the book, or are there also other ones that are discussed? If so, does the author provide answers to those questions?

Why didn’t the author finish his university studies in linguistics, to the dismay of his teachers? Why did he then become a freelance writer, who writes about languages? Is it true what he writes about this, that he does not regret the choice, and that … ↪

Is the Greenlandic language extinct?

10/02/2025 by Peter Bakker

No, not yet, but the Greenlandic language will soon disappear from the face of the earth after the USA takes over Greenland. Trump has announced that he will obtain Greenland by reasonable means or by force.

Greenland, don’t let the USA take over your country. Not much good will come from that. The USA are described as being our friends, but it is better to describe the country as the world’s school bullies. Those who steal other people’s lunch money and clothes, threaten other students, destroy their things and beat people up if they don’t obey the bully and his/her henchmen.

If you are a school student and you have a bike, and it is stolen by an unknown guy, … ↪