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.

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, … ↪

Expedition into the savannah and jungle to look for a lost language

30/01/202528/01/2025 by Peter Bakker

(Spanish version, translated by Jonathan Mastai Husum, can be found here)

Our islands bear twisting names in fading tongues
Whose meanings now escaped our young

Basil Rodrigues, Spanish Arawak from Guyana, in his poem Santa Rosa

Around a year ago, I published this article on Lingoblog on whether linguists can prevent a war. I had written it after the Venezuelan supreme leader and his government had claimed two thirds of their neighboring country Guyana. The dictator’s parliament also supported the land claim, and now that area is listed as “contested” in several places. Sad, because the Spanish and the Venezuelans never really had shown any presence in that part of the world.

The land claim, and the … ↪

Bob Marley and his language, the film about him, and irates of the Caribbean

24/09/202424/09/2024 by Peter Bakker

There are still places where you can see the “biopic” about the life of the Jamaican reggae star musician Bob Marley. The title of the film is One Love, a kind of slogan of the Rastafari movement, of which Marley was a prominent member. All religions seem to have love as a central topic, but representatives of the major religions sometimes forget that. It is also the title of a Bob Marley song with more than a quarter billion views on Youtube.

Bob Marley was a Rastafari. Rastafaris believe that their God is a living man and living in Africa, and they pointed to emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia as their living god Jah – at least until … ↪