Where am I from?
I was born in a coastal town in Lancashire, in the northwest of England. My parents were born in London and my grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. I was brought up in England until the age of thirteen, and then in California, until I returned to Europe as a young adult. At the age of 25 I moved to Euskal Herria or the Basque Country, where I have lived for most of the time since then. However I have also lived in other countries for periods of time, including England (again), Catalonia, Wales and El Salvador (in Central America). Part of my family lives in Hawai'i and I also spend some time there.
What do I do?
My favourite subject is languages. I love to learn them and know quite a few. (No, I will not provide a list.) I am also interested in some theoretical aspects of how languages "work" (linguistics), how to describe them (grammar), and how to teach them (applied linguistics). I have done various jobs in these areas (too many to list in a short sketch). I have a special predilection for "small" languages: languages that a lot of people don't know about, languages that are not officially recognised because they are not the "national language" of a state, languages that are in danger of dying out, and most important of all, languages the speaker communities of which are trying hard to keep their language, culture and identity alive. This is the field of language recovery. But I do not have a comfortable academic job and it is hard to get paid for doing this sort of thing, so I need to find another way to make a living. I have tried several things but for the past few years I have been working as a professional, free-lance translator. I can handle various language combinations, but my chief specialization is in Basque to English. Read about my translation services here.
Basque
The historical language of the Basque Country, a small country without a state in Western Europe, is called Basque in English, and Euskara in Basque. Euskal Herria has three million inhabitants of whom about one in four speak Basque. At one time Basque was a forbidden language, and it was forecast that it would die out, but it hasn't because of the determination of the Basque people to assert their own distinct identity and the realisation that the language is central to their identity. I have lived in this country for over 30 years and have been involved in various aspects of Basque language recovery. I have contributed modestly to efforts in support of Basque, but above all I have learnt many lessons from my long contact with the Basques, and do my best to profit from their experience and mine and pass on the knowledge and wisdom of one people in a way that is useful to others. Perhaps that is a little bit of my mission in life... See a summary of my work on Basque here. Nawat
I lived in El Salvador from 2002 until the beginning of 2005. While there, I worked hard to support the only remaining native "Indian" language in this small country, after the others were allowed to disappear by a society which attaches very little value to its native heritage and has subjected its indigenous groups to genocidal persecution. This language, which only has a few elderly native speakers left today, is called Nawat. Since returning to Europe I have continued to support the development of the Nawat language recovery movement which has made great headway in recent times. Most of this website is being used to give access to the growing number of resources being developed for and needed by this movement. Everyone is welcome to look around; just click on Nawat Resources on the navigation bar at the top of the page (or here), and take it from there. Also, see a summary of my own work on the Nawat language here.
Education
I believe my work over several decades provides the most meaningful credentials, but some people are curious to know about my formal education. I hold a PhD in Linguistics from the Univerisity of London for a thesis about Basque I wrote in the late eighties. I did undergraduate studies, also in Linguistics, at the University of California (Santa Barbara and Berkeley) in the early seventies. But most of what I know was not learnt at university and I am not a great believer in the traditional academic system.
Other credentials
I have diplomas and certificates from recognised bodies and organisations in the areas of language teaching and translation. I have been involved and held positions of responsibility in a variety of language-related projects for the Council of Europe, the Basque Government, the University of the Basque Country, the Federation of Ikastolas (Basque-medium schools), a private university in El Salvador and other institutions. I have taught courses in various schools and universities. I have participated in various academic conferences where I have read papers. I have had several books and articles published. I am a corresponding member of the Academy of the Basque Language (Euskaltzaindia).
