Aurélio Buarque de Holanda Ferreira
Encyclopedia
Aurélio Buarque de Holanda Ferreira (May 3, 1910 – February 28, 1989) was a Brazil
ian lexicographer, philologist
, translator
, and writer
, best known for editing the Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa
, a major dictionary
of the Portuguese language
.
His family name was originally spelled Hollanda, but was changed to Holanda, presumably to follow the Portuguese spelling reform of 1943
.
, Alagoas
state, Brazil. In 1923 he moved to the state capital Maceió
, where, at only 14 years of age, he gave private lessons of Portuguese language. One year later he became a first-grade teacher at the local high school Ginásio Primeiro de Março.
In 1936 obtained a law degree
at the Recife Law School
in Pernambuco
, and in that same year he started teaching French
and Portuguese grammar, as well as Brazilian
and Portuguese Literature
, at the Alagoas State High School in Maceió. In 1937–1938 he also served as director of the Maceió City Public Library.
In 1938 he moved to the city of Rio de Janeiro, where he taught Brazilian and Portuguese Literature at elite
secondary schools including the public Pedro II High School and the private Anglo-American High School.
It was in Rio that he has started his career as a writer, by publishing articles, tales and chronicles in the local press. Bewtween 1939 and 1943, he was acting secretary of the magazine Revista do Brasil.
Aurélio started his career as a lexicographer in 1941, as a collaborator of the Pequeno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa. In 1942 he published a book of short stories, Dois Mundos ("Two Worlds"), which earned him a prize by the prestigious Brazilian Literary Academy
. In 1943 he collaborated with the Dicionário Enciclopédico sponsored by the Brazilian Book Institute. In 1945 he took part in the First Brazilian Writers Conference in São Paulo. Between 1944 and 1949 he was a member of the Brazilian Writers Association (Rio de Janeiro branch).
In 1945 he married Marina Baird, with whom he would have two children — Aurélio and Maria Luísa — and five grandchildren.
Between 1947 and 1960, Aurélio authored various texts for the Conto da Semana ("Weekly Tale") section of the newspaper Diário de Notícias. Starting in 1950 he also authored the column Enriqueça o Seu Vocabulário ("Enrich Your Vocabulary") for the Brazilian edition of Reader's Digest
; these columns were later published as a book.
Between 1954 and 1955 he lectured Brazilian studies at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, on a grant by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.
He was elected a member of the Brazilian Literary Academy on May 4, 1961, and inaugurated on December 18, 1961, taking over seat number 30, formerly of Antônio Austregésilo
.
Inspired by his love of the Portuguese language
, he decided to produce his own dictionary
. After several years of work, in 1975 he published the Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa which would be for many decades the reference lexicon in Brazil — to the point that Aurélio and Aurelião ("big Aurélio") became popular synonyms of dictionary. (It is said that his collaborators once proposed to add that entry to the dictionary, but Aurélio vetoed it.) This book went through dozens of reprints and revisions, and spawned several derivative editions.
Aurélio was also member of the Brazilian Academy of Philology, of the Pen Clube do Brasil (the Brazilian section of the International Writers Association), the Brazilian Folklore Commission, the Alagoas Literary Academy, the Alagoas Historical and Geographical Institute, and the Hispanic Society of America.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian lexicographer, philologist
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, best known for editing the Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa
Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa
The Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa is a comprehensive dictionary of the Portuguese language, published in Brazil, first compiled by Aurélio Buarque de Holanda Ferreira...
, a major dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
of the Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
His family name was originally spelled Hollanda, but was changed to Holanda, presumably to follow the Portuguese spelling reform of 1943
Spelling reforms of Portuguese
This article is about the spelling reforms of the Portuguese language.-Historical background:Portuguese began to be used regularly in documents and poetry around the 12th century...
.
Biography
Aurélio was born in Passo de CamaragibePasso de Camaragibe
Passo de Camaragibe is a municipality located in the northern coast of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. Its population is 13,544 and its area is 187 km²....
, Alagoas
Alagoas
Alagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...
state, Brazil. In 1923 he moved to the state capital Maceió
Maceió
Maceió is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state Alagoas, Brazil. The name "maceió" is of Indian origin, and designates the natural spontaneously courses of water which flow out of the soil...
, where, at only 14 years of age, he gave private lessons of Portuguese language. One year later he became a first-grade teacher at the local high school Ginásio Primeiro de Março.
In 1936 obtained a law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
at the Recife Law School
Faculdade de Direito do Recife
The Faculty of Law of Recife, now called Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Pernambuco , is a law school in the city of Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil.-History:It is one of the first superior education centres created in Brazil; it was created...
in Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, and in that same year he started teaching French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Portuguese grammar, as well as Brazilian
Brazilian literature
Brazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
and Portuguese Literature
Portuguese literature
This is a survey of Portuguese literature.The Portuguese language was developed gradually from the Vulgar language spoken in the countries which formed part of the Roman Empire and, both in morphology and syntax, it represents an organic transformation of Latin without the direct intervention of...
, at the Alagoas State High School in Maceió. In 1937–1938 he also served as director of the Maceió City Public Library.
In 1938 he moved to the city of Rio de Janeiro, where he taught Brazilian and Portuguese Literature at elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
secondary schools including the public Pedro II High School and the private Anglo-American High School.
It was in Rio that he has started his career as a writer, by publishing articles, tales and chronicles in the local press. Bewtween 1939 and 1943, he was acting secretary of the magazine Revista do Brasil.
Aurélio started his career as a lexicographer in 1941, as a collaborator of the Pequeno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa. In 1942 he published a book of short stories, Dois Mundos ("Two Worlds"), which earned him a prize by the prestigious Brazilian Literary Academy
Academia Brasileira de Letras
Academia Brasileira de Letras is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century by a group of 40 writers and poets inspired by the Académie Française. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on December 15, 1896, with the statutes being...
. In 1943 he collaborated with the Dicionário Enciclopédico sponsored by the Brazilian Book Institute. In 1945 he took part in the First Brazilian Writers Conference in São Paulo. Between 1944 and 1949 he was a member of the Brazilian Writers Association (Rio de Janeiro branch).
In 1945 he married Marina Baird, with whom he would have two children — Aurélio and Maria Luísa — and five grandchildren.
Between 1947 and 1960, Aurélio authored various texts for the Conto da Semana ("Weekly Tale") section of the newspaper Diário de Notícias. Starting in 1950 he also authored the column Enriqueça o Seu Vocabulário ("Enrich Your Vocabulary") for the Brazilian edition of Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
; these columns were later published as a book.
Between 1954 and 1955 he lectured Brazilian studies at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, on a grant by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.
He was elected a member of the Brazilian Literary Academy on May 4, 1961, and inaugurated on December 18, 1961, taking over seat number 30, formerly of Antônio Austregésilo
Antônio Austregésilo
Antônio Austregésilo , was a Brazilian neurologist important to the history of the field in his nation....
.
Inspired by his love of the Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, he decided to produce his own dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
. After several years of work, in 1975 he published the Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa which would be for many decades the reference lexicon in Brazil — to the point that Aurélio and Aurelião ("big Aurélio") became popular synonyms of dictionary. (It is said that his collaborators once proposed to add that entry to the dictionary, but Aurélio vetoed it.) This book went through dozens of reprints and revisions, and spawned several derivative editions.
Aurélio was also member of the Brazilian Academy of Philology, of the Pen Clube do Brasil (the Brazilian section of the International Writers Association), the Brazilian Folklore Commission, the Alagoas Literary Academy, the Alagoas Historical and Geographical Institute, and the Hispanic Society of America.
Books
- Dois Mundos (1942).
- O Romance Brasileiro de 1752 a 1930, a survey of Brazilian novels (1952).
- Enriqueça o Seu Vocabulário, collected columns from Seleções do Reader's Digest (1958).
- Território Lírico, essays on poetry (1958).
- Vocabulário Ortográfico Brasileiro (1969).
- O Chapéu de Meu Pai, revised and condensed edition of Dois Mundos, (1974).
- Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, nicknamed "Aurelião" (1975).
- Minidicionário da Língua Portuguesa, nicknamed "Miniaurélio" (1977).
- Dicionário Aurélio Infantil da Língua Portuguesa, a children's dictionary, with illustrations by Ziraldo (1989).
Articles and essays
- Linguagem e Estilo de Eça de Queirós, essay on PortuguesePortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
writer Eça de Queiroz; in Livro do Centenário de Eça de Queirós (1945). - Enriqueça o Seu Vocabulário, monthly columns in Seleções do Reader's Digest (1950–1958).
Translations and critical editions
- Mar de Histórias, with Paulo Rónai, an anthology of tales from the world's literature; volume I (1945), volume II (1951), volume III (1958), volume IV (1963), volume V (1981).
- Poemas de Amor, love poems by AmaruAmaru ShatakaThe Amaruśataka or Amarukaśataka , authored by Amaru , is a collection of poems dated to about the 7th or 8th century....
. - Pequenos Poemas em Prosa, poems by Charles BaudelaireCharles BaudelaireCharles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
. - Contos Gauchescos e Lendas do Sul, tales about Southern Brazil by Simões Lopes Neto (1949).
- Roteiro Literário do Brasil e de Portugal, with Álvaro Lins, an anthology of Portuguese-language literature (1956).
External links
- Biography at the Brazilian Literary Academy site.