Linguist Carme Junyent dies, aged 68

Carme Junyent i Figueras, linguist and professor, has died at the age of 68, her family confirmed on Sunday. 

Born in 1955 in the town of Masquefa, central Catalonia, Junyent was a professor of linguistics at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Barcelona (UB). 

Junyent specialized in endangered languages, linguistic anthropology and languages of immigration in Catalonia. 

She wrote several books and articles on the current situation of languages around the world and on linguistic diversity. 

Junyent was director of the Study Group on Endangered Languages (GELA), president of the Advisory Linguistic Council and was awarded the Sant Jordi Cross in 2019 "for her long career in the study and defense of linguistic diversity in Catalonia and around the world." 

'Les llengües d'Àfrica' (Languages of Africa,1986), 'Les llengües del món' (The World's Languages, 1989), 'Vida i mort de les llengües' (The Life and Death of Languages, 1992), 'Llengua i acollida' (Language and Welcome, 2009), and 'El futur del català depèn de tu' (The Future of Catalan Depends on You, 2020) are some of her works.

Tributes poured in on Sunday from the world of Catalan culture and letters. 

Catalan president Pere Aragonès described Junyent as "a wise and tenacious fighter in the defense and promotion of the language." 

"Her work and commitment to Catalan are her legacy," he said.