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Agustín García Calvo [Zamora·Spain 1926] He is an emeritus cathedratic in Classical Philology at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. Thinker, linguist, writer, translator, poet... Awarded with the Premio Nacional de Ensayo 1990, Premio Nacional de Literatura Dramática 2003 and Premio Nacional de Traducción 2006. Author of numerous works of diverse genres. (His complete works have been published by Editorial Lucina, Zamora). It’s worth to mention his endeavour to continue practising the Socratic method by talking directly with his audience in the many issues of his “Tertulia Política” at the Ateneo de Madrid, every Wednesday at eight thirty p.m. [+ info, spanish] "Either Line or Dot" His conference confronts the definition of a straight line by two dots with the creation of a dot by two straight lines, and fathom thereof the problems in the relations between ideas and reality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . José Antonio Millán [Madrid·Spain 1954]  listen to interview at "Cápsula"
[Spanish only]José Antonio Millán is a linguist interested in signs (about which he published ¡No! and ¡Contra!, Gustavo Gili) and in etymology (El candidato melancólico. De dónde vienen las palabras, cómo viajan, por qué cambian, y qué historias cuentan, RBA). Regarding punctuation he wrote Perdón imposible. Guía para una puntuación más rica y consciente (RBA) and an introduction for children: Me como esa coma. ¡Glups! Parece que la puntuación es importante... (Serres) His website verses about this and many other things: http://jamillan.com The graphic representation of language in the Western World The graphic representation of language in the Western World begins as a continuous stream of characters that try to reproduce the continuity of sound emission. The Signs –-dots and lines-– begin to emerge through the centuries trying to indicate pauses and voice inflections, and therefore, the subtleties of meaning itself. The history of dots and lines in written language (what we still call today “punctuation”) narrates the passionate tale of the attempts to write out the human breath. :: listen to JAM at "Cápsula" [La Casa Encendida Radio, Spanish only]  |
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