Last November 11, Professor Vidal Lamíquiz Ibáñez passed away in Madrid at the age of 80. Born in Vitoria in 1930, after his training and doctorate in Philology Románica at the Complutense University of Madrid (1965), he extended programs of study and obtained the doctorate in Linguistics at the University of Paris (Sorbonne, 1966-1968). There he carried out teaching tasks and acquired a structural and functional linguistic base training that marked his future university research and teaching . And there he also met his inseparable Marie France Pierron.

His teaching has been developed, fundamentally, in the Universities of Seville and the UNED. Many graduating classes of students from Seville benefited from his A ability to make the scientific didactic, to place in its right place many of the complex and debated linguistic issues. His guide de Lingüística española, which has gone through multiple editions, as well as his monographs and abundant scientific articles, are a faithful reflection of what I have just said.

The speech of Seville

During the long years of director of department of language Spanish of the University of Seville (1971-1985), in addition to directing numerous thesis and works of research, he launched and promoted with special dynamism the project Sociolinguistic study of the speech of Seville, when sociolinguistics was still little cultivated in our university environment. The result of this initiative and of the research team he created has been the series of volumes entitled Sociolingüística andaluza, where the materials and analyses of the aforementioned work have been collected.

From 1987 until his retirement he occupied the Chair of the UNED, where, with his usual open and enterprising spirit, he continued directing thesis and works of research, organizing courses and seminars and visiting Spanish and foreign scientific and university institutions. From 1994 to 1998 he was director of the department of language Spanish and General Linguistics of that University. Vidal Lamíquiz was a founding member of the Spanish Society of Linguistics (1970) and of the association of History of the Spanish language (1986).

A numerous group of disciples and colleagues, coordinated by Pedro Carbonero, Pilar Gómez Manzano and who signature this grade obituary, dedicated to Professor Vidal Lamíquiz, now 10 years ago, a voluminous tribute book, graduate language and speech, of recognition and gratitude to who was still a generous teacher and friend; a friend, if sparing in words -as it fulfills a good Basque- long in realities of affection and service. May God, rich in mercy, reward him for what his disciples and colleagues have received from him and did not know how to thank him in life.