International honour for Oxford language expert

Arts 06 Jan 11 An Oxford University professor has become only the second living British expert of the arts to be elected a foreign member of Portugal's national academy. Professor Tom Earle, King John II Professor of Portuguese Studies at Oxford, has been made a corresponding fellow of the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa - Classe de Letras , the equivalent of the UK's British Academy and Royal Society combined. He has lectured at Oxford for more than 40 years specialising in Portuguese Renaissance literature. The period saw Portuguese adventurers discover Brazil, an eastern route to India and colonise parts of Africa. It was a time when Portuguese prose and poetry developed rapidly. 'This accolade is a great honour,' Professor Earle said. 'As a foreigner I have been received into a body that recognises outstanding achievements by scholars of Portugal in the sciences and arts.' For two years, Professor Earle was Oxford's only student of Portuguese.