Bilbaina linguist Karmele Rotaetxe Amusategi has died at the age of 81, according to the Ertzaintza report. In December 1979, Euskaltzaindia appointed him a member of the Basque Language Academy and in November 2004 a member of honour.

Graduated in Modern Philology, Rotaetxe taught at Deusto University and at UPV/EHU and was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. In 1977 he wrote his thesis on the Basque in Ondarroa, under the direction of Koldo Mitxelena.