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Most younger generation Basques these days have heard of Mikel Morris; if not of the man himself then of his dictionary, today the most widely-used Basque-English, English-Basque dictionaries in use and the first in history expressly written for Basque-speakers.

Perhaps marked by some nomadic early years and armed with a desire to learn Spanish, Mikel first landed in Pamplona in 1975 at the age of 18. He discovered a much-depleted, though very much alive Euskera, a language he previously assumed to be extinct and which filled him with curiosity: ''I graduated a year early so I decided I would do something crazy like learn Basque. I came expecting to stay for one year, but I started my dictionary and, as they say, the rest is history.''

The story behind Mikel''s mammoth 19-year effort to write and publish his dictionaries is long. Though it''s perhaps impossible to entirely separate the man from his work, in the first of two interviews I was interested to learn more about the man behind his three publications: what makes an 18-year-old American decide to learn Basque, settle within a previously unknown culture and some years later set his mind on learning Thai?

''My father worked for a big oil company. Every two or three years his company told him to go to a different place and he uprooted all of us and we went wherever his company beckoned.''

One of those moves included two years in Angola where a ten-year ''Michael'' became fluent in Portuguese. Undoubtedly such rootlessness can be a disadvantage, but perhaps it also teaches you to be more open to new cultures and experiences? ''You learn there is no paradise on earth;.. to have a cosmopolitan outlook... to take things in your stride, accept people as they are; I mean, (as) imperfect beings.'' Did this realisation prepare him for life in the Basque Country? Especially as here sentiments towards North Americans can be notoriously reticent. ''I got used to the fact that everybody hates Americans. Everybody expected me to be a vociferous defender of Ronald Reagan. When I said I didn''t care nobody believed me. Some even thought I was in the CIA; "why would an American learn Basque? Of course, the CIA."'' Luckily he took such flagrant accusations on the chin. ''"Well if you think I''m from the CIA just don''t tell me where the cache of weapons is"!''

Was this the biggest culture shock he experienced? Mikel says he feels he lost his ''Americanness'' when, after two years in Africa the family returned to Jackson, Mississippi in the middle of desegregation and the locals took exception to his semi-British accent. "Can you imagine living for a year and a half without any friends, mostly enemies?

''Going to a third world state like Mississippi; the poorest, where the whites were Ku Klux Klan and the blacks were poor... that''s what I was faced with; thank God it was only a year and a half.''

He agrees that experiences like his could make you immune to culture shock, but also admits he used to find his residual American politeness clashing with Basque coarseness: ''I always thought they were angry at me; I couldn''t understand why they were angry at me!''

These days it''s clear Mikel has found his niche within Basque society, his mastery of the language testimony to the extent of his integration. Despite that, there''s no denying he had to battle to make his way here. Until 1987, while struggling to produce his first dictionary, work was irregular leading him to open his academy. ''I didn''t really have an alternative; in those days I wasn''t a Spanish citizen and even though you''re a native speaker that''s not enough in this country; it''s not what you know, it''s who you know. And you have to have Spanish qualifications.''

Mikel and his wife Maite have three children aged 19 to 25, all of whom speak perfect English in addition to Basque and Spanish. Which brings us onto another curious cultural divide: ''I used to do an experiment with my kids when we went to the States; I''d ask my nieces, "what''s the name of your teacher?" and they''d say "Mrs Brown". And then I''d ask my kids: "what''s the name of your teacher?" and they''d answer "Baa, Carmen, Karmele.." "OK," I''d say, "and what''s Karmele''s last name?" - "I don''t know." Then I''d ask my nieces, "What''s Mrs Brown''s first name?" Answer: "I don''t know"!

Despite some Basques thinking Mikel was a member of the CIA, they were also free of the type of prejudices he had faced from his fellow-Americans such as on his return from Angola: ''When I came here it was easy to talk to people. Also, the discovery of ''the dinner''; people know how to have dinner better... just how to eat it.''

Talking of food then, it''s typical to hear Basques extolling the virtues of their cuisine. Is it really as good as they think it is? ''No country has the monopoly on good food. No, the world is bigger than that.'' I suggest that, as an also-foreigner in this country, what''s really so much better here is the attitude towards eating. He agrees: ''A couple of years ago I went to an Indian restaurant in America and it was quite interesting but after a couple of hours the others said "gotta go." I thought: they just don''t have time; they''re off to do nothing.''

So finally onto even lighter things: as one linguist to another, where does his love of languages come from? ''Who knows? I remember when I was a kid there was a magazine called Highlight and they had a section on how to say a certain word, for example mother in 20 different languages. That was incredible. I always looked forward to that.''

What does a man who writes dictionaries do to relax? ''Watch a movie. My favourite is The Man who Would be King by John Huston, 1975, with Michael Caine and Sean Connery. I could watch that movie a hundred times.'' No surprise, perhaps, that what appeals to Mikel about the film is its theme of ''weird cultures… cultural developments; people saying they''re superior when they''re not.'' Something close to his heart perhaps? ''In Angola I went to a British school. I had to learn British history, from a British perspective. Since then I don''t assume anything as what they say.'' And his favourite book? ''I like Treasure Island. The story might be simple, but I really like that book. Robert Louis Stevenson is probably my favourite writer.''