André Martinet facts for kids

André Martinet (born April 12, 1908, in Saint-Alban-des-Villards, France – died July 16, 1999, in Châtenay-Malabry, France) was a very important French linguist. A linguist is a scientist who studies language. He was famous for his work on how languages are built, which is called structural linguistics. Martinet is especially known for his ideas about how languages use sounds and words efficiently, and how words are made up of smaller parts, a concept called double articulation.

Life and Work

André Martinet studied the English language and became a teacher. He earned his highest university degree, a doctorate, by writing two important papers about language. From 1938 to 1946, he worked as a director of studies at a well-known French school called the École pratique des hautes études. After World War II, he moved to New York City in the United States. He lived there until 1955.

In New York, he led an organization called the International Auxiliary Language Association. This group worked on creating a simple language that people from different countries could use to communicate. He also taught at Columbia University and was the head of the language department there from 1947 to 1955. During this time, he also became the editor of Word, a journal about linguistics. In 1955, he returned to France and continued his work at the École pratique des hautes études. He also became a professor of general linguistics at the Sorbonne and later at Paris V. He stayed very active in his field. He was the president of the European Linguistic Society and helped start the Society for Functional Linguistics. He also started a new journal called La Linguistique.

Martinet was greatly influenced by a group of linguists called the Prague School. He developed a new way of looking at how sentences are put together, which is called a functionalist approach. He wrote more than twenty books about language. These books covered many topics, from how languages change over time to general ideas about language. His most famous book is Elements of General Linguistics, published in 1960. This book has been translated into 17 languages and has taught many students around the world. Other important books he wrote include General Syntax (1985) and The Function and Dynamics of Language (1989). He also wrote a book about his own life and ideas called Memories of a Linguist and the Life of Language.

Personal Life

Martinet was married two times:

• To Karen Martinet (whose maiden name was Mikkelsen Sørensen).
• To Jeanne Martinet (whose maiden name was Allard).

See also

In Spanish: André Martinet para niños

• Double articulation