George Hadley (orientalist) facts for kids

George Hadley was an English army officer who lived a long time ago. He worked for the East India Company, a powerful trading company. Today, we remember him as an "orientalist." This means he studied languages and cultures from the East, especially India. He is famous for his early work on the Hindustani language.

Early Life and Army Career

George Hadley joined the East India Company's army in 1763. He started as a cadet, which is like a trainee officer. Soon after, he became an officer in Bengal, India. He quickly moved up the ranks. He became a lieutenant in 1764 and a captain in 1760.

Hadley left the army in 1771. He then returned to England. We don't know exactly when he came back. He helped another language expert named William Price. Hadley introduced Price to William Ouseley, who was also a scholar.

George Hadley passed away on September 10, 1798. He died in London, England.

His Work on Languages

As an army commander, Hadley was in charge of soldiers called sepoys. These were Indian soldiers serving the British. At first, Hadley did not know their language, Hindustani. People in England sometimes called it "Moors" back then.

For his own use, Hadley wrote a grammar book for Hindustani in 1765. A copy of his handwritten book was printed in London in 1770. Hadley then worked on a better version. This updated book was called Grammatical Remarks and came out in 1772. He also published a book about the Persian language in 1776. It included a vocabulary list.

Hadley's Hindustani grammar book helped the British in Bengal. It aimed to help them communicate directly with Indians. This meant they didn't need a munshi, who was a language teacher or secretary. His book showed how people spoke at that time. It focused on everyday phrases. He correctly understood that Hindustani was its own language. It was not just a dialect of Persian. Some of his ideas about the language's origins were later disagreed with. A scholar named John Borthwick Gilchrist also criticized his version of Hindustani.

In 1788, a printer named Thomas Briggs asked Hadley for help. Hadley put his name on a book called A New and Complete History of the Town and County of the Town of Kingston-upon-Hull. This book was about the town of Hull.