Gilbert Lazard facts for kids
Gilbert Lazard (born February 4, 1920 – died September 6, 2018) was a very smart French person. He was a linguist, which means he studied languages. He was also an Iranologist, someone who studies the history, languages, and cultures of Iran.
Gilbert Lazard spent his life studying many different things. He looked closely at various Indo-Iranian languages, which are a group of languages spoken in places like India and Iran. He also translated old Persian poems into French. He did a lot of research on how languages are different or similar around the world, especially how they organize their grammar. He even studied some Polynesian languages, like the Tahitian language, which is spoken on the island of Tahiti.
His Studies and Teaching Career
Gilbert Lazard went to a very important French school called the École normale supérieure. He finished his studies there in 1946. He also earned a special diploma in the Persian language in 1948 from another school, which is now called the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO).
After finishing his education, he became a professor of Persian at INALCO. He taught there from 1958 to 1966.
From 1951 to 1969, he was in charge of a course about Iranian culture at the famous Sorbonne. He became a lecturer there in 1960 and then a full professor in 1966. He taught about Iranian language and culture.
Later, from 1969 to 1981, he taught at the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle. He was the head of the department that studied Eastern cultures from 1969 to 1974. He also led the Institute for Iranian studies from 1972 to 1987.
Important Research Roles
From 1972 to 1990, Gilbert Lazard held a special research position. He was a research director for linguistics and Iranian studies at the École pratique des hautes études.
He also led research teams. From 1972 to 1983, he guided a team that studied Iranian language, literature, and culture. This team worked with the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), which is a big French research organization, and the University of Paris III.
From 1984 to 1993, he was in charge of a CNRS research group. This group looked at how different languages show who is doing an action in a sentence.
Joining Important Groups
On November 14, 1980, Gilbert Lazard was chosen to be a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. This is a very respected group of scholars in France.
He was also a member of many other important groups that studied languages and cultures. These included the Association pour l’avancement des études iraniennes, the Société de linguistique de Paris, the Société asiatique, and the Association for Linguistic Typology.
