Noël François de Wailly facts for kids

Noël François de Wailly (born July 31, 1724 – died April 7, 1801) was a French expert in language. He was known as a grammarian (someone who studies grammar) and a lexicographer (someone who writes dictionaries).

Life and Work

Noël François de Wailly was born in a city called Amiens in France. He studied with teachers named Joseph Valart and Philippe de Prétot.

He spent most of his life in Paris, the capital of France. For many years, he ran a special school there. Many people from other countries came to his school to learn the French language.

In 1754, de Wailly published an important book called Principes généraux de la langue française. This book completely changed how grammar was taught in France. The University of Paris decided to use it as a main textbook. It became widely used across France. A shorter version was even made for younger students in primary schools.

In 1771, de Wailly published another book. It was called Moyens simples et raisonnés de diminuer les imperfections de notre orthographe. In this book, he suggested using phonetic spelling. This means spelling words the way they sound.

Noël François de Wailly was also a member of the Institute from the very beginning in 1795. He played a big part in creating the famous Dictionnaire de l'Académie, which is a very important French dictionary.

Besides the books already mentioned, he also wrote L'Orthographe des dames (1782) and Le Nouveau Vocabulaire français, ou abrégé du dictionnaire de l'Académie (1801).

Noël François de Wailly had a famous brother, Charles De Wailly, who was an architect. His grandson, Natalis de Wailly, became an archivist and librarian.

See also

• In Spanish: Noël François De Wailly para niños