Paul Édouard Passy (1859 – November 1940) was a French linguist and phonetician.
Early life and education
editPaul Édouard Passy was born in 1859, the son of Frédéric Passy, a French economist and pacifist (and future winner of the Nobel Peace Prize).[1]: 241
As a child, Paul Passy never attended school. Instead, he was given a progressive upbringing by his father, learning four languages without formal education.[2]: 21 He reluctantly attended university, failing the Licence three times.[2]: 21 He soon began studying philology, however, and developed an interest in linguistics.[2]: 21 At nineteen years old, he began working as an English and German teacher in order to avoid military service.[2]: 21
Career
editEarly career
editIn 1886, Passy founded a society for English teachers called the "fonètic tîtcerz' asóciécon" (Phonetic Teachers' Association]]; FTA), working as a pressure group for language teaching methodology.[2]: 21 Passy was appointed its President upon formation, and his brother Jean was made Secretary.[2]: 21 The group began publishing a journal Dhi Fonètik Tîtcer (The Phonetic Teacher) in the same year.[2]: 21
In 1887, he published Les Sons de français (The Sounds of French), which was later translated into English by Daniel Jones and Douglas Savory as The Sounds of the French Language.[2]: 23
Soon, the FTA began to gain the attention of prominent phoneticians and philologists, such as Henry Sweet, Wilhelm Viëtor, and Otto Jespersen.[2]: 21 In 1889, it changed its name to the L'Association Phonétique des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (The Phonetics Association of Modern Language Teachers; AP) in order to appeal to a wider variety of language teachers, and not just those of English.[2]: 21 The group's journal changed its name to Le Maître Phonétique (The Phonetic Master) and began being published in Passy's variant of Sweet's Sweet Romic alphabet: this eventually evolved into the International Phonetic Alphabet.[2]: 21
In 1891, Passy was awarded his doctorate for a thesis on phonetic sound change entitled Etudes sur les changements phonétiques (Studies on Phonetic Changes).[2]: 21 His work was seemingly appreciated, as he was appointed to the specially-created Chair of Phonetics at the École des Hautes Études (School for Advanced Studies) and became its Assistant Director in 1897.[2]: 21
In 1897, he worked with Hermann Michaelis to edit the Dictionnaire phonétique de la langue française (Phonetic Dictionary of the French Language). The dictionary was the first attempt at a pronouncing guide of any European language using IPA symbols. It worked as the model for Michaelis and Jones' Phonetic Dictionary of the English Langauge in 1913.[2]: 23
In 1897, the AP changed its name to the Association phonétique internationale (International Phonetic Association) and Passy took over as Secretary, following his brother's tuberculosis;[2]: 21–2 Jean Passy died in 1898.
In 1905, Daniel Jones joined the International Phonetic Association.[2]: 22
In 1906, Passy published Petite phonétique comparée (Small Comparative Phonetics), a brief exploration of comparative phonetics.[2]: 23
In 1913, Passy was dismissed from the École des Hautes Études on political grounds, returning after World War I.[2]: 21 He retired from the school in 1926.[2]: 21
In 1927, Passy retired as Secretary of the International Phonetic Association and was succeeded in the post by Jones.[2]: 23
From 1930 until 1932, Passy wrote and published a two-part autobiography, Souvenirs d'un socialiste chrétien (Souvenirs of a Christian Socialist).[2]: 23
Christian socialism and Liéfra
editAfter retiring, Passy became deeply involved with the ideas of Christian socialism.[2]: 23
With these Christian and socialist ideas in mind, he set up a "co-operative agricultural commune" for working-class men near Fontette.[2]: 23 The commune was named Liéfra after the first syllables of the French national motto liberté, égalité, fraternité.[2]: 23 While there, he attempted to live a rustic lifestyle, combining fundamental Christianity and socialism with language teaching and learning.[2]: 23
In the 1930s, Liéfra was visited by David Abercrombie and Marguerite Chappalaz, who witnessed the primitive conditions which Passy imposed upon himself.[2]: 23
Death
editPassy died in Paris in November 1940.[1]: 241 Due to the disruption caused by World War II, news of Passy's death did not reach Daniel Jones until the following year.[1]: 241
Personal life
editLegacy
editPassy is largely remembered for his contributions to the creation of the International Phonetic Association, with M. K. C. MacMahon saying:
We all owe him a great debt of gratitude, for it was his unswerving belief in phonetics, which at times had almost a religious fervour to it, coupled with his prodigious energy and enthusiasm, that really laid the firm foundations for our present-day IPA.[3]: 37
Selected works
editBooks
editTitle | English translation/transcription | Time of first publication | First edition publisher/publication | Unique identifier | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Les Sons de français | The Sounds of French | 1887 | OCLC 459815087 | Translated into English by Daniel Jones and Douglas Savory | |
Etudes sur les changements phonétiques | Studies on Phonetic Changes | 1891 | OCLC 1171411690 | Doctoral thesis | |
Dictionnaire phonétique de la langue française | Phonetic Dictionary of the French Language | 1897 | OCLC 221511977 | Edited with Hermann Michaelis | |
Petite phonétique comparée | Small Comparative Phonetics | 1906 | OCLC 499107355 | ||
Souvenirs d'un socialiste chrétien | Souvenirs of a Christian Socialist | 1932 | OCLC 79207060 | Two-part autobiography |
Articles
editTitle | English translation | Time of publication | Journal | Volume (Issue) | Page range | Unique identifier | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
References
edit- ^ a b c Delattre, Pierre (1942). "Paul Passy, or the Return to Elementals". Books Abroad. 16 (3). University of Oklahoma. doi:10.2307/40082773. ISSN 0006-7431. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (2012). The Real Professor Higgins: The Life and Career of Daniel Jones. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-081236-7. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ MacMahon, M. K. C. (1986). "The International Phonetic Association: The first 100 years". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 16. ISSN 0025-1003. Retrieved 6 August 2020.