André Martinet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

André Martinet (Saint-Alban-des-Villards, 12 April 1908 - Châtenay-Malabry, 16 July 1999) was a French linguist, influential by his work on structural linguistics.

Martinet agregated in English and received his doctorate after submitting (as is traditional in France) two theses: La Gémination consonantique d'origine expressive dans les langues germaniques and La Phonologie du mot en danois. From 1938 to 1946 he was the director of studies of the École Pratique des Hautes Études. Following World War II he moved to New York, where he was to remain until 1955.

During his time in New York Martinet directed the International Auxiliary Language Association and taught at Columbia University, where he served as chair of the department from 1947-1955. During this time he also became editor of Word, a linguistics journal. In 1955 he returned to his position at École Pratique des Hautes Études and took up a chair in general linguistics at the Sorbonne, and then Paris V. He continued to be active professionally, serving as president for the European Linguistic Society, and founded both the Society for Functional Linguistics and the journal La Linguistique.

The Prague School of linguistics was one of Martinet's main influences, and he is known for pioneeting a functionalist approach to syntax (Langue et Fonction, 1962). He wrote over twenty books on topics ranging from historical linguistics (Économie des changements phonétiques, 1955) to general linguistic theory. His most widely known work, Elements of General Linguistics (1960) has been translated into seventeen languages and has influenced a generation of students both in France and abroad. Other works include General Syntax (1953), The Function and Dynamics of Language (1989), and an intellectual autobiography entitled Memories of a Linguist and the Life of Language.