Claude Victor André Marcel Knight, Leg Hon (1793-17 January 1876) was a French diplomat and language teacher who served in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

as an official representative of the

French government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...

between 1816 and c. 1864 and was additionally a teacher of French and the author of a two-volume study of

language education Language education – the process and practice of teaching a second or foreign language – is primarily a branch of applied linguistics, but can be an interdisciplinary field. There are four main learning categories for language educatio ...

published in London in 1853 under the title ''Language as a Means of Mental Culture and International Communication; or, Manual of the Teacher and the Learner of Languages''. Most of the dissertation's biographical information on Marcel comes from an enquiry which A.P.R. Howatt made to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (archives and documentation section) He has been seen as pioneer of

applied linguistics Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...

. Claude Victor André Marcel was born and educated in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

he served in the army of

Napoléon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and was wounded. In 1816, soon after the end of the war he took up an honorary post as Chancellor in the French Consulate in Cork in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, then part of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He was to remain there until he retired to

in at least the late 1860s, except for a short interruption caused by the

French Revolution of 1830 The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

. Aside from his diplomatic duties he became a successful teacher of English, attracting local dignitaries including two bishops to his lessons. Marcel published his first work, ''Practical Method of Teaching the Living Languages, Applied to the French, in which Several Defects of the Old Method are Pointed Out and Remedied'' in London in 1820 under the name 'C.V.A. Marcel'. In 1833 he self-published ''Méthode Marcellienne, ou methode naturelle théorisée in London'' for limited distribution, under the name 'M. Annibal Marcel'. In 1853 his major work, the ''Language as a Means of Mental Culture and International Communication'' was also published in London, privately and for limited distribution. The government of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

made Marcel a knight of the Légion d'honneur as well as elevating his mission in Cork to a full consulate and rewarding him with an increased salary and a bonus. After his retirement in the late 1850s Marcel issued a number of publications, often re-presenting the ideas of ''Language as a Means of Mental Culture and International Communication''. In the 1870s he published learning materials including English grammar tables and various readers. At the time of his death he appears to have been working on a comparative grammar of French and English.

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