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Maurice Delafosse (20 December 1870 – 13 November 1926) was a French
Delafosse was born on 20 December 1870 in the village of
here
*. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. *. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. Also available from th
Open Library
*. Gallica: Volume 1
Le Pays, les Peuples, les Langues
Volume 2
L'Histoire
Volume 3
Les Civilisations
*. Volume 1 is the Arabic text, Volume 2 is a translation into French. Reprinted b
in 1964 and 1981. The French text is als
available
from Aluka but requires a subscription. * *. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. * . *.
1870 births Delafoss, Maurice Linguists of Mande languages {{france-academic-bio-stub
Maurice Delafosse (20 December 1870 – 13 November 1926) was a French ethnographer
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
and colonial official who also worked in the field of the languages of Africa
The languages of Africa are divided into several major language families:
* Niger–Congo or perhaps Atlantic–Congo languages (includes Bantu and non-Bantu, and possibly Mande and others) are spoken in West, Central, Southeast and Southe ...
. In a review of his daughter's biography of him he was described as "one of the most outstanding French colonial administrators and ethnologists of his time."
Career
Delafosse was born on 20 December 1870 in the village of Sancergues
Sancergues () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
Geography
A farming area comprising a village and several hamlets situated about northeast of Bourges, at the junction of the N151 with the D72, D6 and ...
in central France. He was the son of René Françoise Célestin Delafosse and Elise Marie Bidault and had five siblings.
Delafosse is known for his contributions to West African history and African languages. He began his study of Arabic in 1890 at the École des langues orientales
Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales ( en, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French university specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. ...
with the renowned orientalist, Octave Houdas. He traveled to Algeria in 1891 with the Frères armés du Sahara, a Catholic organization concerned with combating the Trans-Saharan slave trade. Shortly afterwards, he spent one year in the French military as a zouave
The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...
, second class, before returning to his formal studies at the École des langues orientales. After receiving his diploma, he was appointed as an assistant to Indigenous Affairs in the new French colony of Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre ...
. For a period the future ethnologist Charles Monteil
Charles Monteil (22 February 1871 – 20 April 1949) was a French civil servant who combined a career in the administration with studies in the ethnology, languages and history of French West Africa.
Career
Early years (1871–93)
Charles Montei ...
was his assistant in the Côte d'Ivoire.
Delafosse had disagreements with the French government over the administration of French Africa
French Africa includes all the historic holdings of France on the African continent.
Françafrique
French North Africa
* Egypt (1798-1801)
* French Algeria (1830–1962)
* Protectorate of Tunisia (1881–1956)
* Protectorate in Morocco (1 ...
, and, as a result, was "more or less banned from the colonies" for a large part of his life.
Selected publications
*. *. *. Also available from the Internet Archivhere
*. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. *. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. Also available from th
Open Library
*. Gallica: Volume 1
Le Pays, les Peuples, les Langues
Volume 2
L'Histoire
Volume 3
Les Civilisations
*. Volume 1 is the Arabic text, Volume 2 is a translation into French. Reprinted b
in 1964 and 1981. The French text is als
available
from Aluka but requires a subscription. * *. Also available from the Internet Archiv
here
*. * . *.
References
Sources
* * * A biography by his daughter. *Further reading
* * *. * *External links
*1870 births Delafoss, Maurice Linguists of Mande languages {{france-academic-bio-stub