Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales ( en, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations), abbreviated as INALCO, is a

French university This List of universities and colleges in France includes universities and other higher education institutes that provide both education curricula and related degrees up to doctoral degree and also contribute to research activities. They are the b ...

specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. Its coverage spans languages of Central Europe, Africa, Asia,

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and Oceania. It is also informally called ''Langues’O'' (), an abbreviation for ''Langues orientales''.

History

* 1669

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

founds the ''École des jeunes de langues'' language school * 1795 The ''École spéciale des langues orientales'' (Special School for Oriental Languages) is established * 1873 The two schools merge * 1914 The school is renamed the ''École nationale des langues orientales vivantes'' (ENLOV) * 1971 The school is renamed the ''Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales'' or Inalco (National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations) * 1982 ''Études Océan Indien'' (Indian Ocean Studies) journal begins publication; * 1985 Inalco is recognized as a ''

grand établissement Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

'' * 2010 Inalco becomes a founding member of

Sorbonne Paris Cité Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

* 2011 Inalco centralizes all of its taught courses under one roof at ''65 rue des Grands Moulins in Paris''

Teaching and research

Courses

The undergraduate, graduate and continuing education courses offered at Inalco allow students to gain: * mastery of a language and a thorough knowledge of the corresponding civilization over a degree program; * specific expertise to complement other qualifications. These courses lead to career paths in international business, international relations, communication and intercultural training, language teaching and multilingual computing. * Bachelor's degrees: courses by language and region that can include a professional specialization. * Master's degrees: regional programs targeting a research discipline or professional direction. * Doctorate: PhD research at Inalco's Doctoral School. * Diplomas: certificates, introductory diplomas, language and civilization diplomas, professional master's degrees.

Success and failure

Compared to other French universities, many programs at INALCO show high failure rates, i.e. high proportions of students failing the course in their end-of-year exam. This is particularly true among students specializing in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian and Arabic, historically the largest departments of INALCO. As an example, with approximate student numbers, indicating rates of success and failure in the first, second and third year of the Department of Japanese Studies. An explanation sometimes given is the difficulty of these courses, or the high level required by INALCO. A more likely cause is the absence of any entrance examination: any student can register in any course, regardless of their true motivation or academic level. Many students select a language out of a superficial interest in a country or culture, or due to individual connections, yet without the commitment to thoroughly learning those difficult languages. This issue is particularly acute for first and second year students; those who reach the third year are much more motivated, and thus show much higher rates of success.

Research

Research at Inalco combines area studies and academic fields. Researchers study languages and civilizations that are increasingly in the spotlight – Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and as far as the Arctic – and are central to the major issues of the 21st century. Fourteen research teams, often partnered with other research organizations, PhD programs, and a publishing service form the backbone of research at Inalco. Inalco also has a project management and knowledge transfer service. The research teams, administration offices and doctoral school are housed in a building dedicated entirely to research, with access to a full range of support functions: assistance in preparing research proposals and grant applications, organizing scientific events, looking for partnerships and funding, publication support, internal funding, and communication. * 270 faculty members * 300 PhD students * 14 research teams * 100 scientific events per year

Presidents (from 1914 to 1969, Administrators)

International

Inalco conducts research projects in over one hundred countries and offers joint programs with foreign universities. This allows Inalco students and the students of international partners to complement their studies with an immersion experience. Inalco offers distance courses via videoconferencing and online learning content: Inuktitut (Inuit language), Estonian, and soon Swahili (African language). Inalco is an active member of Sorbonne Paris Cité, with 120,000 students, 8,500 faculty members, and 6,000 technical and administrative staff. Branches have been opened in Singapore, Buenos Aires and São Paulo. The foundation strives to develop the preservation, study, transmission, development and interaction of languages and cultures in France and around the world with projects involving the institute's expertise: education, research, advancing knowledge and skills in a globalized world. More than 120 nationalities are represented by Inalco faculty and students. The institute, along with its teachers, students and partners, organizes over a hundred cultural events a year. Inalco also participates in several international film festivals and makes every effort to share its knowledge and expertise with society.

Notable professors and alumni

Doris Bensimon Doris Bensimon (also known as, Doris Bensimon-Donath, 1924 – 8 December 2009) was an Austrian-born French sociologist and academic whose research focused on the study of contemporary Judaism. She taught at the University of Caen and Institut na ...

Luce Boulnois Lucette Boulnois (1931–2009) was a French historian of the Silk Road and trans-Himalayan trade. Her career was book-ended by her seminal 1963 book ''La route de la soie'', which was translated into nine languages, and her 2001 elaboration on tha ...

Louis-Jacques Bresnier Louis-Jacques Bresnier (11 April 1814 – 21 June 1869) was a 19th-century French orientalist. He died in Algiers of a stroke while entering the library where he would give his lesson. He began his own oriental studies as an autodidact and brou ...

Marianne Bastid-Bruguière Marianne Bastid-Bruguière is a French sinologist. Biography Marianne Bastid-Bruguière () was born on 13 November 1940. She is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale des Langues et Civilisations Orientales and Peking University. From 1969, she has wo ...

Auguste Carrière Auguste Carrière (19 August 1838, Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux – 25 January 1902, Paris) was a linguist, grammarian and French historian, specializing in comparative grammar and Armenian culture. He was a professor at the Institut national des langues ...

Léon Damas Léon-Gontran Damas (March 28, 1912 – January 22, 1978) was a French poet and politician. He was one of the founders of the Négritude movement. He also used the pseudonym Lionel Georges André Cabassou. Biography Léon Damas was born in Cay ...

Luc-Willy Deheuvels Luc-Willy Deheuvels is a French agrégé in the Arabic language, a university professor at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), the director of the Research Center for the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea ...

Bernard Faure Bernard Faure (born 1948) is a Franco-American author and scholar of Asian religions, who focuses on Chan/Zen and Japanese esoteric Buddhism. His work draws on cultural theory, anthropology, and gender studies. He is currently a Kao Professor of ...

* Edgar Faure * François Godement * Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer * Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark *

Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 5 June 1962), is the second child and first daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and the younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe. She is married to Pri ...

Iaroslav Lebedynsky Iaroslav Lebedynsky, born in Paris in 1960, is a French historian of Ukrainian origin, a specialist in ancient warrior cultures of the steppe and the Caucasus, and a prolific author in that field. He has also translated seven books on history or la ...

Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under Lo ...

* Jean-Jacques Origas * Trinidad Pardo de Tavera * Patrick Poivre d'Arvor *

Dagpo Rinpoche Dagpo Rinpoche (born 1932), also known as Bamchoe Rinpoche, is a lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Biography Born in Dhagpo, located in southeastern U-Tsang in Tibet, Dagpo Rinpoche was recognized by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama as the re ...

* Olivier Roy *

Léopold de Saussure Léopold de Saussure (30 May 1866 – 30 July 1925) was a Swiss-born French sinologist, pioneering scholar of ancient Chinese astronomy, and officer in the French navy. After a naval career which took him to Indochina, China, and Japan, he left ...

* Aurélien Sauvageot *

Johann Gustav Stickel Johann Gustav Stickel (7 July 1805 – 21 January 1896) was a German theologian, orientalist and numismatist at Jena University. Biography Stickel was born in Eisenach in 1805. He went to school in Buttelstedt and in Weimar. In his youth he ...

* Princess Fawzia-Latifa of Egypt *

Jonathan Lacôte Jonathan Lacôte (born 15 September 1972) is a French diplomat who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia from 2017 to 2021. Biography Jonathan Lacôte attended school in Hove (United Kingdom), Treillière ...

, French Ambassador to Armenia

References

External links

Inalco official websiteAlumni website
{{Coord, 48, 49, 39, N, 2, 22, 35, E, type:edu_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Langues et civilisations orientales, Institut national des Langues et civilisations orientales, Institut national des 1795 establishments in France 13th arrondissement of Paris Research institutes of Sinology