René Basset (24July 18554January 1924) was a French orientalist, specialist of the

Berber language The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...

and the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

Biography

René Basset was the first director of the "École des lettres d'Alger" created in 1879 during the French colonisation of Algeria. A member of the

société Asiatique The Société Asiatique (Asiatic Society) is a French learned society dedicated to the study of Asia. It was founded in 1822 with the mission of developing and diffusing knowledge of Asia. Its boundaries of geographic interest are broad, ranging ...

of Paris as well as those of Leipzig and Florence, he collaborated with the ''

Journal Asiatique The ''Journal asiatique'' (full earlier title ''Journal Asiatique ou Recueil de Mémoires, d'Extraits et de Notices relatifs à l'Histoire, à la Philosophie, aux Langues et à la Littérature des Peuples Orientaux'') is a biannual peer-reviewed ac ...

'' and studied Chinese

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

André Basset André Basset (4 August 1895 – 24 January 1956) was a French linguist. René Basset was his father and Henri Basset his older brother. Bibliography *1929: ''La langue berbère. Morphologie. Le verbe: étude de thèmes'', Paris, Leroux. ied ...

and Henri Basset were his sons.

Publications

*''Étude sur la zenatia du Mzab'' '' *''Notes de lexicographie berbère'', 1887. sur le site Archive *''La Religion des Berbères'' de l’antiquité jusqu’à l'islam,

Les Belles Lettres Les Belles Lettres is a French publisher specialising in the publication of ancient texts such as the '' Collection Budé''. The publishing house, originally named ''Société Les Belles Lettres pour le développement de la culture classique'', ...

*''Prières des musulmans chinois'', Éditions , 1878 *''Les Manuscrits arabes de la Zaouia d'El Hamel'', Etablissement typographique Florentin, 1897 *''Recherches sur la religion des Berbères'', 1910. *Son anthologie ''Mille et un contes, récits et légendes arabes'' a été rééditée sous la direction de , chez

José Corti José Corti is a bookshop and publishing house located in Paris, France, and was founded in 1925. It is named after its founder, José Corticchiato (14 January 1895 – 25 December 1984). José Corticchiato started his business by publishing the ...

, Collection Merveilleux n° 29, 2005, 2 tomes, 504 et 702 p. (édition originale parue en 1924 chez Maisonneuve frères).

Honours

*Commandeur of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

*Officiere of the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

*Grand-officier of the Nichan Iftikhar *Commandeur of the

Order of Menelik II The Imperial Order of Emperor Menelik II is an Ethiopian order established in 1924 by then-Regent Tafari Makonnen, during the reign of Empress Zewditu I, in order to honor the memory of Emperor Menelik II. The Imperial Order was often referred to ...

*Chevalier of the

Order of St. Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

References

Bibliography

* . * Guy Basset, « Basset, René (1855-1924) », in ''L'Algérie et la France'', (p. 96–97) {{DEFAULTSORT:Basset, Rene 1855 births People from Lunéville 1924 deaths French orientalists Linguists from France Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester French Arabists Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Berberologists