HOVELACQUE, Alexandre Abel. Paris 14.11.1843 — Paris 22.2.1896. French Iranian Scholar, Linguist and Anthropologist. Born of a family active in textile industry in Lille. Studied first law and took comparative grammar as an additional subject under H. Chavée. In 1869-77 editor of the Revue de linguistique. He became interested in anthropology and became in 1876 Professor of Linguistics at the new School of Anthropology. From 1891 Director of the same school. He was also a politician (radical republican), elected in 1878 in Paris municipal council, in 1886 and 1888 its chairman. In 1889 elected in Parliament, withdraw in 1894. During his last ten years often ill. Married, at least one son. In comparative linguistics he followed Schleicher, as anthropologist he was a racist.
Publications: La théorie spécieuse de lautverschiebung. 16 p. P. 1869; Racines et éléments simples dans le système linguistique indo-européen. 23 p. P. 1869; La linguistique. P. 1876, 2nd ed. 14+435 p. P. 1878, English transl. 1877.
– “De l’Aryaque en français”, RL 1:1-2, 1867, 36-50; “Les éléments de la dérivation”, ibid. 166-203; “Considérations diverses sur les aspirées”, RL 1:3-4, 1868, 253-281; “De la conjugaison du temps présent”, RL 2:1, 1868, 5-39; further articles.
– Grammaire de la langue zend. 12+155 p. P. 1868, 2nd ed. 8+308 p. P. 1878.
– Instructions pour l’étude élémentaire de la linguistique into-européenne. 131 p. P. 1871.
– Euphonie sanskrite. 58 p. P. – Lp. 1872; Mémoire sur la primordialité et la prononciation du R-vocal sanskrit. 29 p. P. 1872.
– “Morale de l’Avesta”, RL 6:3, 1874, 253-266; other articles on the Avesta.
– L’Avesta, Zoroastre et le Mazdeisme. 251 p. P. 1880.
– La langue Khasia étudiée sous la rapport de l’evolution des formes. 41 p. P. 1880.
– With J. Vinson: Études de linguistique et d’ethnographie. 8+375 p. P. 1878; with J. Vinson & E. Rost: Mélanges de linguistique et d’anthropologie. 6+330 p. P. 1880.
– Langues, races, nationalités. 1873, 2nd ed. 40 p. P. 1875; Notre ancêtre: recherches d’anatomie & d’ethnologie sur le précurseur de l’homme. 105 p. P. 1877, 2nd ed. 1878; Les débuts de l’humanité. 4+336 p. P. 1881; Les races humaines: l’homme primitif contemporain. 4+336 p. P. 1882; Les Negres de l’Afrique sus-équatoriale (Sénégambie, Guinée, Soudan, Haut-Nil). 14+468 p. P. 1889.
– With G. Hervé: Précis d’anthropologie. 11+654 p. P. 1887; Recherches ehtnologiques sur le Morvan. 256 p. P. 1894.
Sources: D. Baggioni, Lex. gramm. 1996, 470f.; G. Vinson, JRAS 1896, 369f.; *J. Vinson, RL 29, 1896, 66f., 260 & 30, 1897, 1-51, 234-237 (with portrait); Wikipedia with photo (more in French version).
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