Famous French Linguists

Luce Irigaray is a Belgian-born French philosopher, feminist, linguist, psychoanalyst, psycholinguist, and cultural theorist. She is best known for her research that examined the role of language in relation to women. Luce Irigaray's 1974 book Speculum of the Other Woman analyzes the texts of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Freud, Descartes, and Hegel through the lens of phallocentrism.

Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron was a French orientalist, considered to be the first professional French Indologist. He is credited to have created the blueprint for the new professional field. He developed an early interest in oriental languages as a young man and traveled to India to study Indian languages. He also had a keen interest in the occult. 

Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon was a French-Spanish physician and translator. Many among his extant translated works include the works of famous philosophers like Bahya ibn Paquda, Saadia, Solomon ibn Gabirol, and Judah ha-Levi into Hebrew. Although he was born in Spain, Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon spent much of his career in France, where he died in 1190.   

Sylvain Lévi was a French indologist and orientalist. He taught Indian religion and Sanskrit at the École pratique des hautes études, which helped increase India's popularity in Europe. Sylvain Lévi is perhaps best remembered for his book Théâtre Indien, which is based on Indian performance art.

Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon was a French Jewish physician, astronomer, and translator. A highly respected physician, Jacob also made significant contributions to astronomy in the Middle Ages. He is also credited with translating the Arabic versions of Ptolemy’s Almagest and Euclid’s Elements into Hebrew.