Hilaire de Barenton
Encyclopedia
Hilaire de Barenton with real name Étienne Boulé, was a friar
, historian of the languages of the Middle East. His name is often misspelled as de Baranton.
Soon he acquired a reputation as a linguist, and he participated, in 1936, in the Third International Congress of Linguistics.
The theories of Father Hilaire enjoyed a certain celebrity in their time, but have since been criticized and, albeit intriguing to the ear, are no longer considered worthy of deeper scholarly scrutiny in most of contemporary linguistic research centers and communities. They were popular among Turkish nationalists under Atatürk in the 1930s : the Sun Language Theory
(Güneş Dil Teorisi), based on L'origine des langues, des religions et des peuples claimed that all languages were derived from a common Central Asian root, a pale-ontological "proto-language" that can only be established hypothetically, as construct, of which, not only the Turkic languages spoken in Central Asia and Turkey today, but also the Language of the Maya (in Mezzo-America) and Sumerian (as seen on tablets excavated in the Mesopotamia of the Middle East) appear to relate to.
The idea that the so-called Turkish Nationalists who founded Turkey believed all human languages are derived from the language that they spoke can be proven neither practically (as the Turkish spoken in Istanbul of the time was more of a blend of Turkish, Arabic, French, Persian as well as what Andreas Tietze termed "the Lingua Franca," the language of trade done mostly by the non-Muslim communities living in Istanbul), nor historically in light of numerous well-documented resources and papers shedding light on how the transition from a religion-based society to a "secular," modern state system has taken place. Thus, if such theories of cultural/linguistic origins add fervor to nationalists and nationalism(s), whether-or-not a theory as such is scientifically less worthy merely because it is ideologically loaded appears to remain a topic outside the frame of reference the theory -which is more of a hypothesis in de Barenton's case- in itself establishes. In other words, no known historical document suggests the Founders of Modern Turkey considered Mayan and/or Sumerian lands as any "Turkic". On the very contrary, Ataturk's well-known maxim "Let there be peace at home, peace in the world" appear to indicate the ease-of-mind that the new Republic did embrace a non-aggressive nationalism based on constitutional democracy rather than seeking legitimacy through monarchy and the issues of the so-called historical roots.
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
, historian of the languages of the Middle East. His name is often misspelled as de Baranton.
Biography
Ordained catholic priest in 1887, he joined the Capuchins under the name of Father Hilaire on 2 August 1889. He lectured in Turkey. Back in France, he taught science, philosophy and dogmatic theology.Soon he acquired a reputation as a linguist, and he participated, in 1936, in the Third International Congress of Linguistics.
Works
- La langue étrusque, dialecte de l'ancien égyptien, Paris 1920
- L'origine des grammaires, leur source dans le sumérien et l'égyptien, Paris 1925
- L'origine des langues, des religions et des peuples
The theories of Father Hilaire enjoyed a certain celebrity in their time, but have since been criticized and, albeit intriguing to the ear, are no longer considered worthy of deeper scholarly scrutiny in most of contemporary linguistic research centers and communities. They were popular among Turkish nationalists under Atatürk in the 1930s : the Sun Language Theory
Sun Language Theory
The Sun Language Theory was a pseudoscientific linguistic hypothesis proposing that all human languages are descendants of one Central Asian primal language. The theory further proposed that the only language remaining more or less the same as this primal language was Turkic...
(Güneş Dil Teorisi), based on L'origine des langues, des religions et des peuples claimed that all languages were derived from a common Central Asian root, a pale-ontological "proto-language" that can only be established hypothetically, as construct, of which, not only the Turkic languages spoken in Central Asia and Turkey today, but also the Language of the Maya (in Mezzo-America) and Sumerian (as seen on tablets excavated in the Mesopotamia of the Middle East) appear to relate to.
The idea that the so-called Turkish Nationalists who founded Turkey believed all human languages are derived from the language that they spoke can be proven neither practically (as the Turkish spoken in Istanbul of the time was more of a blend of Turkish, Arabic, French, Persian as well as what Andreas Tietze termed "the Lingua Franca," the language of trade done mostly by the non-Muslim communities living in Istanbul), nor historically in light of numerous well-documented resources and papers shedding light on how the transition from a religion-based society to a "secular," modern state system has taken place. Thus, if such theories of cultural/linguistic origins add fervor to nationalists and nationalism(s), whether-or-not a theory as such is scientifically less worthy merely because it is ideologically loaded appears to remain a topic outside the frame of reference the theory -which is more of a hypothesis in de Barenton's case- in itself establishes. In other words, no known historical document suggests the Founders of Modern Turkey considered Mayan and/or Sumerian lands as any "Turkic". On the very contrary, Ataturk's well-known maxim "Let there be peace at home, peace in the world" appear to indicate the ease-of-mind that the new Republic did embrace a non-aggressive nationalism based on constitutional democracy rather than seeking legitimacy through monarchy and the issues of the so-called historical roots.
Links
- History of linguisticsHistory of linguisticsLinguistics as a study endeavors to describe and explain the human faculty of language.In ancient civilization, linguistic study was originally motivated by the correct description of classical liturgical language, notably that of Sanskrit grammar by , or by the development of logic and rhetoric...
- Evolutionary linguisticsEvolutionary linguisticsEvolutionary linguistics is the scientific study of the origins and development of language. The main challenge in this research is the lack of empirical data: spoken language leaves practically no traces. This led to an abandonment of the field for more than a century...
- Adamic languageAdamic languageThe Adamic language is, according to certain sects within Abrahamic traditions, the language spoken by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, i.e., either the language used by God to address Adam, or the language invented by Adam ....
- Proto-languages
- Origin of languageOrigin of languageThe origin of language is the emergence of language in the human species. This is a highly controversial topic. Empirical evidence is so limited that many regard it as unsuitable for serious scholars. In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris went so far as to ban debates on the subject...