Born to a French father and a Polish mother settled in Kiev, Jean Deny became familiar with the French, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian languages at a young age. After the baccalaureate, he specialized in Oriental languages (classical Arabic, Arabic dialect, Persian, Turkish and Russian). He became professor of turkology at the Sorbonne after he taught at the École nationale des langues orientales vivantes of which he was administrator from 1937 to 1948.
He retired in 1949 and died in 1963.
Selected works
1921: Grammaire de la langue turque (dialecte osmanli)
1941-1953 Translated by: Ali Ulvi Elöve Türk Dili Grameri (Osmanlı Lehçesi) [1]
1943: Le Souffle dans l'Islam Jean Deny, Louis Massignon (1883-1962)
1955: Principes de grammaire turque
1959: L’osmanli moderne et le turk de Turquie
The trajectory of the Turkologist Jean Deny (1879-1963) offers an interesting framework for reflectionaddress cultural and scientific relationsbetween Turkey and France in the 20th century. Afterhaving served as dragoman, then as viceconsul, in Beirut, Jerusalem, Tripoli of Syria andMarache (1904-1908), where he witnessed the revolutionyoung Turkish, Jean Deny is called, in Paris, totake over from Casimir Barbier fromMeynard to the chair of Turkish at the Ecole Spéciale des Living Oriental Languages | Paris Şark Dilleri Okulu.
Throughout his professorship (1908-1949), he wasthe witness of the changes which affected Ottoman Turkey, then Republican, where he returned regularly: as a soldier during the First World War (at the Dardanelles in1915, then as an interpreting officer, with the corps of French occupation in Constantinople); as a linguist, often invited by Turkish academics, until the end of his career.
Author in 1921 of a Grammar of the Turkish language. Osmanli dialect, which establishes its reputation as a philologist, it plays an essential role in the empowerment Disciplinary and Institutional of French Turkology. During his long career, he formed contacts with many scholars, such as Edmond Saussey, Roger Lescot, Maxime Rodinson, Claude Cahen, Irène Mélikoff, Louis Bazin, Robert Mantran, Marcel Colombe, Jean-Paul Roux, Bernard Lewis.
Man of the Third Republic, administrator of the School of Oriental Languages between 1938 and 1949, Jean Deny is a pivot of orientalism French, both in its diplomatic, colonial, military aspects and in the order of scholarship.
La trajectoire du turcologue Jean Deny (1879-1963) offre un cadre de réflexion intéressant pour aborder les relations culturelles et scientifiques entre la Turquie et la France au XXe siècle. Après avoir servi comme drogman, puis comme viceconsul, à Beyrouth, Jérusalem, Tripoli de Syrie et Marache (1904-1908), où il assiste à la révolution
jeune turque, Jean Deny est appelé, à Paris, pour prendre la succession de Casimir Barbier de
Meynard à la chaire de turc de l'Ecole Spéciale des Langues Orientales Vivantes.
Tout au long de son professorat (1908-1949), il est le témoin des changements qui affectent la Turquie ottomane, puis républicaine, où il retourne régulièrement : en tant que militaire pendant la Première Guerre mondiale (aux Dardanelles en 1915, puis comme officier interprète, avec le corps d’occupation français à Constantinople) ; en tant que linguiste, souvent invité par les universitaires turcs, jusqu'à la fin de sa carrière.
Auteur en 1921 d'une Grammaire de la langue turque. Dialecte osmanli, qui assoit sa réputation de philologue, il joue un rôle essentiel dans l'autonomisation disciplinaire et institutionnelle de la turcologie française. Au cours de sa longue carrière, il forme de nombreux savants, tels Edmond Saussey, Roger Lescot, Maxime Rodinson, Claude Cahen, Irène Mélikoff, Louis Bazin, Robert Mantran, Marcel Colombe, Jean-Paul Roux, Bernard Lewis.
Homme de la Troisième République, administrateur de l’Ecole des Langues orientales entre 1938 et 1949, Jean Deny est un pivot de l'orientalisme français, tant dans ses aspects diplomatiques, coloniaux, militaires que dans l’ordre de l’érudition.
See also: Analysis Of Words On Jean Deny’s Books (M.S. Thesis)
Arzu Çokaktaş Uysal
Gazi University Graduate School Of Social Sciences
April 2018
Abstract
Jean Deny (1879 – 1963) who is one of leading names of French Turcology, offers data concerning etymology apart from grammar, states his opinions related to origins of some words situated in examples in text or footnotes in Türk Dili Grameri (Osmanlı Lehçesi) and Türk Dili Gramerinin Temel Kuralları (Türkiye Türkçesi) works. The translator Ali Ulvi Elöve also provided significant contributions to this work etymologically. Both there are expressions supporting opinions of Deny and there are situations in which he objected to author and opined a different opinion. In this thesis, Deny and Elöve’s opinions are presented in comparison with the views of different scientists.
Deny's work is also an important grammar book in terms of literary culture. Written with a diachronic approach. Numerous examples of writers and poets presenting literary works in the historical and contemporary dialects of Turkish
The author along with the title of the work and the page numbers in the 1941 edition is as follows:
Orhun Abideleri (1023), Kutadgu Bilig (325), Divanü Lügati’t- Türk (332), Dede Korkut 3 (286), Şemsettin Sami (277), Hersekli Arif Hikmet (842), Münif Paşa (930), Ahmet Mithat (613), Recaizade Ekrem (648), Hâlit Ziya (722), Ahmet Rasim (633), Hüseyin Cahit (284), Yakup Kadri (295), Hüseyin Rahmi (213), Tevfik Fikret (648) Cenap Şahâbettin (849), Hüseyin Suat (980), Refik Hâlit (934), Kırk Vezir (290), Battal Gazi (295), Ayyar Hamza (472), Kıssa-i Salsal (422), Kahveci Güzeli Hikâyesi (310), Türk Masalları (620), Codex Cumanicus (499), Humayunnâme (280), Fütüvvetnâme (932), Envârü’l- Âşıkîn (289), Hulviyât-ı Şâhi (438), Nüzhetü’l-Ervâh (475), Tezkiretü’l- Evliya (459), Siyer-i Nebî (663), Şeybâninâme (1023), Bâbürnâme (915), Hüsrev ü Şirin (470), Miraçnâme (543), Cihannümâ (324), Cevdet Tarihi (294), Nâima Tarihi (289), Tarih-i Lütfi (932), Âşıkpaşazâde Tarihi (533), İbni Mühennâ (374), Abu Hayyan (390), Kitâbü’l-İdrak (960), Nevai - Muhakemetü’l-Lügateyn (576), Abuşka (582), Rabguzi (606), Burhan-ı Kâtı (289), Kâmus Tercümesi (510), Sâbit (284), Birgivî (283), Mihrî 504, Lâmiî (590), Kemalpaşazâde (846), Hersekli Ârif Hikmet (842), Münif Paşa (930), Mehmet Efendi Sefaretnâmesi (286), Evliya Çelebi (242), Vâsıf Efendi (585), Mehmet Tevfik - İstanbul’da Bir Sene (528), Hacıbekof - Arşın Mal Alan (904), Murat Bey - Turfanda mı yoksa Turfa mı (899), Ahmet Cevdet - Kısas-ı Enbiyâ (988), Seydi Ali Reis - Mir’atü’l-Memâlik (1007).”