Marcel Cohen

Early Life

Marcel Cohen was born on February 6, 1884. He grew up in France and became very interested in languages.

Career

Cohen studied many languages, especially Semitic languages and Ethiopian languages. His work helped people understand these languages better. He also studied the French language and added a lot to what we know about how languages work. This field is called linguistics.

Legacy

Because of his important work, Cohen is remembered as a key person in the study of languages. He died on November 5, 1974.

Life

Marcel Cohen was born in Paris and studied at the Lycée Condorcet. He learned about languages from Antoine Meillet at the Collège de France and the École pratique des hautes études. In 1905, he joined the École des langues orientales and finished his studies in 1909. He learned many languages, including Amharic, French, Sanskrit, Ge'ez, and South Arabian. His thesis was about the Arabic dialect spoken by the Jews of Algiers.

From March 1910 to June 1911, he traveled to Ethiopia to learn more about its languages. He later taught there and became a full Professor in 1926. He also taught at the École pratique des hautes études. Some of his students, like Wolf Leslau, Stefan Strelcyn, and Joseph Tubiana, became experts in Ethiopian languages.

Works

Marcel Cohen wrote many books and articles about languages. His important works include books about Arabic spoken in Algeria, languages in Ethiopia, and the Amharic language. He also wrote about how verbs work in Semitic languages and the history of the French language. His books were published over many years, from 1912 to 1972.