Joseph Loth
Joseph Loth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 December 1847 Guémené-sur-Scorff |
| Died | 1 April 1934 Paris |
| Occupation |
|
| Employer |
|
| Awards |
|
Joseph Loth(27 December 1847 – 1 April 1934) was a French linguist and historian who specialised in the study ofCeltic languages.
Early life
[edit]Loth was born inGuémené-sur-Scorff,Brittany.[1]After his studies atSainte-Anne-d'Auray,he became a teacher atPontivy,thenQuimperandSaumuruntil the outbreak of theFranco-Prussian Warin 1870. After the end of the conflict, he worked in various institutions in Paris. At this time, he made the acquaintance ofHenri d'Arbois de Jubainville,who encouraged him to study Celtic languages.
Career
[edit]In 1883 he was appointed to the Faculty of Arts at Rennes University, where he taught Celtic. That same year he founded the journalAnnales de Bretagne,in which he published numerous studies and edited until 1910. He was appointed professor at theCollège de Francein 1910 and was elected member of theAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettresin 1919.
Loth published numerous articles in theRevue Celtique,re-editedPierre de Chalons' Breton-French dictionary and translated into French important Celtic literature including theMabinogion.He was also an early supporter of the detailed study of variations in local dialects.[1]
Award and achievements
[edit]Loth developed an influential model of the historical expansion of theBreton languageinto France. The farthest limit of spoken Breton is known as the "Loth line". It runs fromMont-Saint-Michel,throughHédé,and on to the west ofRennesto reach the Loire.[2]
He received an honorary doctorate (LL.D) from theUniversity of Glasgowin June 1901.[3]
Writings
[edit]- L'Émigration Bretonne en Armorique du Ve au VII siècle de notre ère,Rennes 1883 réédition Slatkine Reprints Paris-Genève-Gex 1980 (ISBN2051001022)
- Vocabulaire vieux-breton,1884
- Remarques sur le bas vannetais,1886
- Le Mabinogi de Kulhwch et Olwen',tiré à part de la Revue de Bretagne et de Vendée, mars / avril / mai 1888, Éd. Prud'homme, Saint-Brieuc.
- Le Dialecte de l'Île aux Moines,1893, (réédité et corrigé par Patrick Le Besco, Ar Skol vrezoneg/Emgleo Breiz, Brest, 1999)
- Chrestomathie bretonne
Notes
[edit]
- ^abMaison de Joseph Loth, patrimoine de Guémené
- ^Atlas d’histoire de Bretagne,ed. Bernard Tanguy and Michel Lagrée, Morlaix, 2002, p. 158-159
- ^"Glasgow University Jubilee".The Times.No. 36481. London. 14 June 1901. p. 10.Retrieved5 January2024– via Newspapers.