Noël François de Wailly
Encyclopedia
Noël François de Wailly French
grammarian and lexicographer, was born at Amiens
.
Noël François de Wailly spent his life in Paris
, where for many years he carried on a school which was extensively patronized by foreigners who wished to learn French
. In 1754 he published Principes généraux de la langue française, which revolutionized the teaching of grammar
in France. The book was adopted as a textbook by the University of Paris
and generally used throughout France, an abstract of it being prepared for primary educational purposes.
In 1771 de Wailly published Moyens simples et raisonnés de diminuer les imperfections de notre orthographe, in which he advocated phonetic spelling. He was a member of the Institute from its foundation (1795), and took an active part in the preparation of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie.
His works, in addition to those cited, include L'Orthographe des dames (1782) and Le Nouveau Vocabulaire français, ou abrégé du dictionnaire de l'Académie (1801).
He was the brother of architect Charles De Wailly
and the grandfather of archivist and librarian Natalis de Wailly
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
grammarian and lexicographer, was born at Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
.
Noël François de Wailly spent his life in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where for many years he carried on a school which was extensively patronized by foreigners who wished to learn French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. In 1754 he published Principes généraux de la langue française, which revolutionized the teaching of grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
in France. The book was adopted as a textbook by the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
and generally used throughout France, an abstract of it being prepared for primary educational purposes.
In 1771 de Wailly published Moyens simples et raisonnés de diminuer les imperfections de notre orthographe, in which he advocated phonetic spelling. He was a member of the Institute from its foundation (1795), and took an active part in the preparation of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie.
His works, in addition to those cited, include L'Orthographe des dames (1782) and Le Nouveau Vocabulaire français, ou abrégé du dictionnaire de l'Académie (1801).
He was the brother of architect Charles De Wailly
Charles De Wailly
Charles De Wailly was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédie-Française...
and the grandfather of archivist and librarian Natalis de Wailly
Natalis de Wailly
Natalis de Wailly was a French archivist, librarian and historian.In 1841, as head of the Administrative Section of the Royal Archives, he wrote a ministerial circular, issued by Count Tanneguy Duchâtel, Minister of the Interior, stating that records should be grouped according to the nature of...
.