Roger Lescot (1914–1975) was a French orientalist and diplomat known for his research of the Kurdish language. [1]
Roger Lescot obtained a degree in Arabic and Oriental literature in 1935. Later he also gained a degree in Turkish and Persian. In 1935 he began to learn Kurdish, [2] and in 1936 during the French Mandate of Syria, he was in contact with the Yazidi in the Kurd Dagh and also with the Shia in the south of Lebanon. [2] Roger Lescot and Pierre Rondot supervised the Kurdish activities within the French Mandate, specializing in Kurdish press and literature. [3] Both were working together with Kurdish activists and were supportive of the Kurdish cultural aims. [4] Lescot then wrote for several Kurdish outlets such as the Hawar, Roja Nû or Ronahî. [5] Lescot was a close collaborator to members of the Berdirkhan family. [6]
Upon his initiative the chair for Kurdish lectures was created at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in 1945, a position he held until 1947, [7] and trespassed to Kamuran Bedirkhan, as he took up diplomatic work as a French diplomat in Cairo [1] and work for the French intelligence. [8] After four years of studies about the Kurdish national epic Mem û Zîn he published a version of it in Kurdish and a translation in French in 1942. [9] In 1953 he published a French translation from the Persian of Sadegh Hedayat's novel The Blind Owl as La chouette aveugle. [10] He published his and Celadet Bedirkhan's Grammaire kurde in 1970. [6]
Roger Lescot (1914–1975) was a French orientalist and diplomat known for his research of the Kurdish language. [1]
Roger Lescot obtained a degree in Arabic and Oriental literature in 1935. Later he also gained a degree in Turkish and Persian. In 1935 he began to learn Kurdish, [2] and in 1936 during the French Mandate of Syria, he was in contact with the Yazidi in the Kurd Dagh and also with the Shia in the south of Lebanon. [2] Roger Lescot and Pierre Rondot supervised the Kurdish activities within the French Mandate, specializing in Kurdish press and literature. [3] Both were working together with Kurdish activists and were supportive of the Kurdish cultural aims. [4] Lescot then wrote for several Kurdish outlets such as the Hawar, Roja Nû or Ronahî. [5] Lescot was a close collaborator to members of the Berdirkhan family. [6]
Upon his initiative the chair for Kurdish lectures was created at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in 1945, a position he held until 1947, [7] and trespassed to Kamuran Bedirkhan, as he took up diplomatic work as a French diplomat in Cairo [1] and work for the French intelligence. [8] After four years of studies about the Kurdish national epic Mem û Zîn he published a version of it in Kurdish and a translation in French in 1942. [9] In 1953 he published a French translation from the Persian of Sadegh Hedayat's novel The Blind Owl as La chouette aveugle. [10] He published his and Celadet Bedirkhan's Grammaire kurde in 1970. [6]