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Paul Édouard Passy (1859 – November 1940) was a French linguist and phonetician.

Early life and education

Main article: Passy family

Paul Édouard Passy was born in 1859, the son of Frédéric Passy, a French economist and pacifist (and future winner of the Nobel Peace Prize).

As a child, Paul Passy never attended school. Instead, he was given a progressive upbringing by his father, learning four languages without formal education. He reluctantly attended university, failing the Licence three times. He soon began studying philology, however, and developed an interest in linguistics. At nineteen years old, he began working as an English and German teacher in order to avoid military service.

Career

Early career

Main articles: International Phonetic Association and Journal of the International Phonetic Association

In 1886, Passy founded a society for English teachers called the "fonètic tîtcerz' asóciécon" (Phonetic Teachers' Association]]; FTA), working as a pressure group for language teaching methodology. Passy was appointed its President upon formation, and his brother Jean was made Secretary. The group began publishing a journal Dhi Fonètik Tîtcer (The Phonetic Teacher) in the same year.

In 1887, he published Les Sons de français (The Sounds of French), which was later translated into English by Daniel Jones and Douglas Savory as The Sounds of the French Language.

Soon, the FTA began to gain the attention of prominent phoneticians and philologists, such as Henry Sweet, Wilhelm Viëtor, and Otto Jespersen. In 1889, it changed its name to the L'Association Phonétique des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (The Phonetics Association of Modern Language Teachers; AP) in order to appeal to a wider variety of language teachers, and not just those of English. The group's journal changed its name to Le Maître Phonétique (The Phonetic Master) and began being published in Passy's variant of Sweet's Sweet Romic alphabet: this eventually evolved into the International Phonetic Alphabet.

In 1891, Passy was awarded his doctorate for a thesis on phonetic sound change entitled Etudes sur les changements phonétiques (Studies on Phonetic Changes). His work was seemingly appreciated, as he was appointed to the specially-created Chair of Phonetics at the École des Hautes Études (School for Advanced Studies) and became its Assistant Director in 1897.

In 1897, he worked with Hermann Michaelis to edit the Dictionnaire phonétique de la langue française (Phonetic Dictionary of the French Language). The dictionary was the first attempt at a pronouncing guide of any European language using IPA symbols. It worked as the model for Michaelis and Jones' Phonetic Dictionary of the English Langauge in 1913.

In 1897, the AP changed its name to the Association phonétique internationale (International Phonetic Association) and Passy took over as Secretary, following his brother's tuberculosis; Jean Passy died in 1898.

In 1905, Daniel Jones joined the International Phonetic Association.

In 1906, Passy published Petite phonétique comparée (Small Comparative Phonetics), a brief exploration of comparative phonetics.

In 1913, Passy was dismissed from the École des Hautes Études on political grounds, returning after World War I. He retired from the school in 1926.

In 1927, Passy retired as Secretary of the International Phonetic Association and was succeeded in the post by Jones.

From 1930 until 1932, Passy wrote and published a two-part autobiography, Souvenirs d'un socialiste chrétien (Souvenirs of a Christian Socialist).

Christian socialism and Liéfra

After retiring, Passy became deeply involved with the ideas of Christian socialism.

With these Christian and socialist ideas in mind, he set up a "co-operative agricultural commune" for working-class men near Fontette. The commune was named Liéfra after the first syllables of the French national motto liberté, égalité, fraternité. While there, he attempted to live a rustic lifestyle, combining fundamental Christianity and socialism with language teaching and learning.

In the 1930s, Liéfra was visited by David Abercrombie and Marguerite Chappalaz, who witnessed the primitive conditions which Passy imposed upon himself.

Death

Passy died in Paris in November 1940. Due to the disruption caused by World War II, news of Passy's death did not reach Daniel Jones until the following year.

Legacy

Passy is largely remembered for his contributions to the creation of the International Phonetic Association, with M. K. C. MacMahon saying:

We all owe him a great debt of gratitude, for it was his unswerving belief in phonetics, which at times had almost a religious fervour to it, coupled with his prodigious energy and enthusiasm, that really laid the firm foundations for our present-day IPA.

Selected works

Books

Title	English translation/transcription	Time of first publication	First edition publisher/publication	Unique identifier	Notes
Les Sons de français	The Sounds of French	1887		OCLC 459815087	Translated into English by Daniel Jones and Douglas Savory
Etudes sur les changements phonétiques	Studies on Phonetic Changes	1891		OCLC 1171411690	Doctoral thesis
Dictionnaire phonétique de la langue française	Phonetic Dictionary of the French Language	1897		OCLC 221511977	Edited with Hermann Michaelis
Petite phonétique comparée	Small Comparative Phonetics	1906		OCLC 499107355
Souvenirs d'un socialiste chrétien	Souvenirs of a Christian Socialist	1932		OCLC 79207060	Two-part autobiography

Articles

Title	English translation	Time of publication	Journal	Volume (Issue)	Page range	Unique identifier	Notes