Claude Marcel (1793–1876) : a neglected applied linguist?

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Abstract

This article contributes to the as yet underexplored field of applied linguistic historiography by surveying the life and achievements of Claude Marcel (1793–1876), author of a two-volume study of language education published in London in 1853 under the title Language as a Means of Mental Culture and International Communication. The question of whether Marcel was an applied linguist 'avant la lettre' is addressed, as are possible reasons for the contemporary and subsequent neglect of his work. It is suggested that the identification of precursors depends on one's view of the nature of applied linguistics, and that there are alternatives to a linguistics-focused conception. Indeed, a consideration of Marcel's writings — and the contemporary and subsequent neglect of them — highlights the way language teaching theory has tended, for the last 120 years or more, to be dominated by linguistic much more than educational considerations.

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