Guillaume Leduey
French linguist (born 1989)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guillaume Leduey (born March 20, 1989)[1] is a French linguist and polyglot from Le Havre, France,[2][3] and also a sculptor.[4] Leduey is known for studying the extinct Eyak language and active participation in the campaign to revive Eyak.[5]
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Guillaume Leduey | |
|---|---|
Leduey in 2018 | |
| Born | March 20, 1989 Le Havre, France |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Linguistics |
Academic advisors | Michael E. Krauss |
Leduey is a polyglot, and he is able to speak five languages besides Eyak:[2] French, English, German, Chinese, Georgian and some Lithuanian.[6] Leduey became interested in the dying Eyak language after he learned about its last native speaker, Marie Smith Jones, on the Internet.[5] At 12 or 13 years old he ordered Eyak text, audio materials and DVDs and started to study it.[2][4]
Leduey engaged in email communication with the Eyak Preservation Council, which was conducting an Eyak Language preservation project and Laura Bliss Spaan, a filmmaker of learning DVDs,[6] and met her when she visited France.[6] Later, Leduey contacted Michael E. Krauss, and in July 2010 he visited Cordova, Alaska, the Eyak ancestral homelands, in order to get instructions and further training in Eyak.[2][5] Under the academic assistance of Krauss, Leduey began analyzing Eyak tales.[2] Together with Krauss, Bliss Spaan and the Eyak Preservation Council they are working to revive Eyak[4] by publishing Eyak words and phrases on websites like Facebook and Twitter[4] and helping Eyaks study their language. During his visit to Alaska, Leduey also studied Eyak traditions, including culinary ones.[6]