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(CE:1284b-1285a)
ILYAS BUQTUR (1784-1821), learned Copt associated withNapoleon
Bonaparte's French Expedition to Egypt, who produced
the first Arabic-French dictionary. Ilyas Buqtur, known in
French
sources as Ellious Bochtor, was born into a highly respected
family
in Asyut on 12 April 1784. His parents noticed his
intellectual
tendencies and provided a good early education. In 1801 he
followed General YAQUB, his uncle, to the city of Bani Suef
and
ultimately to Cairo, where the French Expedition had arrived.
He
studied French language and literature to prepare himself for
service
in the French army, first as interpreter and later as
Bonaparte's
private secretary.When the French departed from Egypt, Ilyas
left with them in
the company of General Yaqub. After landing at Marseilles,
he
lived on the pittance he earned as interpreter for the
Egyptian
refugees. Afterward he moved to Paris, where he had an
introduction to the councillor of state and director of
public
instruction for a position in the National Library as translator
of
Arabic manuscripts. His life in Paris, however, was intolerable,
and
he decided to return to Marseilles. Apparently this is where
hestarted compiling an Arabic-French dictionary, which became
famous as the first of its kind. In 1812 he was recruited by
the
Ministry of War to translate important military documents
from
Egypt that were extremely difficult to decipher. While
performing
this task, he became acquainted with Edme Franois Jomard,
Napoleon's engineer-geographer in Egypt and member of the
Institut
d'Egypte founded during the French occupation. Jomard was
commissioned to supervise the publication of the
extensiveDescription de l'Egypte. In 1818, his collaboration with
Jomard
offered him a stipend, which enabled him to continue compilation
of
his dictionary. In 1819 he was named professor at the Ecole
Royale
des Langues Orientales, where he developed advanced courses
in
Arabic, notably the spoken Arabic of Egypt. He became
acquainted
with some of the leaders of French literary circles, such as
Chateaubriand, and he wrote articles for French literary
publications. He was elected a member of the Institut
d'Egypte.
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During this time, Ilyas concentrated on the compilation of
his
Arabic-French dictionary and collected a stipend of 2,000 francs
to
encourage completion of that work. He finished it in 1821.
In
September of the same year, he died, at the age of
forty-seven,
before his work was published.
The Marquis Amde de Clermont-Tonnerre, who took an
interest in Oriental studies, decided that such an important
work as
Ilyas' dictionary must be published. He commissioned a professor
of
colloquial Arabic at the Ecole Royale, A. Caussin de Perceval,
who
had learned Arabic in Syria, to undertake the editing of the
dictionary. De Perceval's edition (with some additions it was
more
than 800 pages) was reproduced several times. It must be
remembered, however, that the dictionary specialized mainly
in
colloquial rather than literary Arabic. It is still in use.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bochtor, E. Discours prononc l'ouverture du cours d'arabe
vulgaire l'Ecole royale et speciale des langues orientales
vivantes prs de la Bibliothque du roi, le 8 decembre 1819.
Paris, 1820.______. Dictionnaire franais-arabe, 3rd ed., rev.
and enl. by A.
Caussin de Perceval. Paris, 1864.
______. Dictionnaire franais-arabe, rev. and enl. by E. Gallab,
3
vols. in 2. Cairo, 1887. Vol. 3 contains the supplement of
E.
Gallab.
Brockelmann, C. Geschichte der arabischen Literatur, Vol. 2,
p.
479. Weimar, 1902.
Jomard, E. F. "Ouverture du cours d'arabe vulgaire."
Revueencyclopdique5 (January 1820):33-45.
______. "Notice sur Ellious Bocthor." Revue encyclopdique 5
(October 1821).
Louca, A. "Ellious Bocthor, sa vie et son oeuvre." Cahiers
d'histoire
gyptienne,5th ser., fascs. 5-6 (December 1953):309-320.
Louca, A., and P. Santoni. "Histoire de l'enseignement de la
langue
arabe Marseille." In L'orient des provenaux dans l'histoire,
pp. 113-23. Marseilles, 1982.Ramzi Tadrus.Al Aqbat fi al-Qarn
al-Ishrin,3 vols. Cairo, 1911.
