Professor Pierre Patrice Marcel Larcher

Pierre Larcher was born on May 23, 1948 in Paris, France. He graduated from Sorbonne University in 1969 with a BA in Classics (French, Latin and Greek), and from Sorbonne Nouvelle University in 1972 with a BA and MA in Arabic. In 1980, he defended a 3rd cycle thesis in Arabic linguistics, and in 1996, a state thesis in letters and humanities. Between 1971 and 1982, he worked as a teacher and researcher in various countries of the Arab world (Syria, Libya, Morocco). From 1983 to 2016, he taught at various French universities (Lille, Rennes, Avignon, and Aix-en-Provence), during that period he went on a sabbatical year (1989-1990) at the French Institute for Arabic Studies in Damascus. Since 2016, he has been Emeritus Professor of Arabic Linguistics at Aix-Marseille University and Emeritus Researcher at the Institute for Studies and Research on the Arab and Muslim Worlds in Aix.

Pierre Larcher’s scientific activity focuses on two main areas. Firstly, linguistics, mainly Arabic in addition to Semitic and General linguistics, and secondly, the analysis and translation of Arabic literature, mainly pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. In the first field, his work, often considered innovative, covers the history of the Arabic linguistic tradition, pragmatics, the verbal system, syntax, sociolinguistics and language history, and lexicology. In the second field, his translations have been well received in France and throughout the world, particularly that of the Mu’allaqât : published in 2000, and republished in 2015, which was invited to be part of the French version of The Mu’allaqât for the Millenials of Ithra, published in 2022.

Pierre Larcher’s bibliography comprises 350 items, including 10 personal works, twelve editor or coeditor of collective works, 180 articles and 95 reviews. He is a member of the editorial board of ten French and foreign scientific journals and a member of several learned societies. He was honored in 2016 for his work in the field of Arabic Linguistics, and in 2008 and 2014 for his work in the field of translation. Since 2015, he has been a member of the Accadamia Ambrosiana (Classis Orientalis) in Milan (Italy).