French Iranologist receives Mahmud Afshar Award

A French linguist and Iranologist has been selected to receive Iran’s Mahmud Afshar Historical Literary Award for his lifetime endeavors and research.

Gilbert Lazard’s work on various Iranian languages and translations of classical Persian poetry won him the prestigious literary prize from the award committee of the Mahmud Afshar Foundation.

The 24th edition of the event will present the award, which includes a medal and a Persian carpet bearing the name of Gilbert Lazard, to the French scholar in Iran’s Cultural Center in Paris, France, on July 4.

Seyyed Mostafa Mohaqeq-Damad, the Head of Mahmud Afshar Foundation Trusteeship Council, will present the award to the French linguist.

The 97-year old Lazard is the author of Grammaire du Persan Contemporain (A Grammar of Contemporary Persian, 1957) and the Persian-French dictionary (1990).

Lazard studied at the École Normale Supérieure and graduated in 1946. He became a professor of Persian at (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales) INALCO from 1958 to 1966.

From 1951 to 1969, he was in charge of the Iranian civilization course at the Sorbonne, where he became a lecturer and a professor of Iranian language and civilization.

His teachings and works on Persian language and literature have had a very strong influence on the whole of Persian studies in France since 1960. His work covers many fields, particularly early Persian language and literature.

The Mahmud Afshar Foundation awards scholars who have contributed valuable literary work or research in Persian history and linguistics.

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