Oreste Vaccari
Encyclopedia
Oreste Vaccari was an internationally known Italian
Orientalist
and linguist. He was a pupil at the Royal Oriental Institute of Naples
during the second decade of the 20th century, where his instructors included Afevork Ghevre Jesus
, who taught him Amharic and eventually became the chargé d'affaires
of the Ethiopia
n delegation to Rome
. After his studies, Vaccari obtained a posting in Japan
as a correspondent for The Japan Times and Mail
, and also taught foreign languages at the Athénée Française of Tokyo
, being fluent in French
and English
besides his native Italian. In 1935, he married a Japanese woman, Enko Elisa Vaccari (1896-1983), who had graduated in English from Jissen Women's College
, and would support him in his various linguistic projects during the rest of his career. Vaccari was responsible for translating Blattengeta Heruy Welde Sellase's Mahidere Birhan: Hagre Japan (The Document of Japan) (1934), a seminal work in Japanese-Ethiopian relations, from the original Amharic into English, which was then rendered into Japanese
by his wife. During the Italian invasion of Ethiopia
in 1935, Vaccari wrote defenses of Italy's actions.
Together with his wife, Vaccari prepared many books to help foreign learners of Japanese, and his most popular works included the New Up-to-date English-Japanese Conversation Dictionary and Vaccari's Concise English-Japanese Japanese-English Dictionary (all published by Maruzen). In 1972, the couple began work on Vaccari's Standard Japanese-English Dictionary (ヴァカーリズタンダード和英辞典 Vakāri Zutandādo Wa-Ei Jiten), considered to be the culmination of their lifetime's study. After Oreste began to suffer deteriorating health in 1975 (dying in 1980), the task of completing the Dictionary fell to Elisa. The Dictionary was finished in 1982, before Elisa's death the following year. Elisa's will provided that the dictionary be published with the money she bequeathed, and directed that the royalties be used to fund scholarships for foreign students of Japanese, in cooperation with the Jochi Corporation with which the Vaccaris had been closely associated. Sophia University
of Tokyo finally published the Dictionary in 1990.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
and linguist. He was a pupil at the Royal Oriental Institute of Naples
Naples Eastern University
The Naples Eastern University is a university located in Naples, Italy. It was founded in 1732 and is organized in 4 Faculties...
during the second decade of the 20th century, where his instructors included Afevork Ghevre Jesus
Afevork Ghevre Jesus
Āfeworq Gebre Īyesūs was an Ethiopian writer, who wrote the first novel in Amharic, Libb Wolled Tarik . Bahru Zewde writes, "Few people before or after him have demonstrated such superb mastery of the Amharic language...
, who taught him Amharic and eventually became the chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
of the Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n delegation to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. After his studies, Vaccari obtained a posting in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a correspondent for The Japan Times and Mail
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
, and also taught foreign languages at the Athénée Française of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, being fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
besides his native Italian. In 1935, he married a Japanese woman, Enko Elisa Vaccari (1896-1983), who had graduated in English from Jissen Women's College
Jissen Women's University
is a private women's college in Hino, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded by poet and educator Utako Shimoda in 1899. It was chartered as a university in 1949.-External links:*...
, and would support him in his various linguistic projects during the rest of his career. Vaccari was responsible for translating Blattengeta Heruy Welde Sellase's Mahidere Birhan: Hagre Japan (The Document of Japan) (1934), a seminal work in Japanese-Ethiopian relations, from the original Amharic into English, which was then rendered into Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
by his wife. During the Italian invasion of Ethiopia
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
in 1935, Vaccari wrote defenses of Italy's actions.
Together with his wife, Vaccari prepared many books to help foreign learners of Japanese, and his most popular works included the New Up-to-date English-Japanese Conversation Dictionary and Vaccari's Concise English-Japanese Japanese-English Dictionary (all published by Maruzen). In 1972, the couple began work on Vaccari's Standard Japanese-English Dictionary (ヴァカーリズタンダード和英辞典 Vakāri Zutandādo Wa-Ei Jiten), considered to be the culmination of their lifetime's study. After Oreste began to suffer deteriorating health in 1975 (dying in 1980), the task of completing the Dictionary fell to Elisa. The Dictionary was finished in 1982, before Elisa's death the following year. Elisa's will provided that the dictionary be published with the money she bequeathed, and directed that the royalties be used to fund scholarships for foreign students of Japanese, in cooperation with the Jochi Corporation with which the Vaccaris had been closely associated. Sophia University
Sophia University
There are several rankings below related to Sophia University.-General Rankings:The university was ranked 61st in 2010 in the ranking Truly Strong Universities by Toyo Keizai...
of Tokyo finally published the Dictionary in 1990.