Marcel Courthiade (2 August 1953 – 4 March 2021) was a French linguist and researcher.

He then studied at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO) in Paris, where he earned a diploma in Polish, Macedonian, and Albanian.

He titled his doctoral thesis Phonologie des variétés dialectales de Rromani et diasystèmes graphiques de la langue Romani, a degree he earned from the École pratique des hautes études.

During his studies, Courthiade worked for several NGOs regarding education for Romani people in Albania.

Subsequently, he worked as a political analyst and interpreter at the French Embassy in Albania for four years.