History of French Language

Gallo-Romance : 2nd BC - 8th AD

French is known as one of the romance languages. That is to say that it comes from the group of languages that descended from Latin, the language of ancient Rome.

When ancient Gaul (now modern France) was conquered by the Romans in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, its inhabitants at the time spoke what is known as Gaulish (a Celtic language) but this was rapidly taken over by the Latin of the Roman invaders.

This is often referred to as "Vulgar Latin".

Then in the 5th century AD the Franks (a group of Germanic tribes) began their invasion of Gaul, but they were ultimately overrun by Roman leadership and the Latin language.

-- History of French Language --

Old French : 9th - 13th Centuries

Between the 9th and 13th centuries a new language began to immerge which was a mixture of Gaulish/Celtic and Germanic words but with a strong Latin basis.

This French was know as "Old French".

By the end of the 13th century 'Old French' had begun to develop into regional dialects. In general the dialects spoken in the Northern parts of France were referred to as Language d'Oïl and those spoken in the Southern parts were referred to as Langue d'Oc.

These dialects included "Le Francien" spoken in and around Paris, "Breton" spoken in Brittany, "Le Picard" spoken in Picardie and "Occitan" spoken in Southern France.

However the dialect of Paris soon began to dominate especially in administration and politics and Le Francien soon became know as the standard for French.

In fact, the dialect of Paris actually became the law during the French Revolution.

-- History of French Language --

Middle French : 14th - 16th Centuries

By now "Old French" was changing and evolved into "Middle French".

Middle French was different from its predecessor in that it was a more refined language, with a significant number of words, phrases and expressions borrowed from other languages, particularly Italian and Greek in addition to Latin.

People were encouraged to develop and expand the language further, and to focus on developing their literature. French was also beginning to replace Latin in the written publications of administration in France.

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Modern French : 17th Century - Modern Day

By the 17th century, "Modern French" began to immerge.

Cardinal Richelieu founded the French Academy ("Académie Franaçise") in 1635 with the aim of preserving the structure, integrity and purity of the language. It was also to ensure that French was not subjected to foreign influences, particularly the English language and also to encourage people to develop and retain French literature.

During this period, the French language flourished and it began to be spoken throughout the world. So much so that by the 17th century French had become the language of international diplomacy and relations.

However English quickly gained its place in the international arena and although the French Academy fought in the 20th century to keep French as the international language of diplomacy, English began to dominate and eventually became and still is the international language of communication.

French however, along with English, continues to play an important role as the language of international institutions such as the UN, UNESCO, NATO, and the Universal Postal Union.

So although modern French is inherently descended from Latin, it also inherited several hundred words of Celtic origin and several hundred more from Germanic roots.

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French Today

In today's world, French is spoken in practically every continent in the world and is considered as the second "Global Language" after English.

Did you know that :

Phew, that's a lot of French being spoken around the world and so you can see why it's a popular language and one that is worth learning.

Books on the History of French Language

-- History of French Language --

Want to learn or improve your French?

French for Beginners

French for Intermediates

French for Advanced

-- History of French Language --