French is descended from the Latin of the Roman Empire. Over time it has inherited hundreds of words form Germanic and Celtic origins, but owes a larger part of it’s vocabulary and grammar to Latin. By the 9th century Old French was sufficiently distinct enough from Latin to be it’s own distinct language.
Before Romans lived there, the Gaul tribe inhabited modern-day France. Today, perhaps less than 200 words descended from Gaulish remain. Mostly plant and place names exist, along with words that refer to the earth. From the third century Germanic tribes invaded and settled in Gaul. Their language had a profound effect on Latin, both in the sound and the syntax. Vocabulary descended from Germanic words range from around 400 words up to 2% of the language according to different linguists.
The Romantic Language
French is a Romance language. Romance languages can be divided into three groups: Langue d’oil, Langue d’oc, and Franco-Provencal, which is a broad combination of the two.
Langue d’oil is a romance language in the north of France. This was named because people in this area used the word ‘oil’ for yes. In modern day language this has changed to ‘oui’. Langue d’oc, consisted of an area where the people used ‘oc’ for yes. Langue d’oc thrived in the south of France, and Northern Spain.
From the 6th to the 7th century, Vascons crossed the Pyrenees, and influenced modern French, as did Scandinavian Vikings from the 9th century onwards. The Normans brought their influence on the language in the conquest of England in 1066. Because of this period of history, English has borrowed a significant part of its vocabulary from French.
Some linguists refer to Langue d‘oil as Old French. The earliest extant text is the ‘Oath of Strasbourg’. With this text, French became a literary language. Latin was the official language up until 1539, which was when King Francis changed the official language to French. This period is referred to as Middle French.
Classical French refers to the period of regulation in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some linguists are of the opinion that Modern French began in the 17th century. The French language has long been an issue of national pride.
This desire to purify and protect the language still exists today with the French Academy, which was created in since 1634. Debate exists today about the preservation of French, as popular culture, and the global market continue to introduce English and other influences into French.
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