FrenchLesson 1 of 2 in the course French literature and history

French Language History: Latin Origins, Contact, Standardization, and Sound Change

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 4 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces French’s linguistic family and the early languages spoken in Gaul. It explains how Latin became the basis of French while contact with Gaulish shaped its development.

French is a Romance language, descended primarily from Vulgar Latin, the everyday spoken form of Latin. More specifically, it belongs to the Gallo-Romance group, which developed in and around Gaul. A language’s history can be studied as external history, the political, social, and cultural circumstances affecting it, or internal history, the changes to its sounds, grammar, and vocabulary.

All flashcards

What is Vulgar Latin?
The everyday spoken varieties of Latin. French developed primarily from this popular Latin rather than directly from formal Classical Latin.
What is Gallo-Romance?
A branch or regional grouping of Romance languages that developed in Gaul and nearby areas; French belongs to this group.
How do external and internal language history differ?
External history examines social, political, and cultural circumstances affecting a language. Internal history examines changes within the language, such as changes to sounds and grammar.
How long did Gaulish and Latin coexist?
They coexisted for centuries under Roman rule. A credible attestation of Gaulish is dated to the second half of the sixth century.
What is a calque?
A loan translation: an expression modeled on another language by translating its meaning or components instead of borrowing its sound.

Quiz questions

  1. What is the earliest extant text in French, dated to 842?Answer: The Oaths of Strasbourg
  2. What did the 1539 Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts require in legal acts and official communications?Answer: The use of French instead of Latin
  3. In what year was the Académie française founded?Answer: 1634
  4. How did many Scandinavian-origin words enter French?Answer: Through Norman
  5. What is liaison in French pronunciation?Answer: Pronouncing a normally silent final consonant before a following vowel in certain contexts

Based on the Wikipedia article History of French, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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