The langue d'oïl As with any complex, emergent concept, language is somewhat resistant to definition. However, most would agree that language is a system of Communication is the process of exchanging information usually via a common system of symbols. Communication is the academic discipline which studies communication. Contents // 1 Forms of communication 2... language family in Linguistics Linguistics Theoretical linguistics Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Semantics Lexical semantics Stylistics Prescription Pragmatics Applied linguistics Sociolinguistics Generative linguistics Cognitive linguistics Computational linguistics Historical linguistics Etymology List of linguists Theoretical linguistics studies diverse questions: how certain languages managed to communicate, what properties all languages have in common, what knowledge a... linguistics comprises The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages, are a subfamily of the Indo-European Indo-European languages Anatolian | Indo-Iranian | Greek | Italic Celtic | Germanic | Armenian Balto-Slavic | Tocharian | Albanian Proto-Indo-European Language | Society | Religion Kurgan | Yamna | BMAC | Aryan Indo-European studies The Italic subfamily is a member of the... Romance languages originating in territories now occupied by northern Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. Subject to disclaimers. Trying... France, part of For other uses, see Belgium is: a country in Europe, see United States: Belgium, Illinois Belgium, Wisconsin Belgium (town), Wisconsin Belgium Township, Minnesota Belgium, West Virginia a curse word in the radio series and US version of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is also... Belgium and the Alternative meaning: Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. They comprise two separate Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. Contents // 1 History 2 Politics 3 Geography 4 Economy 5 Culture 6 Other islands in the... Channel Islands.

Care should be taken to differentiate these two uses of the term:

1. Langue d'oïl is an Old French is a term sometimes used to refer to the langue doïl, the continuum of varieties of Romance language spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland during the period roughly from 1000 to 1300 A.D... Old French term meaning language of oïl. Modern-day languages of this family are also referred to in English as Oïl languages. Since the latter half of the (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... 20th century the tendency in French has been to refer to the languages in the plural as langues d'oïl to clearly distinguish one language taken in isolation or the linguistic grouping as a whole.
2. The term langue d'oïl is also used in a historical sense to refer to Old French, which was distinguished from another The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages includes French, Oïl languages, Catalan, and Occitan, among other languages. These languages present some similarities. Catalan is considered a transitional language between Gallo-Romance and Ibero-Romance. Categories: Romance languages | Stub ... Gallo-Romance variety, the Occitan (langue doc) Spoken in: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back... langue d'oc, by the word meaning "yes" in those languages. Vulgar Latin (in Latin, sermo vulgaris) is a blanket term covering the vernacular dialects of the Latin language spoken mostly in the western provinces of the Roman Empire until those dialects, diverging still further, evolved into the early Romance languages — a distinction usually assigned to about the ninth century... Vulgar Latin developed different methods of signifying assent: hoc ille for Langue d'oil and hoc for Langue d'oc. the subsequent development of "oïl" into "oui" can be seen in modern French.

History

The language generally referred to as French (Français) Spoken in: The French Republic or France ( French (Fran ais) Spoken in: France and 53 other countries Region: Europe Total speakers: 128 million Ranking: 11 Genetic classification: Indo-European  Italic   Romance    Italo-Western     Western   ... French is an Oïl language, but the territories of France have for centuries included large groups of speakers of Oïl languages other than French, as well as speakers of languages outside the Oïl language family (see There are a number of languages of Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no... Languages of France)

Although the competing literary standards of the Oïl languages in the mediaeval period might have developed into a situation where each language retained its status within the territory where it was spoken, the centralisation of the French kingdom and its influence even outside its formal borders had the effect of sending most of the Oïl languages into comparative obscurity for several centuries.

Two main theories tend to be put forward to explain the rise of French language:

The Francien theory

It is claimed that Francien, the Oïl language of the For other uses, see Paris is the name of a variety of things. Contents // 1 Locations 2 People 2.1 Mythology and fiction 3 Other Locations France Paris Canada Paris, Ontario Paris, Yukon United States Paris, Arkansas Perris, California Paris, Idaho Paris, Illinois Paris, Kentucky Paris, Michigan Paris, Missouri Paris... Paris region and therefore of the French court, was simply imposed as the An official language is something that is given a unique status in the countries, This article discusses states as sovereign political entities. For other meanings, see state (disambiguation). In international law and international relations, a state is a geographic political entity possessing politicial sovereignty, i.e. not being subject to... official language in all the territory of the kingdom because it was the language the king spoke. This Francien, it is claimed, became the modern French language.

Current linguistic thinking mostly discounts the Francien theory, although it is still often quoted in popular textbooks.

The Lingua franca theory

Most linguists working in the field tend to advance variations on the theory that the "French" language, imposed by the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts to replace Latin, was not a particular variety of Oïl language, but rather a generalised administrative language, shorn of distinguishing regional features and equally comprehensible to all - a Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. The term is now applied to any language used by speakers of different languages to... lingua franca.

It is argued that this language was not intended to become a national language, merely a chancery language for law and administration. However, the development of literature in this new language encouraged writers to use French rather than their own A regional language is a language spoken in a part of a country - it may be a small area, a federal state or province, or a wider area. Contents // 1 Definition in international law 2 Influence of number of speakers 3 Relationship with official languages 4 Official languages as regional... regional languages. This led to the decline of This article addresses vernacular language; see also vernacular architecture. The vernacular is the native language of a country or locality. In previous centuries scholarly work in western Europe was typically written in Latin, so the works written in a native language (such as Italian or German) were said to be... vernacular literature.

Until the Download high resolution version (800x769, 100 KB)Soldiers of an Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade on a duckboard track passing through Chateau Wood, near Hooge in the Ypres salient, October 29, 1917. The photograph was taken by James Francis Hurley. The leading soldier is Gunner James Fulton and the... First World War, French was not primarily the language of the French people - the A regional language is a language spoken in a part of a country - it may be a small area, a federal state or province, or a wider area. Contents // 1 Definition in international law 2 Influence of number of speakers 3 Relationship with official languages 4 Official languages as regional... regional languages of France were still the languages most used in the home and in the fields. This was also generally the case with the Oïl languages.

Literature

Besides the influence of French literature is literature written in the French language; and especially, literature written in French by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written in other languages of France. See Francophone literature for literature written in French by citizens of other nations. Contents // 1 Introduction 2 The Middle... French literature, small-scale literature has survived in the other Oïl languages. Theatrical writing is most notable in Picard and Poitevin-Saintongeais. Oral performance (story-telling) is a feature of Gallo, for example, while Norman and Walloon literature, especially from the early Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. In the sense of the Common Era... 19th century tends to focus on written texts and poetry (see, for example, Wace (c. 1115–c. 1183) was an Anglo-Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the Roman de Rou that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his career as Canon of Bayeux. His extant works include... Wace and Jèrriais literature).

Status

Apart from French, an official language in many countries, the Oïl languages have enjoyed little status.

Currently Walloon, Lorrain (under the local name of Gaumais) and Champenois have the status of regional languages of Wallonie (French) Wallonien (German) Walonreye (Walloon) National motto: Walon todi ! (Walloon forever!) Official languages French, German Capital Namur Minister-President Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe Area  - Total 16,844 km² Population  - Total (2002)  - Density 3,358,560 inhabitants 199.39/km2 National anthem Li Tchant... Wallonia.

The languages of the Channel Islands enjoy a certain status under the governments of their respective A bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the sheriffs functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a Crown grant. The word is now more generally used in a France (bailie being the Old French... Bailiwicks and within the regional and lesser-used language framework of the The British–Irish Council (sometimes known as the Council of the Isles) is a body created by the Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement). Its membership includes representatives from throughout the British Isles. Its stated aim is to promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of... British-Irish Council.

The French government recognises the Oïl languages as There are a number of languages of Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no... Languages of France but has been For the entry on the naval ship U.S.S. Constitution, see: USS Constitution. An organizations constitution defines its form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules. To view particular constitutions, refer to the list of national constitutions. The term comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law... constitutionally barred from ratifying the The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European Generally, convention means coming together. Sometimes it means physically coming together, as a group of people meeting in one place, and sometimes it means agreeing on rules and customs. In the latter sense, a convention may be explicitly legislated... European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Influence

The The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. It is the third most common first language (native speakers), with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence... English language was heavily influenced by contact with Norman following the Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. It is an important watershed in English history for a number... Norman Conquest and much of the adopted vocabulary shows typically Norman features. See The Anglo-Norman language is the name given to the language spoken by the Anglo-Normans, the descendents of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066. The Norman nobility spoke a langue do l called Norman. This became the official language of... Anglo-Norman language

The French spoken in Belgium shows some influence from Walloon.

The langue d'oïl languages were more or less influenced by the native languages of the conquering Germanic may refer to Germanic languages: A language family, the languages of which are spoken in northern and northwestern Europe, and in many places colonized since around 1500 Germanic peoples: Collective name of a number of tribes and peoples, originating from northern Europe, several of which invaded the Roman Empire... Germanic tribes, notably History of France Series - This is a timeline of French history. 1850s: 1850 - 1851 - 1852 - 1853 - 1854 - 1855 - 1856 - 1857 - 1858 - 1859 1860s: 1860 - 1861 - 1862 - 1863 - 1864 - 1865 - 1866 - 1867 - 1868 - 1869 1870s: 1870 - 1871 - 1872 - 1873 - 1874 - 1875 - 1876 - 1877 - 1878 - 1879 1880s: 1880 - 1881 - 1882 - 1883 - 1884... Franks.

The development of French in North America was influenced by the speech of settlers originating from north-western France, many of whom introduced features of their Oïl varieties into the French they spoke.

Oïl languages

This list follows the Francien theory, as explained above.

• Burgundian is either of the following; An extinct language of the Germanic language group spoken by the Burgundians. It was a living language in the 5th century AD in southeast Gaul. An Oïl language known as Bourguignon-Morvandiau spoken in the region of Burgundy. It is one of the... Bourguignon-Morvandiau
• Champenois is a language spoken by a minority of people in France and in Belgium. It is one of the langues d’oïl. It is classified as a regional language of France, and has the recognised status of a regional language of Wallonia. Categories: Romance languages | Languages of... Champenois
• Franc-Comtois is a language spoken by a minority of people in Franche-Comté. It is one of the langues doïl and is a regional language of France. Categories: Romance languages | Languages of France | Franche-Comté | Language stubs ... Franc-Comtois
• Francien
  • French (Français) Spoken in: The French Republic or France ( French (Fran ais) Spoken in: France and 53 other countries Region: Europe Total speakers: 128 million Ranking: 11 Genetic classification: Indo-European  Italic   Romance    Italo-Western     Western   ... French
    • French is one of Canadas two official languages; the other is English and is the language of the majority (see Canadian English). According to the 2001 Census, Canada has seen a rise in francophones outside Quebec — about 4.4 percent of Canadians outside Quebec are francophones.[1] ... Canadian French
      • Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. See IPA in Unicode if you have display problems. Quebec French or Québécois French is a dialect of French spoken by the great majority of people in Quebec, Canada. It developed out of... Quebec French
        • Joual is the name given by some to a working-class sociolect of Quebec French that was spoken in Montreal, after its pronunciation of the word cheval (horse). Its most important trait was the quantity of loanwords from English. The term is said to have been coined by journalist Andr... Joual
      • Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. See IPA in Unicode if you have display problems. Acadian French (le français acadien) is a dialect of French spoken by the Acadians in the Canadian Maritimes provinces. Like other Canadian French dialects, it... Acadian French
        • Cajun French is a dialect of the French language, spoken primarily in the American state of Louisiana. It is derived from another French dialect, Acadian, which is spoken in the state of Maine and in Canadas Maritime Provinces. The deportation of about 75% of Acadian population living in the... Cajun French
  • Belgian French is the variety of French spoken by the french speakers of Belgium, alongside related minority regional languages like the Walloon language, the Picard language, Champenois and Gaumais. Belgian French and the French of France are almost identical and hence mutually intelligible, but there are differences in vocabulary, which... Belgian French
  • Marseillais French
  • Parisian French
  • Swiss French (Suisse romand in French) is the name used for the different dialects of French spoken in the Francophone part of Switzerland known as Romandy. The differences between Swiss French and French French are mostly difference in vocabulary and both languages are almost entirely mutually intelligible: a Swiss French... Swiss French
• Gallo is a regional language of France, traditionally spoken in Eastern Brittany. In contrast to Breton, the Celtic language which is traditionally spoken in the Western territory of the country, Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages (closely related to Norman, Picard and Poitevin-Saintongeais among... Gallo language (spoken in Région Bretagne Details Information Capital: Rennes Population  - Total  - Density 2,906,197(1999 census) 3,011,000(1.1.2004 estimates) 107 /km² Area 27 208 km² Arrondissements 15 Cantons 201 Communes 1 268 President of the regional council Jean-Yves Le Drian Départements... Brittany)
• Lorrain is a language spoken by a minority of people in Lorraine in France and in Gaume in Belgium. It is one of the langues doïl. It is classified as a regional language of France, and has the recognised status of a regional language of Wallonia (where it... Lorrain
• The Norman language is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. The name Norman-French is sometimes used to describe not only the modern Norman language, but also the administrative languages of Anglo-Norman and Law French used in England. Contents // 1 Geographical range 2 Literature 3 History... Norman
  • The Anglo-Norman language is the name given to the language spoken by the Anglo-Normans, the descendents of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066. The Norman nobility spoke a langue do l called Norman. This became the official language of... Anglo-Norman (extinct)
  • Dgèrnésiais (spoken in For the garment with this name, see guernsey. The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British crown dependency off the coast of France. As well as the island of Guernsey itself, it also includes Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, Burhou and other islets. There are 10 Parishes in Guernsey. Together with... Guernsey)
  • Jèrriais (spoken in For other uses, see Jersey (disambiguation). The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, it also includes the uninhabited islands of Minquiers and Ecréhous. Along with the Bailiwick of Guernsey it forms the grouping... Jersey)
• Picard is a language closely related to French, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. It is spoken in two regions in the far north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie – and in parts of the Belgian region Wallonia (but is... Picard
• Poitevin-Saintongeais is a language spoken by a minority of people in Poitou-Charentes. It is one of the regional languages of France. It is now classified as one of the langues doïl but is distinguished by certain features of the langue doc. The language is spoken... Poitevin-Saintongeais
• Walloon (Walon) is a regional Romance language spoken in Belgium. It belongs to the langue doïl linguistic family, whose most prominent member is the French language, and is sometimes considered a French dialect. Walloon should not be confused with Belgian French, which differs from the French of France... Walloon

Creoles derived from French

For the languages, see Creole language The term Creole is used with different meanings in different contexts, which can generate confusion. Generally it refers to a people or a culture that is distinctive or local to a region, but with various additional shades of meaning. Contents // 1 Latin American Creole... Creoles and A Pidgin, or contact language, is the name given to any language created, usually spontaneously, out of a mixture of other languages as a means of communication between speakers of different tongues. Pidgins have rudimentary grammars and restricted vocabulary, serving as auxiliary contact languages. They are improvised rather than learned... pidgins developed from a basis of French are sometimes included among the Oïl languages.

• Chiac is an Acadian French vernacular mixed with English, spoken in the south-east New Brunswick, Canada, especially among youth near Moncton, Memramcook and Shediac. With generations of contact with the dominant Anglophone community in the area, the local French dialect has been heavily influenced by English. Chiac is a... Chiac Language (also from The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. It is the third most common first language (native speakers), with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence... English)
• Haitian Creole (Kreyòl ayisyen) is a creole language based on the French language. It is spoken in Haiti by about 7.5 million people (as of 1998), which is nearly the whole population. Via immigration, several hundred thousand speakers live in other countries, including Canada, the United States and... Haitian Creole
• Michif is the indigenous language of the Métis people of Canada. Michif (also spelled Mechif), or Michif-Cree as it is sometimes called, emerged over two hundred years ago as a mixed language, combining Cree and French, with some additional borrowing from English and First Nation languages such as... Michif