The Present-Day
French Language
Roots
- French is considered a Romance language because it is mainly derived from Latin
- Latin is not the only influence on the French language
- Gaulish, Old Norse, and Frankish are also very old languages that have influenced French
Old Norse Influence
Gaulish Influence
- AD 850 - 911
- Mid-800s Northern France was raided by the Vikings
- In the year 911, they signed a treaty which granted them the land known as Normandy
- They intermarried with the French population and began to speak French
- They still left a little language influence which included place names and nautical terms
- 3000 BC and on
- Where France is in the present used to be Ancient Gaul
- In Ancient Gaul, they spoke Gaulish
- Gaulish is a Celtic language
- Modern French has adopted counting from Gaulish
20th Century
- France established French as the national language
- From the time of Louis XIV to the beginning of the 1900s, France was known as the international language
- When the 1900s began, the French influence began to decline
Bibliography
Frankish Influence
Latin Influence
- "French Language." <i>Infoplease</i>. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2015. <http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/society/french-language-history-french.html>.
- Units, The. <i>The Origins of French</i> (n.d.): n. pag. <i>Real French</i>. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
- "The Origins of the French Language." OneEurope. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015. <http://one-europe.info/the-origins-of-the-french-language>.
- Melissa. "The Evolution of the French Language." Today I Found Out. N.p., 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2015. <http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/12/fascinating-history-french-language/http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/12/fascinating-history-french-language/>.
- AD 400 - 771
- During the 5th century, the Romans went back to Rome to defend themselves
- Then, three Germanic tribes occupied France: the Burgundians, Visigoths, and the Franks
- Part of the reason the Franks influenced the French most is because they established their capital in Paris
- The name 'France' came from the Franks
- Between 124 and 118 BC, the Romans invaded South-Eastern France
- Then between 58 and 52 BC, Julius Caesar conquered the rest of Gaul (ancient France)
- By the 5th Century AD, because of the Romans, Gaulish was almost completely replaced by the Latin language
Origin of the French Language