French Language History

 

La langue française, the language of love, is the first or second language in more than 43 countries and is spoken by 125 million people around the world, on every continent. French is one of the official languages of Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, and it is considered an unofficial second language of many countries such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It is also one of the six main languages of the United Nations.

France has won 12 Nobel Prizes for literature, more than any other country. French is the idiom of great writers and philosophers such as Molière, Victor Hugo, Flaubert, Proust, Descartes, Rousseau, Voltaire, Camus, and Sartre.  The country of Asterix and Obelix has the 4th largest economy in the world after the US, Japan and Germany and is the 2nd largest exporter of agricultural products.

As for French, the way its speakers pronounce and write their own language varies from one place to another and is strongly dependent on the local culture, customs and neighbouring influences. There are remarkable pronunciation differences between the French spoken in southern France, northern France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and in the many French speaking African countries in such a way people may not understand each other.

In its written form, the French spoken in the Canadian province of Québec ("Le Québécois") differs from standard French in many ways. For example, a "small shop" would be "un petit magasin" in France and "un dépanneur" in Québec. A "bank" would render "une banque" in France and "une caisse populaire" in Québec, while a "car" would be translated as "une automobile" in France and "un char" in Québec.

French Language History

GALLO-ROMANCE (5th-8th centuries)

A member of the Romance branch of the Indo-European family, French is descended from Vulgar Latin, (as distinguished from literary Latin) of the Roman Empire. When ancient Gaul, now modern France, was conquered by the Romans in the first century B.C., its inhabitants spoke Gaulish, a Celtic language, which was rapidly supplanted by the Latin of the Roman overlords.

In the 5th century A.D., the Franks, a group of Germanic tribes, began their invasion of Gaul, but they too were romanised. Although modern French thus inherited several hundred words of Celtic origin and several hundred more from Germanic, it owes its structure and the greater part of its vocabulary to Latin.

OLD FRENCH (9th-13th centuries)

The dialects of Northern Gaul developed into separate language with a grammar of their own. The first written materials in it date from the Strasbourg Oaths of 842. The Old French literature flourished since the 10th century (e.g., "chansons de geste").  In 11th-13th centuries it was the dominant language of the English administration and the idiom of the crusaders in the Levantine countries.

MIDDLE FRENCH (14th-15th centuries)

This period was marked by changes both in the pronunciation and in the grammar. A common literary language, based on the dialect of Île de France (the region of Paris), was promoted by the writers. French was replacing Latin in the texts of the public administration in France.

EARLY MODERN FRENCH (16th century)

The aim of the writers of this period, as is the case of the poets of La Pléiade, was to elevate the French language to the level of Latin as a medium for literary expression, In 1539, a royal decree  proclaimed French official language of the public administration. Since that period the government was always involved in the development and the standardisation of the language.

CLASSICAL MODERN FRENCH (17th-18th centuries)

In this period the main grammar conventions of the modern French were established, fuelled by the French Liberal Revolution. By then it was used as an international language throughout Europe and even in the administrative correspondence of countries like Germany. With the colonial expansion of France, the language spread to America (e.g., Canada, Louisiana, the Caribbean islands) and Africa (e.g. Morocco, Algeria, Congo).

CONTEMPORARY MODERN FRENCH (since 19th century)

The contemporary pronunciation of the standard language was fixed in that period. French was established as an official language in the French and Belgian colonial possessions in Africa. While the vocabulary and style of Modern French have been influenced by movements such as romanticism and realism, structurally French has changed comparatively little since the Classic Modern period. Standardisation of the French language has been aided in modern times by more widespread education and the media.

Main French-speaking countries

FRANCE:

Population: 60,424,213 (July 2004 est.)
Languages: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
GDP: $1.661 trillion (2003 est.)
GDP per capita: $27,600 (2003 est.)

Exports: machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
Exports partners: Germany 14.9%, Spain 9.6%, UK 9.4%, Italy 9.3%, Belgium 7.2%, US 6.8% (2003 est.)
Imports: machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals
Imports partners: Germany 19.1%, Belgium 9.4%, Italy 9%, Spain 7.4%, Netherlands 7%, UK 7%, US 5.4% (2003 est.)

France is today one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy resilient to the instabilities experienced in earlier parliamentary democracies. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of European states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to advance the creation of a more unified and capable European defence and security apparatus.

France has produced some of the continent's most influential writers and thinkers from Descartes and Pascal in the 17th century, through Rousseau and Voltaire in the 18th, Baudelaire and Flaubert in the 19th to Sartre and Camus in the 20th. In the last two centuries it has given the art world the works of Renoir, Monet, Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Braque, to name but a few.

BELGIUM

Population: 10,348,276 (July 2004 est.)
Languages: Flemish (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%
GDP: $299.1 billion (2003 est.)
GDP per capita: $29,100 (2003 est.)

Exports: machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
Exports partners: Germany 19.5%, France 17.4%, Netherlands 11.7%, UK 9%, US 6.7%, Italy 5.4% (2003 est.)
Imports: machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products
Imports partners: Germany 17.7%, Netherlands 16.5%, France 13.2%, UK 7.5%, US 5.9%, Ireland 5.7% (2003 est.)

Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state. Brussels is home to the headquarters of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Belgium is a federal state consisting of three regions: Flanders in the north where the official language is Dutch; Wallonia in the south where French is the official language and Brussels, the capital, where French and Dutch share official language status. There is also a small German-speaking minority of some 70,000 in Wallonia.

CANADA

Population: 32,507,874 (July 2004 est.)
Languages: English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5%
GDP:  $958.7 billion (2003 est.)
GDP per capita: $29,800 (2003 est.)

Exports: motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminium
Exports partners: US 86.6%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.4% (2003 est.)
Imports: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods
Imports partners: US 60.6%, China 5.6%, Japan 4.1% (2003 est.)

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia but its population is only about one-fifth of Russia's. 

Nearly 90% of Canadians live within 200 km of the border with the United States. The relationship to its powerful neighbour is a major defining factor for Canada. The US and Canada have the world's largest trading relationship. Immigration has helped to make Canada one of the world's richest countries, and the country is largely free of racial tension.

SWITZERLAND

Population: 7,450,867 (July 2004 est.)
Languages: German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 19.2%, Italian (official) 7.6%, Romansch (official) 0.6%, other 8.9%
GDP: $239.3 billion (2003 est.)
GDP per capita: $32,700 (2003 est.)

Exports: machinery, chemicals, metals, watches, agricultural products
Exports partners: Germany 19.7%, US 10.1%, Italy 9.4%, France 8.9%, UK 5.9%, Austria 4.4% (2003 est.)
Imports: machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural products, textiles
Imports partners: Germany 27.5%, France 11.8%, Italy 10.6%, US 8.1%, Austria 4.6%, UK 4.4%, Russia 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003 est.)

A landlocked, majestically scenic country, the Swiss Confederation's long-standing neutral status has given it political stability that has helped it become one of the world's wealthiest countries.

Switzerland's independence and neutrality have long been honoured by the major European powers, and Switzerland was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organisations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbours. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organisations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.

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