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French pages
Introduction · Pronouns · Gender · Verbs

Italic Languages
Latino-Faliscan	Faliscan
	Latin	Italo-Dalmatian	Corsican, Dalmatian, Istriot, Italian, Neapolitan, Sicilian
		Eastern Romance	Moldovan, Romanian
		Southern Romance	Sardian,
		Western Romance	Pyrenean-Mozarabic	Aragonese, Mozarabic
			Gallo-Iberian	Langues d'oïl	French
				Occitano-Romance
				Gallo-Italian
			Ibero-Romance	West Iberian	Galician, Leonese, Spanish, Portuguese
				East Iberian	Catalan
			Rhaeto-Romance	Friulian, Ladin, Romansh
			Oscan	Sabine, South Picene, Oscan
			Umbrian	Aequian, Marsian, Umbrian, Volscian
Vestinian	Vestinian

Welcome to the Wikilang introduction page for the French language, or as we call it, français!

:: Discuss French at the language learners forum ::

Introduction

French is a major Italic language, ranked 4th in the world by total speakers (about 500 million). It is used extensively in Europe, the Americas, and Africa: most notably in France, Switzerland, and Quebec. It is commonly spoken as a second language in the United States and in many former French colonies in Africa.

History

French evolves continually from its base in Vulgar Latin, set in place by the Roman conquest of France by Julius Cæsar (58-52 BC). Beginning in around 200 AD, France was invaded by various Germanic tribes: the Franks (to whom French owes its name), Alemanni, Burgundians, and the Visigoths. These tribes had an enormous influence on the Latin spoken in France, altering its lexicon, syntax, and pronunciation. Some linguists attribute up to 6% of the vocabulary of modern French to the Germanic conquests of the 3rd century.

After more minor influences from the Dutch, Breton, and Arabic languages, the dialects existent in France became collectively known as Old French. In 1539, King Francis I made French the official language of his administration, creating a standard dialect that excised the former French declension system. This version of French is known today as Middle French. With the foundation of the Académie française in 1634, the French language became more highly regulated. From the 17th to 20th centuries, France was a leading power in Europe, placing French as the continent's lingua franca.

Through the Académie française, public schooling, and mass media, the French language became eventually regulated and evolved into the language it is today.

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