|
|
History of the French language
"Old Fench" is the term used by linguists to refer to the language of France up to 1300 (ancien français). The most ancient French text is the "Oath of Strasbourg", from 842. It was with the "chansons de geste", that were tales about the heroes of the Crusades during the reign of Charlemagne, when French started its history as a literary language.In 1539, the King Francis I issued a law, known as "Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts", by which French substituted Latin as the language of administration and court in France. This form of language was known as "moyen français", or Middle French.
After that, started the unification, regulation and purification of the language, until it was created what was called Classical French ("Français classique"). Finally, French from the 17th century to nowadays is called "Modern French" by linguists.
The "Académie Française" is an official institution created by Cardinal Richelieu in 1634 with the aim of defining the purest form of French possible. The Academy counts with 40 members, called "the immortals" which express their opinion about matters like the adaptation of foreign words. For instance, due to the work of the Academy, some English words have been adapted to French: "software" became "logiciel", "riding-coat" became "redingote" and "packet-boat" was changed into "redingote". However, the word "ordinateur" (meaning "computer") is not the result of the Academy's rules, but of that of a linguist.
From the 17th to 19th centuries French was a language of great prestige: it was recognised as the language of European cultural elite, especially as for literature and arts. French was also spoken by many monarchs, as Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine of Russia, who also wrote some French.
The official French language has been the result of the control of the Academy, plus the role of public education and the influence of the media. However, nowadays regional dialects still exist and are a little different one with the other. Some critics state that the "best" pronunciation of French is that spoken in the Touraine region, although it isn't considered a universal judgement. And further, it's difficult to define what will happen to regional dialects in the next years, because the cosmopolitan aspect of the modern life makes people travel more and partly lose their attachment to local dialects.
|
|