A History of the French Language

Abstract

Preface Preface to the second edition Abbreviations and phonetic symbols From Vulgar Latin to the recognition of the new vernacular The language of the earliest French texts Old French: language or dialect? Middle French developments Progress and prestige in the sixteenth century Codification and standardisation: Classical and Neo-Classical French From the Revolution to the present day The defence of French Appendix: the distribution of the French language in the world today Suggestions for further reading Index