Naissance de la langue française

Modern French dates from about the year 1300, but where did it come from? Learn about the birth of the French language in this 5-part series of bilingual articles about the development of French over the centuries.*

After listening to the audio, click any word for the English translation and links to related grammar lessons.

Note: The tenses in this French article and its English translation don't match! In French, we use the present tense to describe historical stories like this to evoke a sense of immediacy, whereas in English, we commonly use the past tense - learn more about historical French tenses.


Listening:

 

 

*The Development of French

  1. Birth of the French language
  2. Dialects and regional languages
  3. Middle French
  4. Classical French
  5. Modern French

Learn more

Click any word in the text to see its translation and related grammar lessons.

I'll be right with you...