Naissance de la langue française

Written by Qualified Language Expert Laura K Lawless Author of 8 language books, Grad work in translation & linguistics

In: Reading B1, Politics, History & Economics, Listening or Seeing B1

Discussion of this reading exercise: 11

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

• Histoire de la langue française
• Grandes dates de la langue française