This article is missing information about the phonology of Middle French. (April 2020) |
Middle French (French: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which:
- the French language became clearly distinguished from the other competing Oïl languages, which are sometimes subsumed within the concept of Old French (l'ancien français)
- the French language was imposed as the official language of the Kingdom of France in place of Latin and other Oïl and Occitan languages
- the literary development of French prepared the vocabulary and grammar for the Classical French (le français classique) spoken in the 17th and 18th centuries.
| Middle French | |
|---|---|
| françois, franceis | |
| Region | France |
| Era | Evolved into Modern French by the early 17th century |
Early forms | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | frm |
| ISO 639-3 | frm |
| Glottolog | midd1316 |
It is the first version of French that is largely intelligible to Modern French, contrary to Old French.
History
The most important change found in Middle French is the complete disappearance of the noun declension system, which had been underway for centuries. There was no longer a distinction between nominative and oblique forms of nouns, and plurals became indicated by simply an s. The transformations necessitated an increased reliance on word order in the sentence, which becomes more or less the syntax of Modern but with a continued reliance on the verb in the second position of a sentence, or "verb-second structure", until the 16th century.
Among the elites, Latin was still the language of education, administration, and bureaucracy. That changed in 1539, with the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, in which Francis I made French the sole language for legal acts. Regional differences were still extreme throughout the Kingdom of France: in the south of France, Occitan languages dominated; in east-central France, Franco-Provençal languages were predominant; and in the north of France, Oïl languages other than Francien continued to be spoken.
The fascination with classical texts led to numerous borrowings from Latin and Greek. Numerous neologisms based on Latin roots were introduced, and some scholars modified the spelling of French words to bring them into conformity with their Latin roots, sometimes erroneously. That often produced a radical difference between a word's spelling and pronunciation. Nevertheless, Middle French spelling was overall fairly close to the pronunciation; unlike Modern French, word-final consonants were still pronounced though they were optionally lost when they preceded another consonant that started the next word.
Between the 1490s and the 1550s, the French wars in Italy and the presence of Italians in the French court brought the French into contact with Italian humanism. Many words dealing with the military (alarme, cavalier, espion, infanterie, camp, canon, soldat) and artistic (especially architectural: arcade, architrave, balcon, corridor; also literary: sonnet) practices were borrowed from Italian. Those tendencies would continue through Classical French.
There were also some borrowings from Spanish (casque) and German (reître) and from the Americas (cacao, hamac, maïs).
The influence of the Anglo-Norman language on English had left words of French and Norman origin in England. Some words of Romance origin now found their way back into French as doublets through war and trade.
Also, the meaning and usage of many words from Old French transformed.
Spelling and punctuation were extremely variable. The introduction of printing in 1470 highlighted the need for reform in spelling. One proposed reform came from Jacques Peletier du Mans, who developed a phonetic spelling system and introduced new typographic signs (1550), but his attempt at spelling reform was not followed.
The period saw the publication of the first French grammars and of the French-Latin dictionary of Robert Estienne (1539).
At the beginning of the 17th century, French would see the continued unification of French, the suppression of certain forms, and the prescription of rules, leading to Classical French.
Phonological history
| Latin | Proto-Romance | Old French | Middle French | Modern French | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th century | 12th century | 15th century | 18th century | 21st century | ||
| PEDEM 'foot' | */ˈpɛde/ | /pjeð/ | /pjeθ/ pied | /pje/ | /pje/ | /pje/ pied |
| MĀTŪRUM 'mature' | */maˈturu/ | /maˈðyr/ | /məˈyr/ meür | /my(r)/ | /myr/ | /myʁ/ mûr |
| SCŪTUM 'shield' | */(ɪ)sˈkutu/ | /esˈkyð/ | /esˈky/ escu | /eˈky/ | /eˈky/ | /eˈky/ écu |
| SAETAM 'silk' | */ˈseta/ | /ˈsejðə/ | /ˈsej.ə/ seie | /ˈsoj.ə/ | /ˈswɛ.ə/ | /swa/ soie |
| FĒMINAM 'woman' | */ˈfemɪna/ | /ˈfemnə/ | /ˈfemːə/ femme | /ˈfãmə/ | /ˈfam(ə)/ | /fam/ femme |
| HOMINEM 'man' | */ˈɔmɪne/ | /ˈɔmnə/ | /ˈɔmːə/ homme | /ˈɔ̃mə/ | /ˈɔm(ə)/ | /ɔm/ homme |
| BELLUS 'beautiful' | */ˈbɛlːʊs/ | /bɛɫs/ | /be̯aws/ beaus | /be̯o/ | /bjo/ | /bo/ beau |
| HABĒRE 'to have' | */aˈβere/ | /aˈvejr/ | /aˈvɔjr/ avoir | /aˈvwɛ(r)/ | /aˈvwɛr/ | /aˈvwaʁ/ avoir |
| IŪDICĀTUM 'judged' | */judiˈkatu/ | /dʒyˈdʒjeð/ | /ʒyˈʒje/ jugié | /ʒyˈʒe/ | /ʒyˈʒe/ | /ʒyˈʒe/ jugé |
| COLLŌCĀRE 'to place' | */kolːoˈkare/ | /koɫˈtʃjer/ | /kuˈtʃjer/ couchier | /kuˈʃje(r)/ | /kuˈʃe/ | /kuˈʃe/ coucher |
Literature
Middle French is the language found in the writings of Charles, Duke of Orléans, François Villon, Clément Marot, François Rabelais, Michel de Montaigne, Pierre de Ronsard, and the poets of La Pléiade.
The affirmation and glorification of French finds its greatest manifestation in La Défense et illustration de la langue française (The Defense and Illustration of the French Language) (1549) by the poet Joachim du Bellay, which maintained that French, like the Tuscan of Petrarch and Dante Alighieri, was a worthy language for literary expression and promulgated a program of linguistic production and purification, including the imitation of Latin genres.
Notes
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2022-05-24). "Glottolog 4.8 - Shifted Western Romance". Glottolog. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Archived from the original on 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2024-11-16). "Glottolog 5.1 - Gallo-Rhaetian". Glottolog. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
- Ducos, Joëlle; Soutet, Olivier (2012). L'ancien et le moyen français. PUF. p. 4. ISBN 978-2-13-061687-0.
- "Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500)". ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine. 2015.
- Larousse, xxvi.
- Larousse, vi, xiii–xiv, xvii; Bonnard, pp. 113–114.
- Wartburg, p. 160; Bonnard, p. 114.
- Bonnard, p. 114.
References
- Larousse dictionnaire du moyen français. Paris: Larousse, 1992.
- H. Bonnard. Notions de style, de versificiation et d'histoire de la langue française. Paris: SUDEL, 1953.
- W. von Wartburg. Évolution et structure de la langue française. Berne (Switzerland): Francke A.G., 1946.
External links
- Dictionnaire du Moyen Français
This article is missing information about the phonology of Middle French Please expand the article to include this information Further details may exist on the talk page April 2020 Middle French French moyen francais is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid 14th to the early 17th centuries It is a period of transition during which the French language became clearly distinguished from the other competing Oil languages which are sometimes subsumed within the concept of Old French l ancien francais the French language was imposed as the official language of the Kingdom of France in place of Latin and other Oil and Occitan languages the literary development of French prepared the vocabulary and grammar for the Classical French le francais classique spoken in the 17th and 18th centuries Middle Frenchfrancois franceisRegionFranceEraEvolved into Modern French by the early 17th centuryLanguage familyIndo European ItalicLatino FaliscanLatinicRomanceItalo WesternWesternGallo IberianGallo RomanceGallo Rhaetian Arpitan OilOilFrancien zoneMiddle FrenchEarly formsOld Latin Vulgar Latin Proto Romance Old Gallo Romance Old FrenchLanguage codesISO 639 2 span class plainlinks frm span ISO 639 3 a href https iso639 3 sil org code frm class extiw title iso639 3 frm frm a Glottologmidd1316 It is the first version of French that is largely intelligible to Modern French contrary to Old French HistoryThe most important change found in Middle French is the complete disappearance of the noun declension system which had been underway for centuries There was no longer a distinction between nominative and oblique forms of nouns and plurals became indicated by simply an s The transformations necessitated an increased reliance on word order in the sentence which becomes more or less the syntax of Modern but with a continued reliance on the verb in the second position of a sentence or verb second structure until the 16th century Among the elites Latin was still the language of education administration and bureaucracy That changed in 1539 with the Ordinance of Villers Cotterets in which Francis I made French the sole language for legal acts Regional differences were still extreme throughout the Kingdom of France in the south of France Occitan languages dominated in east central France Franco Provencal languages were predominant and in the north of France Oil languages other than Francien continued to be spoken The fascination with classical texts led to numerous borrowings from Latin and Greek Numerous neologisms based on Latin roots were introduced and some scholars modified the spelling of French words to bring them into conformity with their Latin roots sometimes erroneously That often produced a radical difference between a word s spelling and pronunciation Nevertheless Middle French spelling was overall fairly close to the pronunciation unlike Modern French word final consonants were still pronounced though they were optionally lost when they preceded another consonant that started the next word Between the 1490s and the 1550s the French wars in Italy and the presence of Italians in the French court brought the French into contact with Italian humanism Many words dealing with the military alarme cavalier espion infanterie camp canon soldat and artistic especially architectural arcade architrave balcon corridor also literary sonnet practices were borrowed from Italian Those tendencies would continue through Classical French There were also some borrowings from Spanish casque and German reitre and from the Americas cacao hamac mais The influence of the Anglo Norman language on English had left words of French and Norman origin in England Some words of Romance origin now found their way back into French as doublets through war and trade Also the meaning and usage of many words from Old French transformed Spelling and punctuation were extremely variable The introduction of printing in 1470 highlighted the need for reform in spelling One proposed reform came from Jacques Peletier du Mans who developed a phonetic spelling system and introduced new typographic signs 1550 but his attempt at spelling reform was not followed The period saw the publication of the first French grammars and of the French Latin dictionary of Robert Estienne 1539 At the beginning of the 17th century French would see the continued unification of French the suppression of certain forms and the prescription of rules leading to Classical French Phonological historyLatin Proto Romance Old French Middle French Modern French9th century 12th century 15th century 18th century 21st centuryPEDEM foot ˈpɛde pjed pje8 pied pje pje pje piedMATuRUM mature maˈturu maˈdyr meˈyr meur my r myr myʁ murSCuTUM shield ɪ sˈkutu esˈkyd esˈky escu eˈky eˈky eˈky ecuSAETAM silk ˈseta ˈsejde ˈsej e seie ˈsoj e ˈswɛ e swa soieFEMINAM woman ˈfemɪna ˈfemne ˈfemːe femme ˈfame ˈfam e fam femmeHOMINEM man ˈɔmɪne ˈɔmne ˈɔmːe homme ˈɔ me ˈɔm e ɔm hommeBELLUS beautiful ˈbɛlːʊs bɛɫs be aws beaus be o bjo bo beauHABERE to have aˈbere aˈvejr aˈvɔjr avoir aˈvwɛ r aˈvwɛr aˈvwaʁ avoirIuDICATUM judged judiˈkatu dʒyˈdʒjed ʒyˈʒje jugie ʒyˈʒe ʒyˈʒe ʒyˈʒe jugeCOLLŌCARE to place kolːoˈkare koɫˈtʃjer kuˈtʃjer couchier kuˈʃje r kuˈʃe kuˈʃe coucherLiteratureMiddle French is the language found in the writings of Charles Duke of Orleans Francois Villon Clement Marot Francois Rabelais Michel de Montaigne Pierre de Ronsard and the poets of La Pleiade The affirmation and glorification of French finds its greatest manifestation in La Defense et illustration de la langue francaise The Defense and Illustration of the French Language 1549 by the poet Joachim du Bellay which maintained that French like the Tuscan of Petrarch and Dante Alighieri was a worthy language for literary expression and promulgated a program of linguistic production and purification including the imitation of Latin genres NotesHammarstrom Harald Forkel Robert Haspelmath Martin Bank Sebastian 2022 05 24 Glottolog 4 8 Shifted Western Romance Glottolog Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Archived from the original on 2023 11 27 Retrieved 2023 11 11 Hammarstrom Harald Forkel Robert Haspelmath Martin Bank Sebastian 2024 11 16 Glottolog 5 1 Gallo Rhaetian Glottolog Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Retrieved 2024 11 16 Ducos Joelle Soutet Olivier 2012 L ancien et le moyen francais PUF p 4 ISBN 978 2 13 061687 0 Dictionnaire du Moyen Francais 1330 1500 ATILF CNRS amp Universite de Lorraine 2015 Larousse xxvi Larousse vi xiii xiv xvii Bonnard pp 113 114 Wartburg p 160 Bonnard p 114 Bonnard p 114 ReferencesLarousse dictionnaire du moyen francais Paris Larousse 1992 H Bonnard Notions de style de versificiation et d histoire de la langue francaise Paris SUDEL 1953 W von Wartburg Evolution et structure de la langue francaise Berne Switzerland Francke A G 1946 External linksDictionnaire du Moyen Francais
