At the end of the Neolithic, about 5,000 years ago,[2] Europe was the home of a type of man physically similar to any average European of our day. This type is the product of long-continued contact between the original human product of Europe, Asia and Africa. The dawn of history finds him speaking Celtic in western central Europe. An immense variety of dialects must then have been spoken on the continent, since intercourse was slight. Their fusion into modern languages has been the work of centuries. Out of the linguistic sifting of the past two millenniums, three great groups of languages have emerged: the Romanic, Germanic and Slavic, distributed over Europe from west to east. In these three groups French, German and Russian occupy respectively the leading rank.
The distinction between the languages spoken in northern and southern France was highly marked in early medieval days. The langue d’oïl in use north of a line starting at the mouth of the Gironde River and passing through Angoulême, L’Isle-Jourdain and Roanne eventually acquired ascendancy over the langue d’oc spoken to the south.[3] The dialect of this northern language which prevailed in Ile-de-France was the precursor of modern French. It spread rapidly throughout the country after the acquisition of Aquitaine by French kings and the consolidation of France by the annexation of Burgundian lands. The French of Paris thus became a national language whose linguistic and literary prestige is still strongly felt over the rest of the country.
The Roman conquest of Gaul brought Latin to the country because the civilization of the south was superior. At the time of the coming of the Franks, the Latinized Gaulish language was taken up by the conquerors because it also was the symbol of superior intellectual development. The conversion of barbarian invaders to Christianity helped to maintain Latinized forms of speech. The Latin of the Romans was modified, however, by the different local dialects. Thus the patois of langue d’oc and of langue d’oïl acquired resemblance through the leavening influence of Latin.
Fig. 3—Sketch map of France showing mountain areas and basins.
As long as southern France exercised a preponderating influence in national affairs, the langue d’oc occupied the first place in the country. In the eleventh century it was spoken by the leading classes in the north, as well as by the masses in the south. Such, at least, is the testimony of manuscripts of this period. But with the passing of power into the hands of northern Frenchmen, the langue d’oïl came into wider use, until one of its patois gave rise to the French which was subsequently to become the medium of expression for the genius of Molière and the notable host of his literary countrymen.
