Definition

Noun 1. A historical group of French dialects: "Langue d'oil French" refers to the medieval dialects of Old French spoken in the northern and central regions of France, from which modern standard French primarily developed. The term contrasts with "langue d'oc" (Occitan), spoken in the south.

Usage

• The term is used in historical, linguistic, and philological contexts to describe the linguistic landscape of medieval France.
• It specifically denotes the dialects spoken north of an approximate east-west line running from the Atlantic coast to the Alps.

Examples

• Academic Context:
  • Chaucer's works show some influence from Langue d'oil French, which was the language of the English court after the Norman Conquest.
  • The study compares phonetic developments in Langue d'oil French with those in the langue d'oc varieties.

Advanced Usage

• "Langue d'oil": This is the core term, with "French" often implied. It originates from the word for "yes" (, which became ) in these northern dialects, as opposed to in the south.
• The concept is central to understanding the standardization of the French language, as the dialect of the Île-de-France region (a langue d'oil dialect) eventually became the basis for modern French.

Variants and Related Words

• Langue d'oil (n): The more concise term for the same group of dialects.
• Old French (n): The broader historical stage of the language, encompassing both langue d'oil and langue d'oc dialects.
• Francien (n): Specifically the langue d'oil dialect of the Paris region (Île-de-France), which formed the foundation of standard French.
• Langue d'oc (n): The family of Romance dialects (Occitan) spoken in southern France during the same period.

Synonyms

• Northern Old French: A descriptive synonym emphasizing geographical distribution.
• Oil dialects: A technical linguistic synonym.

Noun

1. medieval provincial dialects of French spoken in central and northern France