Introduction to Old French

1. Introduction to Old French Brigitte L.M. Bauer and Jonathan Slocum

2. Language d’oïl & Langue d’oc • "Old French" refers to a collection of dialects spoken from the 9th through 13th centuries. • it is possible to divide them in two groups: • the dialects spoken in the northern parts of France, to which one refers as language d'oïl • those spoken in the Southern parts, referred to as langue d'oc. Oc and oïl were markers of affirmation ('yes') in the respective dialect groups. • La language d'oïl includes the following dialects • the dialects of Picardie (le Picard), Normandy (le Normand), Ile de France (le Francien), Lorraine (le Lorrain), Anjou (l'Angevin), Poitou (le Poitevin), Bourgundy (le Bourguignon), and Berry (le Berrichon). • La langue d'oc includes the dialects of the following regions • Provence (le provenc/al), Auvergne (l'auvergnat), Gascony (le gascon), and Languedoc (le languedocien).

3. Grammatical Characteristics • Old French represents an intermediate stage between Latin and the modern language • In OF, use of the subject pronoun is infrequent • OF uses the definite article, though not as frequently as modern French • Negation: ne but no pas • Word order is predominately Subject-Verb-Object

4. End of Old French • By the end of the 13th century, the dialect of Old French used on the Ile de France predominates. • The language used during the 14th and 15th centuries in France is referred to as Middle French and is much closer to modern French.

5. Source • Old French Online (https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/ofrol/00)