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Care should be taken to differentiate these two uses of the term:
The language generally referred to as French is an Oïl language, but the territories of France have for centuries included large groups of speakers of Oïl languages other than French, as well as speakers of languages outside the Oïl language family (see Languages of France)
Although the competing literary standards of the Oïl languages in the mediaeval period might have developed into a situation where each language retained its status within the territory where it was spoken, the centralisation of the French kingdom and its influence even outside its formal borders had the effect of sending most of the Oïl languages into comparative obscurity for several centuries.
Two main theories tend to be put forward to explain the rise of French language:
It is claimed that Francien, the Oïl language of the Paris region and therefore of the French court, was simply imposed as the official language in all the territory of the kingdom because it was the language the king spoke. This Francien , it is claimed, became the modern French language.
Current linguistic thinking mostly discounts the Francien theory, although it is still often quoted in popular textbooks.
Most linguists working in the field tend to advance variations on the theory that the "French" language, imposed by the Ordinance of Villers-CotterêtsThe Ordinance of Villers-Cotterets is an extensive piece of reform legislation signed into law by Francois I of France on August 10, 1539 in the city of Villers-Cotterets. Largely the work of chancellor Guillaume Poyet, this legislative edict, in 192 arti to replace Latin, was not a particular variety of Oïl language, but rather a generalised administrative language, shorn of distinguishing regional features and equally comprehensible to all - a lingua francaLingua franca literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. The term is.
It is argued that this language was not intended to become a national language, merely a chancery language for law and administration. However, the development of literature in this new language encouraged writers to use French rather than their own regional languageA regional language is a language spoken in a part of a country it may be a small area, a federal state or province, or a wider area. Definition in international law For the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: regional ors. This led to the decline of vernacularThis article treats vernacular language; see also vernacular architecture. The vernacular is the standard native language of a country or locality. In previous centuries scholarly work in western Europe was typically written in Latin, so the unusual works literature.
Until the First World War, French was not primarily the language of the French people - the regional languageA regional language is a language spoken in a part of a country it may be a small area, a federal state or province, or a wider area. Definition in international law For the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: regional ors of France were still the languages most used in the home and in the fields. This was also generally the case with the Oïl languages.