Middle French

Middle French is a specific historical period of the French language. It lasted from the mid-14th century to the early 17th century. This era served as a vital transition between Old French and Classical French. During this time, the language became clearly distinct from other Oïl languages. It is also the first version of French that is largely intelligible to Modern French speakers. This period helped shape the vocabulary and grammar used in later centuries.

One of the most significant changes involved the noun declension system. This system had been changing for many centuries. In Middle French, the distinction between nominative and oblique forms of nouns disappeared completely. To show plurals, writers began simply adding an "s" to the end of a word. This change forced a greater reliance on word order within a sentence. This new structure became the basis for modern syntax. However, the language maintained a "verb-second structure" until the 16th century. This meant the verb often stayed in the second position of a sentence.

Language use changed significantly due to new laws and social shifts. Among the educated elites, Latin remained the primary language for education and bureaucracy. This changed in 1539 with the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts. King Francis I decreed that French would be the sole language for legal acts. This moved the language away from Latin and other regional tongues. At the time, regional differences across the Kingdom of France were still extreme. Occitan languages were common in the south of the country. In the east-central regions, Franco-Provençal languages were predominant. In the north, various Oïl languages were spoken alongside Francien.

Middle French also grew through the addition of many new words, or neologisms. Scholars were fascinated by classical texts from Latin and Greek. They introduced many new words based on Latin roots. Some scholars even modified French spellings to match Latin roots. This sometimes caused a large gap between how a word looked and how it sounded. Spelling and punctuation remained extremely variable during this era. The introduction of printing in 1470 created a new need for spelling reform. One thinker, Jacques Peletier du Mans, proposed a phonetic system in 1550. However, his specific attempt at reform was not followed by others.

Cultural contact brought many foreign influences into the language. Between the 1490s and the 1550s, French wars in Italy occurred. The presence of Italians at the French court introduced Italian humanism. This contact led to many borrowings from the Italian language. Many words related to military practices and artistic fields were adopted. This included terms for architecture and literary practices. French also borrowed words from Spanish and German. Some words even arrived from the Americas.

Literature flourished during this period with many notable authors. You can find Middle French in the writings of François Rabelais. Michel de Montaigne and Clément Marot also used this version of the language. Other famous figures included Pierre de Ronsard and François Villon. In 1549, the poet Joachim du Bellay wrote "La Défense et Illustration de la langue française." This work was a defense and glorification of the French language. Du Bellay argued that French was worthy of great literary expression. He compared it to the Tuscan language used by Petrarch and Dante Alighieri.

This era was a bridge to the Classical French of the 17th and 18th centuries. The unification of the language continued as certain forms were suppressed. New rules were prescribed to standardize how the language worked. The period saw the publication of important linguistic tools. For example, Robert Estienne published a French-Latin dictionary in 1539. These developments helped move the language toward a more unified state. Middle French provided the essential foundation for the modern language used today.