View source for Social:Old French

{{Short description|Gallo-Romance dialect continuum}}
{{Infobox language
| name          = Old French
| altname       = {{lang|fr|Ancien Français}}
| nativename    = {{lang|fro|Franceis}}, {{lang|fro|François}}, {{lang|fro|Romanz}}
| pronunciation = {{IPA-all|fɾãnˈt͡sɛjs|}}, {{IPA-all|fɾãnˈt͡sɔjs|}}, {{IPA-all|ruˈmãnt͡s|}}
| region        = Northern France, parts of Belgium (Wallonia), Scotland, England, Ireland, [[History:Kingdom of Jerusalem|Kingdom of Jerusalem]], Principality of Antioch, County of Edessa, [[History:Kingdom of Cyprus|Kingdom of Cyprus]]
| era           = Evolved into [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]] by the mid-14th century
| familycolor   = Indo-European
| fam2          = [[Social:Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3          = Latino-Faliscan
| fam4          = Romance
| fam5          = Italo-Western
| fam6          = Western Romance
| fam7          = Gallo-Romance
| fam8          = Gallo-Rhaetian<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hammarström |first=Harald |last2=Forkel |first2=Robert |last3=Haspelmath |first3=Martin |last4=Bank |first4=Sebastian |date=2022-05-24 |title=Oil |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/oila1234 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008064016/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/oila1234 |archive-date=2022-10-08 |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=[[Social:Glottolog|Glottolog]] |publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology}}</ref> (possibly)
| fam9          = [[Social:Langues d'oïl|Oïl]]
| ancestor      = [[Social:Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2     = [[Social:Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]]
| ancestor3     = Old Latin
| ancestor4     = Vulgar Latin
| ancestor5     = [[Social:Proto-Romance language|Proto-Romance]]
| ancestor6     = Old Gallo-Romance
| iso2          = fro
| iso3          = fro
| glotto        = oldf1239
| glottorefname = Old French (842-ca. 1400)
| notice        = IPA
}}

'''Old French''' ({{lang|fro|franceis}}, {{lang|fro|françois}}, {{lang|fro|romanz}}; <small>[[Social:French language|Modern French]]: {{lang|fr|ancien français}}</small>) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th<ref name="French first attested">{{cite book |last1=Battye |first1=Adrian |last2=Hintze |first2=Marie-Anne |last3=Rowlett |first3=Paul |title=The French Language Today |url=https://books.google.us/books?hl=us&lr=&id=RnUGCAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=History+of+French+language&ots=xvcDpoTrGx&sig=StMHUyBrfF77DjTDZo2BlNz-yBw#v=onepage&q=History%20of%20French%20language&f=false |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |pages=12 |edition=2nd}} [2-4; we might wonder wheter there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it was deemed no longer make to think of the varieties spoken in Gaul as Latin. Although a precise date can't be given, there is a general consensus (see Wright 1982, 1991, Lodge 1993) that an awareness of a vernacular, distinct from Latin, emerged at the end of the eighth century.]</ref> and the mid-14th century. Rather than a unified [[Social:Dialect#Dialect or language|language]], Old French was a linkage of Romance [[Social:Dialect|dialect]]s, [[Social:Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] yet diverse. These dialects came to be collectively known as the {{lang|fro|langue d'oïl}}, contrasting with the {{lang|fro|langue d'oc}} in the south of France.

The mid-14th century witnessed the emergence of [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]], the language of the [[History:French Renaissance|French Renaissance]] in the Île de France region; this dialect was a predecessor to [[Social:French language#Modern French|Modern French]]. Other dialects of Old French evolved themselves into modern forms (Poitevin-Saintongeais, [[Social:Gallo language|Gallo]], Norman, [[Social:Picard language|Picard]], Walloon, etc.), each with its own linguistic features and history.

The region where Old French was spoken natively roughly extended to the northern half of the [[History:Kingdom of France|Kingdom of France]] and its vassals (including parts of the Angevin Empire, which during the 12th century remained under Anglo-Norman rule), and the duchies of Upper and Lower Lorraine to the east (corresponding to modern north-eastern {{wipe|France}} and Belgian Wallonia), but the influence of Old French was much wider, as it was carried to England and the [[Religion:Crusader states|Crusader states]] as the language of a feudal elite and commerce.{{sfn|Kinoshita|2006|p=3}}

==Areal and dialectal divisions==
[[File:Map France 1180-fr.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Map of France in 1180, at the height of the [[feudalism|feudal system]].
The possessions of the French king are in light blue, vassals to the French king in green, Angevin possessions in red. Shown in white is the [[Religion:Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Empire]] to the east, the western fringes of which, including Upper Burgundy and Lorraine, were also part of the Old French area.]]

The area of Old French in contemporary terms corresponded to the northern parts of the [[History:Kingdom of France|Kingdom of France]] (including Anjou and Normandy, which in the 12th century were ruled by the Plantagenet kings of England), Upper Burgundy and the duchy of Lorraine. The [[Social:Anglo-Norman language|Norman dialect]] was also spread to England and Ireland, and during the [[Religion:Crusades|crusades]], Old French was also spoken in the [[History:Kingdom of Sicily|Kingdom of Sicily]], and in the Principality of Antioch and the [[History:Kingdom of Jerusalem|Kingdom of Jerusalem]] in the [[Religion:Outremer|Levant]].

As part of the emerging Gallo-Romance dialect continuum, the {{lang|fro|langues d'oïl}} were contrasted with the {{lang|fro|langue d'oc}} (the emerging Occitano-Romance group, at the time also called Provençal), adjacent to the Old French area in the south-west, and with the Gallo-Italic group to the south-east. The [[Social:Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]] group developed in Upper Burgundy, sharing features with both French and Provençal; it may have begun to diverge from the {{lang|fro|langue d'oïl}} as early as the 9th century and is attested as a distinct Gallo-Romance variety by the 12th century.

Dialects or variants of Old French include:
* [[Social:Burgundian language (Oïl)|Burgundian]] in Burgundy, then an independent [[Social:Duchy|duchy]] whose capital was at Dijon;
* [[Social:Picard language|Picard]] of Picardy and Romance Flanders, with Lille, Amiens and Arras as some of the more prominent cities. It was said that the Picard language began at the east door of Notre-Dame de Paris, so far-reaching was its influence. It would also spread northwards in the area of Boulogne-sur-Mer that had a strong presence of [[Social:Old Dutch|Old Dutch]] and [[Social:Middle Dutch|Middle Dutch]];<ref>Milis (1978)</ref>
* [[Social:Old Norman|Old Norman]], in [[Place:Normandy|Normandy]], whose principal cities were Caen and Rouen. The Norman conquest of {{wipe|England}} brought many Norman-speaking aristocrats into the British Isles. Most of the older Norman (sometimes called "French") words in [[Social:English language|English]] reflects its influence, which became a conduit for the introduction into the Anglo-Norman realm, as did Anglo-Norman control of Anjou and Gascony and other continental possessions. [[Social:Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] was a language that reflected a shared culture on both sides of the English Channel.<ref name="Lusignan">{{Cite book |last=Lusignan |first=Serge |title=La langue des rois au Moyen Âge: Le français en France et en Angleterre |date=2004 |publisher=Presses Universitaires de France |location=Paris |trans-title=The language of kings in the Middle Ages: French in France and England |lang=fr}}</ref> Ultimately, the language declined and fell, becoming Law French, a jargon spoken by lawyers that was used in English law until the reign of Charles II of England; however, the Norman language, still survives in Normandy and the Channel Islands, as a regional language;
* Wallon, around Namur, now in Wallonia, Belgium;
* [[Social:Gallo language|Gallo]] of the Duchy of Brittany;
* Lorrain of the Duchy of Lorraine.

Some modern languages are derived from Old French dialects other than Classical French, which is based on the Île-de-France dialect. They include
Angevin, Berrichon, [[Social:Burgundian language (Oïl)|Bourguignon-Morvandiau]], Champenois, Franc-Comtois, [[Social:Gallo language|Gallo]], Lorrain, Norman, [[Social:Picard language|Picard]], Poitevin, Saintongeais and Walloon.

==History==
===Evolution and separation from Vulgar Latin===
Beginning with Plautus' time (254–184 {{smallcaps|b.c.}}), one can see phonological changes between Classical Latin and what is called Vulgar Latin, the common spoken language of the [[Place:Western Roman Empire|Western Roman Empire]]. Vulgar Latin differed from Classical Latin in [[Social:Phonology|phonology]] and [[Social:Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] as well as exhibiting lexical differences; however, they were mutually intelligible until the 7th century when Classical Latin 'died' as a daily spoken language, and had to be learned as a second language (though it was long thought of as the formal version of the spoken language).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jozsef |first=Herman |title=Vulgar Latin |date=1997 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=0-271-02000-8 |translator-last=Wright |translator-first=Roger |chapter=The end of the history of Latin}}</ref>{{rp|109-115}} Vulgar Latin was the ancestor of the Romance languages, including Old French.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brill Online Dictionaries |url=http://iedo.brillonline.nl/dictionaries/content/latin/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617111122/http://iedo.brillonline.nl/dictionaries/content/latin/index.html |archive-date=2013-06-17 |access-date=2013-06-16 |publisher=Iedo.brillonline.nl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Romance languages |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508379/Romance-languages |access-date=2013-06-16 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mallory |first=J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC&q=%22The+predominance+of+the+Latin+language%22 |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture – Google Boeken |last2=Adams |first2=Douglas Q. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1997 |isbn=9781884964985 |access-date=2013-06-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of Italic |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Italic |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223205805/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Italic |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |access-date=2013-06-16 |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of Romance |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Romance |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426015754/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Romance |archive-date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=2013-06-16 |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries}}</ref>

By the late 8th century, when the Carolingian Renaissance began, native speakers of Romance idioms continued to use Romance [[Social:Orthoepy|orthoepy]] rules while speaking and reading Latin. When the most prominent scholar of Western Europe at the time, English deacon [[Biography:Alcuin|Alcuin]], was tasked by Charlemagne with improving the standards of Latin writing in France, not being a native Romance speaker himself, he prescribed a pronunciation based on a fairly literal interpretation of Latin spelling. For example, in a radical break from the traditional system, a word such as ⟨viridiarium⟩ '[[Biology:Orchard|orchard]]' now had to be read aloud precisely as it was spelled rather than */verdʒjær/ (later spelled as {{abbr|OF|Old French}} {{lang|fro|'vergier'}}).<ref>Wright (1982), pp. 104–7</ref>

Such a radical change had the effect of rendering Latin [[Religion:Sermon|sermon]]s completely unintelligible to the general Romance-speaking public, which prompted officials a few years later, at the Third Council of Tours, to instruct priests to read sermons aloud in the old way, in {{lang|la|rusticam romanam linguam}} or 'plain Roman[ce] speech'.<ref>Wright (1982), pp. 118–20</ref>

As there was now no unambiguous way to indicate whether a given text was to be read aloud as Latin or Romance, various attempts were made in France to devise a new orthography for the latter; among the earliest examples are parts of the Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia (see below).

===Non-Latin influences===
==== Gaulish ====

Some [[Social:Gaulish language|Gaulish]] words influenced Vulgar Latin and, through this, other Romance languages. For example, classical Latin {{lang|la|equus}} was uniformly replaced in Vulgar Latin by {{lang|la|caballus}} 'nag, work horse', derived from Gaulish {{lang|xtg|caballos}} (cf. [[Social:Welsh language|Welsh]] {{lang|cy|ceffyl}}, [[Social:Breton language|Breton]] {{lang|br|kefel}}),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Xavier |first=Delamarre |title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise |date=2003 |publisher=Errance |location=Paris |trans-title=Dictionary of the Gallic language |lang=fr}}</ref>{{rp|96}} yielding {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}}  {{lang|fr|cheval}}, Occitan {{lang|oc|caval}} ({{lang|oc|chaval}}), Catalan {{lang|ca|cavall}}, Spanish {{lang|es|caballo}}, Portuguese {{lang|pt|cavalo}}, Italian {{lang|it|cavallo}}, Romanian {{lang|ro|cal}}, and, by extension, English ''cavalry'' and ''chivalry'' (both via different forms of [Old] French: [[Social:Old Norman|Old Norman]] and Francien).
An estimated 200 words of Gaulish etymology survive in Modern French, for example {{lang|fr|chêne}}, 'oak tree', and {{lang|fr|charrue}}, 'plough'.<ref>Delamarre (2003, pp.&nbsp;389–90) lists 167</ref>

Within historical phonology and studies of language contact, various phonological changes have been posited as caused by a Gaulish substrate, although there is some debate. One of these is considered certain, because this fact is clearly attested in the Gaulish-language epigraphy on the pottery found at la Graufesenque ({{small|A.D.}} 1st century). There, the Greek word {{transl|el|paropsid-es}} (written in Latin){{clarify|reason=Is this the Latin transliteration of a Greek word, or a Greek word?|date=July 2021}} appears as {{lang|xtg|paraxsid-i}}.<ref name="Lambert">{{Cite book |last=Lambert |first=Pierre-Yves |title=La Langue gauloise |date=1994 |publisher=Errance |isbn=978-2-87772-224-7 |location=Paris |page=46-47 |trans-title=The Gallic language |author-link=Pierre-Yves Lambert}}</ref> The consonant clusters /ps/ and /pt/ shifted to /xs/ and /xt/, e.g. {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} {{lang|la|capsa}} > ''*kaxsa'' > ''caisse'' ({{abbr|≠|unlike}} Italian {{lang|it|cassa}}) or ''captīvus'' > ''*kaxtivus'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} {{lang|fro|chaitif}}<ref name=Lambert/> (mod. ''chétif''; cf. Irish ''cacht'' 'servant'; ≠ Italian {{lang|it|cattiv-ità}}, Portuguese {{lang|pt|cativo}}, Spanish {{lang|es|cautivo}}). This phonetic evolution is common in its later stages with the shift of the Latin cluster /kt/ in Old French ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} {{lang|la|factum}} > ''fait'', ≠ Italian {{lang|it|fatto}}, Portuguese {{lang|pt|feito}}, Spanish {{lang|es|hecho}}; or ''lactem''* > ''lait'', ≠ Italian {{lang|it|latte}}, Portuguese {{lang|pt|leite}}, Spanish {{lang|es|leche}}). This means that both /pt/ and /kt/ must have first merged into /kt/ in the history of Old French, after which this /kt/ shifted to /xt/. In parallel, /ps/ and /ks/ merged into /ks/ before shifting to /xs/, apparently under Gaulish influence.

The Celtic [[Social:Gaulish language|Gaulish language]] is thought to have survived into the 6th century in France, despite considerable cultural Romanization.<ref name="Helix">{{Cite book |last=Laurence Hélix |title=Histoire de la langue française |publisher=Ellipses Edition Marketing S.A. |year=2011 |isbn=978-2-7298-6470-5 |page=7 |quote=Le déclin du Gaulois et sa disparition ne s'expliquent pas seulement par des pratiques culturelles spécifiques: Lorsque les Romains conduits par César envahirent la Gaule, au 1er siecle avant J.-C., celle-ci romanisa de manière progressive et profonde. Pendant près de 500 ans, la fameuse période gallo-romaine, le gaulois et le latin parlé coexistèrent; au VIe siècle encore; le temoignage de Grégoire de Tours atteste la survivance de la langue gauloise.}}</ref> Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French, with effects including loanwords and [[Social:Calque|calque]]s (including {{lang|fr|oui}},<ref>Peter Schrijver, ''Studies in the History of Celtic Pronouns and Particles'', Maynooth, 1997, 15.</ref> the word for "yes"),<ref name=Savignac/> sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence,<ref>Henri Guiter, "Sur le substrat gaulois dans la Romania", in ''Munus amicitae. Studia linguistica in honorem Witoldi Manczak septuagenarii'', eds., Anna Bochnakowa & Stanislan Widlak, Krakow, 1995.</ref><ref>Eugeen Roegiest, ''Vers les sources des langues romanes: Un itinéraire linguistique à travers la Romania'' (Leuven, Belgium: Acco, 2006), 83.</ref> and influences in conjugation and word order.<ref name="Savignac">{{Cite book |last=Savignac, Jean-Paul |title=Dictionnaire Français-Gaulois |publisher=La Différence |year=2004 |location=Paris |page=26}}</ref><ref name="Matas">{{Cite journal |last=Matasovic, Ranko |year=2007 |title=Insular Celtic as a Language Area |journal=Papers from the Workship within the Framework of the XIII International Congress of Celtic Studies |page=106 |agency=The Celtic Languages in Contact}}</ref><ref name="Adams">{{Cite book |last=Adams, J. N. |url=https://archive.org/details/regionaldiversif600adam_341 |title=The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC – AD 600 |date=2007 |isbn=9780511482977 |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/regionaldiversif600adam_341/page/n300 279]–289 |chapter=Chapter V – Regionalisms in provincial texts: Gaul |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511482977 |url-access=limited}}</ref> A computational study from 2003 suggests that early gender shifts may have been motivated by the gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Polinsky |first=Maria |last2=Van Everbroeck |first2=Ezra |year=2003 |title=Development of Gender Classifications: Modeling the Historical Change from Latin to French |journal=Language |volume=79 |pages=356–390 |citeseerx=10.1.1.134.9933 |doi=10.1353/lan.2003.0131 |jstor=4489422 |s2cid=6797972 |number=2}}</ref>

==== Frankish ====

The pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax of the Vulgar Latin spoken in Roman Gaul in [[History:Late antiquity|late antiquity]] were modified by the Old Frankish language, spoken by the [[History:Franks|Franks]] who settled in Gaul from the 5th century and conquered the future Old French-speaking area by the 530s. The name ''français'' itself is derived from the name the Franks.

The Old Frankish language had a definitive influence on the development of Old French, which partly explains why the earliest attested Old French documents are older than the earliest attestations in other Romance languages (e.g. Strasbourg Oaths, Sequence of Saint Eulalia).<ref>Bernard Cerquiglini, ''La naissance du français'', Presses Universitaires de France, 2nd edn., chap. 3, 1993, p. 53.</ref> It is the result of an earlier gap created between Classical Latin and its evolved forms, which slowly reduced and eventually severed the [[Social:Mutual intelligibility|mutual intelligibility]] between the two. The [[Social:Old Dutch|Old Low Franconian]] influence is also believed to be responsible for the differences between the ''langue d'oïl'' and the ''langue d'oc'' (Occitan), being that various parts of Northern France remained bilingual between Latin and Germanic for some time,<ref>Cerquiglini 53</ref> and these areas correspond precisely to where the first documents in Old French were written.

This Germanic language shaped the popular Latin spoken here and gave it a very distinctive identity compared to the other future Romance languages. The very first noticeable influence is the substitution of the Latin melodic accent with a Germanic stress<ref>Cerquiglini 26.</ref> and its result was diphthongization, differentiation between long and short vowels, the fall of the unaccented syllable and of the final vowels:
* {{abbr|L|Latin}} ''decimus'', ''-a'' 'tenth' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''disme'' > French ''dîme'' 'tithe' (> English ''dime''; Italian ''decimo'', Spanish ''diezmo'')
* {{abbr|VL|Vulgar Latin}} ''dignitate'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''deintié'' (> English ''dainty''; Italian ''dignità'', Romanian ''demnitate'')
* {{abbr|VL|Vulgar Latin}} ''catena'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''chaeine'' (> English ''chain''; Italian ''catena'', Cast./Occitan ''cadena'', Portuguese ''cadeia'')

Additionally, two phonemes that had long since died out in Vulgar Latin were reintroduced: {{IPA|[h]}} and {{IPA|[w]}} (> {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''g(u)-'', ONF ''w-'' cf. [[Social:Picard language|Picard]] ''w-''):
* {{abbr|VL|Vulgar Latin}} ''altu'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''halt'' 'high' (influenced by Old Low Frankish [{{abbr|OLF|Old Low Frankish}}] ''*hōh'' ; ≠ Italian, Portuguese ''alto'', Catalan ''alt'', Old Occitan ''aut'')
* {{abbr|L|Latin}} ''vespa'' > French ''guêpe'', Picard ''wèpe'', Wallon ''wèsse'', all 'wasp' (influenced by {{abbr|OLF|Old Low Frankish}} ''*wapsa''; ≠ Occitan ''vèspa'', Italian ''vespa'', Spanish ''avispa'')
* {{abbr|L|Latin}} ''viscus'' > French ''gui'' 'mistletoe' (influenced by {{abbr|OLF|Old Low Frankish}} ''*wīhsila'' 'morello' with analogous fruits, when they are not ripe; ≠ Occitan ''vesc'', Italian ''vischio'')
* {{abbr|LL|Late Latin}}  ''vulpiculu'' 'fox kit' (from L ''vulpes'' 'fox') > {{abbr|OLF|Old Low Frankish}} ''golpilz'', Picard ''woupil'' 'fox' (influenced by {{abbr|OLF|Old Low Frankish}} ''*wulf'' 'wolf'; ≠ Occitan ''volpìlh'', Old Italian ''volpiglio'', Spanish ''vulpeja'' 'vixen')

In contrast, the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish words of Germanic origin borrowed from French or directly from Germanic retain {{IPA|/gw/}} ~ {{IPA|/g/}}, e.g. It, Sp. ''guerra'' 'war', alongside {{IPA|/g/}} in French ''guerre''). These examples show a clear consequence of bilingualism, that sometimes even changed the first syllable of the Latin words. One example of a Latin word influencing an {{abbr|OLF|Old Low Frankish}} loan is ''framboise'' 'raspberry', from {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''frambeise'', from {{abbr|OLF|Old Low Frankish}} ''*brāmbesi'' 'blackberry' (cf. Dutch ''braambes'', ''braambezie''; akin to German ''Brombeere'', English dial. ''bramberry'') blended with LL ''fraga'' or {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''fraie'' 'strawberry', which explains the replacement {{IPA|[b]}} > {{IPA|[f]}} and in turn the final ''-se'' of ''framboise'' added to {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''fraie'' to make ''freise'', modern ''fraise'' (≠ Wallon ''frève'', Occitan ''fraga'', Romanian ''fragă'', Italian ''fragola'', ''fravola'' 'strawberry').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Etymology of ''frambuesa'' (Spanish) |url=http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltConsulta?TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=frambuesa |access-date=2013-06-16 |publisher=Buscon.rae.es}}</ref>{{efn|Portuguese ''framboesa'' 'raspberry' and Spanish ''frambuesa'' are French loans.|name=|group=lower-roman}}

Mildred Pope estimated that perhaps still 15% of the vocabulary of Modern French derives from Germanic sources (while the proportion was larger in Old French, because [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]] borrowed heavily from Latin and Italian).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pope |first=Mildred Katherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K9JRAQAAIAAJ |title=From Latin to Modern French with Especial Consideration of Anglo-Norman: Phonology and Morphology |date=1934 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719001765 |access-date=15 March 2023}}</ref>
<!-- Nevertheless a large number of words like ''haïr'' "to hate" (≠ {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''odiare'' > Italian ''odiare'' / Occitan ''asirar'') or ''honte'' "shame" (≠ {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''verēcundia'' > Occitan and Portuguese ''vergonha'', Italian ''vergogna'', Spanish ''vergüenza'') are still common.-->

===Earliest written Old French===
The earliest documents said to be written in the Gallo-Romance that prefigures French – after the Reichenau and Kassel glosses (8th and 9th centuries) – are the Oaths of Strasbourg (treaties and charters into which King Charles the Bald entered in 842):

{{Poem quote|''Pro Deo amur et pro Christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, d'ist di en avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo, et in aiudha et in cadhuna cosa ...''

(For the love of God and for the Christian people, and our common salvation, from this day forward, as God will give me the knowledge and the power, I will defend my brother Karlo with my help in everything ...)}}

The second-oldest document in Old French is the Eulalia sequence, which is important for linguistic reconstruction of Old French pronunciation due to its consistent spelling.

The royal House of Capet, founded by Hugh Capet in 987, inaugurated the development of northern French culture in and around Île-de-France, which slowly but firmly asserted its ascendency over the more southerly areas of [[Place:Aquitaine|Aquitaine]] and Tolosa (Toulouse); however, the Capetians' ''langue d'oïl'', the forerunner of modern standard French, did not begin to become the common speech of all of France until after the {{wipe|French Revolution}}.

===Transition to Middle French===
{{Further|Social:Middle French}}

In the Late Middle Ages, the Old French dialects diverged into a number of distinct ''langues d'oïl'', among which [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]] proper was the dialect of the Île-de-France region.
During the Early Modern period, French was established as the official language of the Kingdom of France throughout the realm, including the ''langue d'oc''-speaking territories in the south.
It was only in the 17th to 18th centuries – with the development especially of popular literature of the ''Bibliothèque bleue'' – that a standardized Classical French spread throughout France alongside the regional dialects.

==Literature==

The material and cultural conditions in France and associated territories around the year 1100 triggered what Charles Homer Haskins termed the "[[History:Renaissance of the 12th century|Renaissance of the 12th century]]", resulting in a profusion of creative works in a variety of genres. Old French gave way to [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]] in the mid-14th century, paving the way for early French Renaissance literature of the 15th century.

The earliest extant French literary texts date from the ninth century, but very few texts before the 11th century have survived. The first literary works written in Old French were saints' lives. The ''Canticle of Saint Eulalie'', written in the second half of the 9th century, is generally accepted as the first such text.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Jean Bodel, in his ''Chanson de Saisnes'', divided medieval French narrative literature into three subject areas: the Matter of France or Matter of Charlemagne; the Matter of Rome (romances in an ancient setting); and the Matter of Britain (Arthurian romances and Breton lais). The first of these is the subject area of the ''chansons de geste'' ("songs of exploits" or "songs of (heroic) deeds"), epic poems typically composed in ten-syllable assonanced (occasionally rhymed) ''laisses''. More than one hundred ''chansons de geste'' have survived in around three hundred manuscripts.<ref>''La Chanson de Roland.'' Edited and Translated into Modern French by Ian Short. Paris: Livre de Poche, 1990. p. 12. {{ISBN|978-2-253-05341-5}}</ref> The oldest and most celebrated of the ''chansons de geste'' is ''The Song of Roland'' (earliest version composed in the late 11th century).

Bertrand de Bar-sur-Aube in his ''Girart de Vienne'' set out a grouping of the ''chansons de geste'' into three cycles: the ''Geste du roi'' centering on Charlemagne, the ''Geste de Garin de Monglane'' (whose central character was William of Orange), and the ''Geste de Doon de Mayence'' or the "rebel vassal cycle", the most famous characters of which were Renaud de Montauban and Girart de Roussillon.

A fourth grouping, not listed by Bertrand, is the ''Crusade cycle'', dealing with the First Crusade and its immediate aftermath.

Jean Bodel's other two categories—the "Matter of Rome" and the "Matter of Britain"—concern the French romance or ''roman''. Around a hundred verse romances survive from the period 1150–1220.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Antoine Adam, Georges Lerminier, and Édouard Morot-Sir, eds. ''Littérature française.'' "Tome 1: Des origines à la fin du XVIIIe siècle", Paris: Larousse, 1967, p. 16.</ref> From around 1200 on, the tendency was increasingly to write the romances in prose (many of the earlier verse romances were adapted into prose versions), although new verse romances continued to be written to the end of the 14th century.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Antoine Adam, Georges Lerminier, and Édouard Morot-Sir, eds. ''Littérature française.'' "Tome 1: Des origines à la fin du XVIIIe siècle", Paris: Larousse, 1967, p. 36-37.</ref>

The most important romance of the 13th century is the ''Romance of the Rose'', which breaks considerably from the conventions of the chivalric adventure story.

Medieval French lyric poetry was indebted to the poetic and cultural traditions in Southern France and Provence—including Toulouse and the [[Place:Aquitaine|Aquitaine]] region—where ''langue d'oc'' was spoken (Occitan language); in their turn, the Provençal poets were greatly influenced by poetic traditions from the Hispano-Arab world.

Lyric poets in Old French are called ''trouvères'' – etymologically the same word as the ''troubadours'' of [[Social:Old Occitan|Provençal]] or langue d'oc (from the verb ''trobar'' "to find, to invent").

By the late 13th century, the poetic tradition in France had begun to develop in ways that differed significantly from the troubadour poets, both in content and in the use of certain fixed forms. The new poetic (as well as musical: some of the earliest medieval music has lyrics composed in Old French by the earliest composers known by name) tendencies are apparent in the ''Roman de Fauvel'' in 1310 and 1314, a satire on abuses in the medieval church, filled with medieval motets, lais, rondeaux and other new secular forms of poetry and music (mostly anonymous, but with several pieces by Philippe de Vitry, who would coin the expression ''ars nova'' to distinguish the new musical practice from the music of the immediately preceding age). The best-known poet and composer of ''ars nova'' secular music and chansons of the incipient [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]] period was Guillaume de Machaut.

Discussions about the origins of non-religious theater (''théâtre profane'') – both drama and farce—in the Middle Ages remain controversial, but the idea of a continuous popular tradition stemming from Latin comedy and tragedy to the 9th century seems unlikely.

Most historians place the origin of medieval ''drama'' in the church's liturgical dialogues and "tropes". Mystery plays were eventually transferred from the monastery church to the chapter house or refectory hall and finally to the open air, and the vernacular was substituted for Latin. In the 12th century one finds the earliest extant passages in French appearing as refrains inserted into [[Religion:Liturgical drama|liturgical drama]]s in Latin, such as a Saint Nicholas (patron saint of the student clercs) play and a Saint Stephen play.
An early French dramatic play is {{Lang|fr|Le Jeu d'Adam}} ({{Circa|1150}}) written in octosyllabic rhymed couplets with Latin stage directions (implying that it was written by Latin-speaking clerics for a lay public).

A large body of [[Social:Fable|fable]]s survive in Old French; these include (mostly anonymous) literature dealing with the recurring trickster character of Reynard the [[Biology:Fox|Fox]]. Marie de France was also active in this genre, producing the ''Ysopet'' (Little Aesop) series of fables in verse. Related to the fable was the more bawdy ''fabliau'', which covered topics such as cuckolding and corrupt clergy. These ''fabliaux'' would be an important source for Chaucer and for the Renaissance short story (''conte'' or ''nouvelle'').

Among the earliest works of [[Philosophy:Rhetoric|rhetoric]] and [[Logic|logic]] to appear in Old French were the translations of ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' and [[Biography:Boethius|Boethius]]' ''De topicis differentiis'' by John of Antioch in 1282.

In northern Italy, authors developed Franco-Italian, a mixed language of Old French and Venetian or Lombard used in literary works in the 13th and 14th centuries.

==Phonology==
Old French was constantly changing and evolving; however, the form in the late 12th century, as attested in a great deal of mostly poetic writings, can be considered standard. The writing system at this time was more phonetic than that used in most subsequent centuries. In particular, all written consonants (including final ones) were pronounced, except for ''s'' preceding non-stop consonants and ''t'' in ''et'', and final ''e'' was pronounced {{IPAblink|ə}}. The phonological system can be summarised as follows:<ref>Rickard 1989: 47–8, Laborderie 1994: § 2.2</ref>

===Consonants===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Old French consonants
|-
! Type
! Labial
! Dental
! Palatal
! Velar
! Glottal
|-
! Nasal
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
| {{IPAlink|ɲ}}
|
|
|-
! Plosive
|{{IPAlink|p}} {{IPAlink|b}}
|{{IPAlink|t}} {{IPAlink|d}}
|
|{{IPAlink|k}} {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|
|-
! Affricate
|
|{{IPAlink|t͡s}} {{IPAlink|d͡z}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}} {{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}
|
|
|-
! Fricative
|{{IPAlink|f}} {{IPAlink|v}}
|{{IPAlink|s}} {{IPAlink|z}}
|
|
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! Lateral
|
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|{{IPAlink|ʎ}}
|
|
|-
! Trill
|
|{{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
|}

Notes:
* All obstruents (plosives, fricatives and affricates) were subject to word-final devoicing, which was usually indicated in the orthography.
* The affricates {{IPA|/ts/}}, {{IPA|/dz/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ/}}, {{IPA|/dʒ/}} became fricatives ({{IPA|[s]}}, {{IPA|[z]}}, {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, {{IPA|[ʒ]}}) in [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]].
** {{IPA|/ts/}} had three spellings – ''c'' before ''e'' or ''i'', ''ç'' before other vowels, or ''z'' at the end of a word – as seen in '''''c'''ent'', ''chan'''ç'''on'', ''pri'''z''''' ("a hundred, song, price").
** {{IPA|/dz/}} was written as ''z'', as in ''do'''z'''e'' "twelve", and only occurred in the middle of the word.
* {{IPA|/ʎ/}} (''l mouillé''), as in ''conse'''il''''', ''trava'''ill'''ier'' ("advice, to work"), became {{IPA|/j/}} in [[Social:French language|Modern French]].
* {{IPA|/ɲ/}} appeared not only in the middle of a word, but also at the end, as in ''poi'''ng''''' "fist". At the end of a word, {{IPA|/ɲ/}} was later lost, leaving a nasalized vowel.
* {{IPA|/h/}} was found only in Germanic loanwords or words influenced by Germanic (cf. ''haut, hurler''). It was later lost as a consonant, though it was transphonologized as the so-called aspirated h that blocks liaison. In native Latin words, {{IPA|/h/}} had been lost early on, as in ''om'', ''uem'', from {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''homō''.
* Intervocalic {{IPA|/d/}} from both Latin {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}} was lenited to {{IPA|[ð]}} in the early period (cf. contemporary Spanish: ''amado'' {{IPA|[aˈmaðo]}}). At the end of words, it was also devoiced to {{IPA|[θ]}}. In some texts it was sometimes written as ''dh'' or ''th'' (''aiudha, cadhuna, Ludher, vithe''). By 1100 it disappeared altogether.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berthon, H. E. |url=https://archive.org/stream/tablessynoptique00bert#page/12/mode/1up |title=Tables synoptiques de phonologie de l'ancien français |last2=Starkey, V. G. |publisher=Oxford Clarendon Press |year=1908}}</ref>

===Vowels===
In Old French, the nasal vowels were not separate phonemes but only allophones of the oral vowels before a nasal consonant. The nasal consonant was fully pronounced; ''bon'' was pronounced {{IPA|[bõn]}} ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} {{IPA|[bɔ̃]}}). Nasal vowels were present even in open syllables before nasals where Modern French has oral vowels, as in ''bone'' {{IPA|[bõnə]}} ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''bonne'' {{IPA|[bɔn]}}).

===Monophthongs===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Old French vowels
|-
!colspan=2| Type
! Front || Central || Back
|-
!rowspan=2| Close
!<small>oral</small>
| {{IPA link|i}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|y}} ||rowspan=2| &nbsp; || {{IPA link|u}}
|-
!<small>nasal</small>
| {{IPA link|ĩ}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|ỹ}} || &nbsp;
|-
!rowspan=2| Close-mid
!<small>oral</small>
| {{IPA link|e}} ||rowspan=2| {{IPA link|ə}} || &nbsp;
|-
!<small>nasal</small>
| {{IPA link|ẽ}} ||| {{IPA link|õ}}
|-
!colspan=2| Open-mid
| {{IPA link|ɛ}} || &nbsp; ||{{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
!rowspan=2| Open
!<small>oral</small>
|colspan=3|{{IPA link|a}}
|-
!<small>nasal</small>
|colspan=3|{{IPA link|ã}}
|}

Notes:
* {{IPA|/o/}} had formerly existed but then closed to {{IPA|/u/}}; the original Western Romance {{IPA|/u/}} having previously been fronted to {{IPA|/y/}} across most of what is now France and northern Italy.
** {{IPA|/o/}} would later appear again when {{IPA|/aw/}} monophthongized and also when {{IPA|/ɔ/}} closed in certain positions (such as when it was followed by original {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}} but not by {{IPA|/ts/}}, which later became {{IPA|/s/}}).
** {{IPA|/õ/}} may have similarly become closed to {{IPA|/ũ/}}, in at least in some dialects, since it was borrowed into [[Social:Middle English|Middle English]] as {{IPA|/uːn/}} > {{IPA|/aʊn/}} ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''computāre'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''conter'' > English ''count''; {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''rotundum'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''ront'' > English ''round''; {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''bonitātem'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''bonté'' > English ''bounty''). In any case, traces of such a change were erased in later stages of French, when the close nasal vowels {{IPA|/ĩ ỹ õ~ũ/}} were opened to become {{IPA|/ɛ̃ œ̃ ɔ̃/}}.
* {{IPA|/ə̃/}} may have existed in the unstressed third-person plural verb ending ''-ent'', but it may have already passed to {{IPA|/ə/}}, which is known to have happened no later than the Middle French period.

===Diphthongs and triphthongs===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Late Old French diphthongs and triphthongs
|-
! Type
! IPA || Example || Meaning
|-
!colspan=4| falling
|-
!rowspan=5| Oral
|| {{IPA|/aw/}} || chev'''au'''s || horse
|-
| {{IPA|/ɔj/}} || t'''oi'''t || roof
|-
| {{IPA|/ɔw/}} || c'''ou'''p || blow, hit
|-
| {{IPA|/ew/}} ~ {{IPA|/øw/}} || ci'''eu'''s || heavens
|-
| {{IPA|/iw/}} ~ {{IPA|/iɥ/}} || t'''iu'''le || tile
|-
!rowspan=2| Nasal
| {{IPA|/ẽj/}} || pl'''ein''' || full
|-
| {{IPA|/õj/}} || l'''oing''' || far
|-
!colspan=4| rising
|-
!rowspan=3| Oral
| {{IPA|/je/}} || p'''ié''' || foot
|-
| {{IPA|/ɥi/}} || fr'''ui'''t || fruit
|-
| {{IPA|/we/}} ~ {{IPA|/wø/}} || c'''ue'''r || heart
|-
!rowspan=3| Nasal
| {{IPA|/jẽ/}} || b'''ien''' || well
|-
| {{IPA|/ɥĩ/}} || j'''uin''' || June
|-
| {{IPA|/wẽ/}} || c'''uen'''s || count {{small|({{abbr|nom. sg.|nominative singular}})}}
|-
!colspan=4| triphthongs<br /><small>stress always falls on middle vowel</small>
|-
!rowspan=3| Oral
| {{IPA|/e̯aw/}} || b'''eau'''s || beautiful
|-
| {{IPA|/jew/}} || D'''ieu''' || God
|-
| {{IPA|/wew/}} ~ {{IPA|/wøw/}} || j'''ueu''' || Jew
|}

Notes:
* In Early Old French (up to about the mid-12th century), the spelling {{angle bracket|ai}} represented a diphthong {{IPA|/aj/}} instead of the later monophthong {{IPA|/ɛ/}},<ref>Zink (1999), p. 132</ref> and {{angle bracket|ei}} represented the diphthong {{IPA|/ej/}}, which merged with {{IPA|/oj/}} in Late Old French (except when it was nasalized).
* In Early Old French, the diphthongs described above as "rising" may have been falling diphthongs ({{IPA|/ie̯/}}, {{IPA|/yj/}}, {{IPA|/ue̯/}}). In earlier works with vowel assonance, the diphthong written {{angle bracket|ie}} did not assonate with any pure vowels, which suggests that it cannot have simply been {{IPA|/je/}}.
* The pronunciation of the vowels written {{angle bracket|ue}} and {{angle bracket|eu}} is debated. In the first records of Early Old French, they represented and were written as {{IPA|/uo/, /ou/}}, and by [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]], they had both merged as {{IPA|/ø ~ œ/}}, but the transitional pronunciations are unclear.
* Early Old French had additional triphthongs {{IPA|/iej/}} and {{IPA|/uoj/}} (equivalent to diphthongs followed by {{IPA|/j/}}); these soon merged into {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/ɥi/}} respectively.
* The diphthong {{angle bracket|iu}} was rare and had merged into {{angle bracket|ui}} by Middle French ({{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''tiule'' > {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''tuile'' 'tile'; {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''siure'' > Late {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''suire'' > {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''suivre'' 'follow').

===Hiatus===
In addition to diphthongs, Old French had many instances of hiatus between adjacent vowels because of the loss of an intervening consonant. Manuscripts generally do not distinguish hiatus from true diphthongs, but modern scholarly transcription indicates it with a diaeresis, as in Modern French:
* {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''audīre'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|oïr}}'' {{IPA|/uˈir/}} 'hear' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''ouïr'')
* {{abbr|VL|Vulgar Latin}} *''vidūta'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|veüe}}'' {{IPA|/vəˈy.ə/}} 'seen' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''vue'')
* {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''rēgīnam'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|reïne}}'', {{IPA|/rəˈinə/}} 'queen' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''reine'')
* {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''pāgēnsem'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|païs}}'' {{IPA|/paˈis/}} 'country' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''pays'')
* {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''augustum'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|aoust}}'' {{IPA|/aˈu(s)t/}} 'August' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''août'')
* {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''patellam'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|paelle}}'' {{IPA|/paˈɛlə/}} 'pan' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''poêle'')
* {{abbr|LL|Late Latin}}  ''quaternum'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|quaïer}}'' {{IPA|/kwaˈjer/}} 'booklet, quire' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''cahier'')
* {{abbr|LL|Late Latin}} ''aetāticum'' > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''{{wt|fro|aage}}'', ''{{wt|fro|eage}}'' {{IPA|/aˈad͡ʒə/ ~ /əˈad͡ʒə/}} 'age' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''âge'')

=== Sample text ===
Presented below is the first laisse of ''The Song of Roland'' along with a broad transcription reflecting reconstructed pronunciation {{circa|1050}}.<ref>Per Hall (1946), converted from Americanist notation to IPA and with corrected word order at the beginning of line four.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Text
!Transcription
!Translation
|-
|<poem>
Charles li reis, nostre emperedre magnes,
Set anz toz pleins at estét en Espaigne.
Tres qu'en la mer conquist la tere altaigne,
Chastel n'i at ki devant lui remaignet.
Murs ne citét n'i est remés a fraindre,
Fors Sarragoce qu'est en une montaigne;
Li reis Marsilies la tient, ki Deu nen aimet,
Mahomet sert ed Apolin reclaimet:
Ne·s poet guarder que mals ne l'i ataignet!<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hall |first=Robert A. |date=1946 |title=Old French Phonemes and Orthography |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4172774 |journal=Studies in Philology |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=575–585 |issn=0039-3738 |jstor=4172774}}</ref>
</poem>
|<poem>
{{IPA|ˈt͡ʃarləs li ˈre͜is, ˈnɔstr‿empəˈræðrə ˈmaɲəs}}
{{IPA|ˈsɛt ˈant͡s ˈtot͡s ˈple͜ins ˈað esˈtæθ en esˈpaɲə}}
{{IPA|ˈtræs k‿en la ˈmr konˈkist la ˈtɛr alˈta͜iɲə}}
{{IPA|t͡ʃasˈtɛl ni ˈaθ ki dəˈvant ˈly͜i rəˈma͜iɲəθ}}
{{IPA|ˈmyrs nə t͡siˈtæθ n‿i ˈɛst rəˈmæs a ˈfra͜indrə}}
{{IPA|ˈfɔrs saraˈgot͡sə k‿ˈɛst en ˈynə monˈtaɲə}}
{{IPA|li ˈre͜is marˈsiʎəs la ˈti͜ɛnt, ki ˈdɛ͜u nən ˈa͜iməθ}}
{{IPA|mahoˈmɛt ˈsɛrt eð apoˈlin rəˈkla͜iməθ}}
{{IPA|nə‿s ˈpu͜ɛt gwarˈdær kə ˈmals nə l‿i aˈta͜iɲəθ}}
</poem>
|<poem>Charles the king, our great emperor,
Has been in Spain for seven full years:
He has conquered the lofty land up to the sea.
No castle remains standing before him;
No wall or city is left to destroy
Other than Saragossa, which lies atop a mountain.
King Marsilie is its master, he who loves not God,
He serves Mohammed and worships Apollo:
[Still] he cannot prevent harm from reaching him.
</poem>
|}

==Grammar==
===Nouns===
Old French maintained a two-case system, with a nominative case and an oblique case, for longer than some other Romance languages as [[Social:Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Social:Italian language|Italian]] did. Case distinctions, at least in the masculine gender, were marked on both the definite article and the noun itself. Thus, the masculine noun ''li veisins'' 'the neighbour'{{efn|Phonetic evolution approximately as follows: CL ⟨vicinus⟩ [wiːˈkiːnus] > VL [βeˈcinʊs]<ref>Pope 1934: § 294</ref> > early Proto-GR *[βeˈdzʲinos] > {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ⟨veisins⟩ [vejˈzĩns]. The {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} counterpart is ⟨voisin⟩ [vwaˈzɛ̃].|name=|group=lower-roman}} was declined as follows:

{|class="wikitable"
|+Evolution of the nominal masculine inflection from Classical Latin to Old French
|-
! colspan=2| Number !! Latin !! Early Proto-GR!! Old French
|-
! rowspan=2|Singular !! nominative
| ''ille vīcīnus'' || *[li βeˈdzʲinos] || ''li veisins''
|-
! oblique<br /><small>(Latin accusative)</small>
| ''illum vīcīnum'' || *[lo βeˈdzʲino] || ''le veisin''
|-
! rowspan=2|Plural !! nominative
| ''illī vīcīnī'' || *[li βeˈdzʲini] || ''li veisin''
|-
! oblique<br /><small>(Latin accusative)</small>
| ''illōs vīcīnōs'' || *[los βeˈdzʲinos] || ''les veisins''
|}

In later Old French, the distinctions had become moribund. As in most other Romance languages, it was the oblique case form that usually survived to become the Modern French form: ''l'enfant'' "the child" represents the old oblique (Latin accusative ''īnf'''a'''ntem''); the {{abbr|OF|Old French}} nominative was ''li enfes'' ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} '''''ī'''nfāns''). There are some cases with significant differences between nominative and oblique forms (derived from Latin nouns with a stress shift between the nominative and other cases) in which either it is the nominative form that survives or both forms survive with different meanings:
* Both {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''li sire'', ''le sieur'' ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''s'''e'''iior'', ''seii'''ō'''rem'') and ''le seignor'' (nom. <sup>†</sup>''sendre'';{{efn|The {{abbr|OF|Old French}} nominative sendre, inherited from Latin senior, appears only in the Oaths of Strasbourg, spelled sendra, before it became obsolete.|name=|group=lower-roman}} {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''s'''e'''nior'', ''seni'''ō'''rem'') survive in the vocabulary of later French (''sire'', ''sieur'', ''seigneur'') as different ways to refer to a feudal [[Religion:Lord|lord]].
* {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''sœur'' "sister" is the nominative form ({{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''suer'' < Latin nominative ''s'''o'''ror''); the {{abbr|OF|Old French}} oblique form ''seror'' (< Latin accusative ''sor'''ō'''rem'') no longer survives.
* {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''prêtre'' "priest" is the nominative form ({{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''prestre'' < ''pr'''e'''sbyter''); the {{abbr|OF|Old French}} oblique form ''prevoire'', later ''provoire'' (< ''presb'''y'''terem'') survives only in the Paris street name ''Rue des Prouvaires''.
* {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} indefinite pronoun ''on'' "one" continues Old French nominative ''hom'' "man" (< ''h'''o'''mō''); ''homme'' "man" continues the oblique form ({{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''home'' < ''h'''o'''minem'').

In a few cases in which the only distinction between forms was the nominative ''-s'' ending, the ''-s'' was preserved. An example is ''fils'' "son" (< Latin nominative ''f'''ī'''lius''). The fact that the ''-s'' in the word is still pronounced today is irregular, but has to do with the later developments, namely the [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]] and Early Modern French system of pausal pronunciations.

As in Spanish and Italian, the neuter gender was eliminated, and most old neuter nouns became masculine. Some Latin neuter plurals (which ended in ''-a'') were reanalysed as feminine singulars: {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''gaudium'' was more widely used in the plural form ''gaudia'', which was taken for a singular in Vulgar Latin and ultimately led to {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''la joie'', "joy" (feminine singular).

Nouns were declined in the following [[Social:Declension|declension]]s:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Number
!colspan="3" | Class I (feminine)
!colspan="3" | Class II (masculine)
|-
!<small>Class I normal</small>
!colspan="2" |<small>Class Ia</small>
!colspan="2" | <small>Class II normal</small>
!<small>Class IIa</small>
|-
! colspan="2"| meaning
! "woman" !! "thing" !! "city" !! "neighbor" !! "servant" !! "father"
|-
!rowspan="2" | sg.
!<small>nominative</small>
|rowspan="2"| ''la fame'' || ''la riens'' || ''la citez'' || ''li veisins'' || ''li sergenz'' || ''li pere''
|-
!<small>oblique</small>
| ''la rien'' || ''la cité'' || ''le veisin'' || ''le sergent'' || ''le pere''
|-
!rowspan="2" | pl.
!<small>nominative</small>
|rowspan="2" | ''les fames'' ||rowspan="2" | ''les riens'' || rowspan="2" | ''les citez'' || ''li veisin'' || ''li sergent'' || ''li pere''
|-
!<small>oblique</small>
| ''les veisins'' || ''les sergenz'' || ''les peres''
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2" rowspan="2"| Numbers
!colspan="8" | Class III (both)
|-
!<small>Class IIIa</small>
!<small>Class IIIb</small>
!<small>Class IIIc</small>
!colspan="5" | <small>Class IIId</small>
|-
!colspan="2"| meaning
! "singer" !! "baron" !! "nun" !! "sister" !! "child" !! "priest" !! "lord" !! "count"
|-
!rowspan="2" | sg.
!<small>nominative</small>
| ''li chantere'' || ''li ber'' || ''la none'' || ''la suer'' || ''li enfes'' || ''li prestre'' || ''li sire'' || ''li cuens''
|-
!<small>oblique</small>
| ''le chanteor'' || ''le baron'' || ''la nonain'' || ''la seror'' || ''l'enfant'' || ''le prevoire'' || ''le sieur'' || ''le conte''
|-
!rowspan="2" | pl.
!<small>nominative</small>
| ''li chanteor'' || ''li baron'' || ''les nones'' || rowspan="2" | ''les serors'' || ''li enfant'' || ''li prevoire'' || ''li sieur'' || ''li conte''
|-
!<small>oblique</small>
| ''les chanteors'' || ''les barons'' || ''les nonains'' || ''les enfanz'' || ''les prevoires'' || ''les sieurs'' || ''les contes''
|}

Class I is derived from the Latin first declension. Class Ia mostly comes from Latin feminine nouns in the third declension. Class II is derived from the Latin second declension. Class IIa generally stems from second-declension nouns ending in ''-er'' and from third-declension masculine nouns; in both cases, the Latin nominative singular did not end in ''-s'', which is preserved in Old French.

The classes show various analogical developments: Class I nominative plural ''-es'' from the accusative instead of ''-∅'' (''-e'' after a consonant cluster) in Class I nominative plural ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''-ae'', although there is evidence to suggest this analogy had already occurred in VL), ''li pere'' instead of ''*li peres'' ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''illi patres'') in Class IIa nominative plural, modelled on Class II, etc.

Class III nouns show a separate stem in the nominative singular that does not occur in any of the other forms:
* IIIa nouns are agent nouns which ended in ''-'''ā'''tor'', ''-āt'''ō'''rem'' in Latin and preserve the stress shift.
* IIIb nouns also had a stress shift, from ''-ō'' to ''-'''ō'''nem'' (although several IIIb nouns actually continue [[Social:Frankish language|Frankish]] weak nouns with a similar inflection: Frankish ''*barō'' ~ ''*baran'' becomes {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''ber'' ~ ''baron'').
* IIIc nouns are an Old French creation and have no clear Latin antecedent.
* IIId nouns represent various other third-declension Latin nouns with stress shift or a change of consonant (''s'''o'''ror'', ''sor'''ō'''rem; '''ī'''nfāns, īnf'''ā'''ntem; pr'''e'''sbyter, presb'''y'''terem; s'''e'''iior, seii'''ō'''rem; c'''o'''mes, c'''o'''mitem'').

Regular feminine forms of masculine nouns are formed by adding an ''-e'' to the masculine stem (unless the masculine stem already ends in ''-e''). For example, ''bergier'' (shepherd) becomes ''bergiere'' ({{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''berger'' and ''bergère'').

===Adjectives===
Adjectives agree in terms of number, gender and case with the noun that they are qualifying. Thus, a feminine plural noun in the nominative case requires any qualifying adjectives to be feminine, plural and nominative. For example, in ''femes riches'', ''riche'' has to be in the feminine plural form.

Adjectives can be divided into three declensional classes:<ref>Moignet (1988, p. 26–31), Zink (1992, p. 39–48), de La Chaussée (1977, p. 39–44)</ref>
* Class I corresponding roughly to Latin 1st- and 2nd-declension adjectives
* Class II corresponding roughly to Latin 3rd-declension adjectives
* Class III containing primarily the descendants of Latin synthetic comparative forms in ''-ior'', ''-iōrem''.

Class I adjectives have a feminine singular form (nominative and oblique) ending in ''-e''. They can be further subdivided into two subclasses, based on the masculine nominative singular form. Class Ia adjectives have a masculine nominative singular ending in ''-s'':
:''bon'' "good" (< {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''bonus'', > {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''bon'')
:{| class="wikitable"
!
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Masculine
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Feminine
! Neuter
|-
! Case || Singular || Plural || Singular || Plural || Singular
|-
! Nominative
| ''bons'' || ''bon''
| rowspan="2" | ''bone'' || rowspan="2" | ''bones''
| ''bon''
|-
! Oblique
| ''bon'' || ''bons'' || —
|}

For Class Ib adjectives, the masculine nominative singular ends in ''-e'', like the feminine. There are descendants of Latin second- and third-declension adjectives ending in ''-er'' in the nominative singular:
:''aspre'' "harsh" (< {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''asper'', > {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''âpre'')
:{| class="wikitable"
!
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Masculine
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Feminine
! Neuter
|-
! Case || Singular || Plural || Singular || Plural || Singular
|-
! Nominative
| rowspan="2" | ''aspre''
| ''aspre''
| rowspan="2" | ''aspre'' || rowspan="2" | ''aspres''
| ''aspre''
|-
! Oblique
| ''aspres'' || —
|}

For Class II adjectives, the feminine singular is not marked by the ending ''-e'':
:''granz'' "big, great" (< {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''grandis'', > {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''grand'')
:{| class="wikitable"
!
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Masculine
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Feminine
! Neuter
|-
! Case || Singular || Plural || Singular || Plural || Singular
|-
! Nominative
| ''granz'' || ''grant''
| ''granz''/''grant'' || rowspan="2" | ''granz''
| ''grant''
|-
! Oblique
| ''grant'' || ''granz'' || ''grant'' || —
|}
An important subgroup of Class II adjectives is the present participial forms in ''-ant''.

Class III adjectives have a stem alternation, resulting from stress shift in the Latin third declension and a distinct neuter form:
:''mieudre'' "better" (< {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''melior'', > {{abbr|ModF|Modern French}} ''meilleur'')
:{| class="wikitable"
!
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Masculine
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Feminine
! Neuter
|-
! Case || Singular || Plural || Singular || Plural || Singular
|-
! Nominative
| ''mieudre(s)'' || ''meillor''
| ''mieudre'' || rowspan="2" | ''meillors''
| ''mieuz''
|-
! Oblique
| ''meillor'' || ''meillors'' || ''meillor'' || —
|}

In later Old French, Classes II and III tended to be moved across to Class I, which was complete by Middle French. Modern French thus has only a single adjective declension, unlike most other Romance languages, which have two or more.

===Verbs===
Verbs in Old French show the same extreme phonological deformations as other Old French words; however, morphologically, Old French verbs are extremely conservative in preserving intact most of the Latin alternations and irregularities that had been inherited in Proto-Romance. Old French has much less analogical reformation than Modern French has and significantly less than the oldest stages of other languages (such as [[Social:Old Spanish|Old Spanish]]) despite that the various phonological developments in Gallo-Romance and Proto-French led to complex alternations in the majority of commonly-used verbs.

For example, the {{abbr|OF|Old French}} verb ''laver'' "to wash" ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''lav'''ā'''re'') is conjugated ''je lef'', ''tu leves'', ''il leve'' in the present indicative and ''je lef'', ''tu les'', ''il let'' in the present subjunctive, in both cases regular phonological developments from Latin indicative ''l'''a'''vō'', ''l'''a'''vās'', ''l'''a'''vat'' and subjunctive ''l'''a'''vem'', ''l'''a'''vēs'', ''l'''a'''vet''. The following paradigm is typical in showing the phonologically regular but morphologically irregular alternations of most paradigms:
* The alternation ''je lef'' ~ ''tu leves'' is a regular result of the final devoicing triggered by loss of final /o/ but not /a/.
* The alternation ''laver'' ~ ''tu leves'' is a regular result of the diphthongization of a stressed open syllable /a/ into /ae/ > {{IPA|/æ/}} > {{IPA|/e/}}.
* The alternation ''je lef'' ~ ''tu les'' ~ ''il let'' in the subjunctive is a regular result of the simplification of the final clusters /fs/ and /ft/, resulting from loss of /e/ in final syllables.
Modern French, on the other hand, has ''je lave'', ''tu laves'', ''il lave'' in both indicative and subjunctive, reflecting significant analogical developments: analogical borrowing of unstressed vowel /a/, analogical ''-e'' in the first singular (from verbs like ''j'entre'', with a regular ''-e'' ) and wholesale replacement of the subjunctive with forms modelled on ''-ir''/''-oir''/''-re'' verbs. All serve to eliminate the various alternations in the {{abbr|OF|Old French}} verb paradigm. Even modern "irregular" verbs are not immune from analogy: For example, {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''je vif'', ''tu vis'', ''il vit'' (''vivre'' "to live") has yielded to modern ''je vis'', ''tu vis'', ''il vit'', eliminating the unpredictable ''-f'' in the first-person singular.

The simple past also shows extensive analogical reformation and simplification in Modern French, as compared with Old French.

The Latin pluperfect was preserved in very early Old French as a past tense with a value similar to a preterite or imperfect. For example, the Sequence of Saint Eulalia (878 AD) has past-tense forms such as ''avret'' (< {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''habuerat''), ''voldret'' (< {{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''voluerat''), alternating with past-tense forms from the Latin perfect (continued as the modern "simple past"). [[Social:Old Occitan|Old Occitan]] also preserved this tense, with a [[Conditional mood|conditional]] value; [[Social:Spanish language|Spanish]] still preserves this tense (the ''-ra'' imperfect subjunctive), as does [[Social:Portuguese language|Portuguese]] (in its original value as a pluperfect indicative).

====Verb alternations====
In Latin, stress was determined automatically by the number of syllables in a word and the weight (length) of the syllables. That resulted in certain automatic stress shifts between related forms in a paradigm, depending on the nature of the suffixes added. For example, in ''p'''e'''nsō'' "I think", the first syllable was stressed, but in ''pens'''ā'''mus'' "we think", the second syllable was stressed. In many Romance languages, vowels diphthongized in stressed syllables under certain circumstances but not in unstressed syllables, resulting in alternations in verb paradigms: [[Social:Spanish language|Spanish]] ''pienso'' "I think" vs. ''pensamos'' "we think" (''pensar'' "to think"), or ''cuento'' "I tell" vs. ''contamos'' "we tell" (''contar'' "to tell").

In the development of French, at least five vowels diphthongized in stressed, open syllables. Combined with other stress-dependent developments, that yielded 15 or so types of alternations in so-called strong verbs in Old French. For example, {{IPA|/a/}} diphthongized to {{IPA|/ai/}} before nasal stops in stressed, open syllables but not in unstressed syllables, yielding ''aim'' "I love" ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} '''''a'''mō'') but ''amons'' "we love" ({{abbr|Lat|Latin}} ''am'''ā'''mus'').

The different types are as follows:
{|class="wikitable"
|+Vowel alternations in Old French verbs
|-
! colspan=2|Vowel alternation !! rowspan=2|Environment !! colspan=4|Example (''-er'' conjugation) !! colspan=4|Example (other conjugation)
|-
! Stressed !! Unstressed !! Latin etymon !! 3rd singular<br />pres. ind. !! Infinitive !! meaning !! Latin etymon !! 3rd singular<br />pres. ind. !! Infinitive<br />/ Other form !! meaning
|-
| {{IPA|/e/}} || {{IPA|/a/}} || free {{IPA|/a/}} || ''lavāre'' || ''leve'' || ''laver'' || "to wash" || ''parere'' ><br /> ''*parīre'' || ''pert'' || ''parir'' || "to give birth"
|-
| {{IPA|/ãj̃/}} || {{IPA|/ã/}} || free {{IPA|/a/}} + nasal || ''amāre'' || ''aime'' || ''amer'' || "to love" || ''manēre'' || ''maint'' || ''maneir'', ''manoir'' || "to remain"
|-
| {{IPA|/je/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || palatal + free {{IPA|/a/}} || ''*accapāre'' || ''achieve'' || ''achever'' || "to achieve" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/i/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || palatal + {{IPA|/a/}} + palatal || ''*concacāre'' || ''conchie'' || ''concheer'' || "to expel" || ''iacēre'' || ''gist'' || ''gesir'' || "to lie (down)"
|-
| {{IPA|/a/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || palatal + blocked {{IPA|/a/}} || ''*accapitāre'' || ''achate'' || ''acheter'' || "to buy" || ''cadere'' ><br />''*cadēre'' || ''chiet'' || ''cheoir'' || "to fall"
|-
| {{IPA|/a/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || intertonic {{IPA|/a/}} + palatal? || ''*tripaliāre'' || ''travaille'' || ''traveillier'' || "to torment, make suffer" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/je/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || free {{IPA|/ɛ/}} || ''levāre'' || ''lieve'' || ''lever'' || "to raise" || ''sedēre'' || ''siet'' || ''seeir'', ''seoir'' || "to sit; suit, be fitting"
|-
| {{IPA|/jẽ/}} || {{IPA|/ẽ/}} || free {{IPA|/ɛ/}} + nasal ||colspan=4| || ''tremere'' ><br />''*cremere'' || ''crient'' || ''creindre'' (var. ''cremir'', -''oir'') || "to fear"
|-
| {{IPA|/i/}} || {{IPA|/ej/}} || {{IPA|/ɛ/}} + palatal || ''pretiāre'' || ''prise'' || ''preiser'' || "to value" || ''exīre'' || ''ist'' || ''eissir'' || "to exit, go out"
|-
| {{IPA|/ɛ/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || intertonic {{IPA|/ɛ, e/}} + double cons. || ''appellāre'' || ''apele'' || ''apeler'' || "to call" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/oj/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || free {{IPA|/e/}} || ''adhaerāre'' ><br /> ''*adēsāre'' || ''adoise'' || ''adeser'' || "to touch" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/ẽj̃/}} || {{IPA|/ẽ/}} || free {{IPA|/e/}} + nasal || ''mināre'' || ''meine'' || ''mener'' || "to lead" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/i/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || palatal + free {{IPA|/e/}} || colspan=4| || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/oj/}} || {{IPA|/i/}} || intertonic {{IPA|/e/}} + palatal || – || ''charroie'' || ''charrier'' || "to cart around" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/we/}} || {{IPA|/u/}} || free {{IPA|/ɔ/}} || ''*tropāre'' || ''trueve'' || ''truver'' || "to invent, discover" || ''morī'' ><br />''*morīre'' || ''muert'' || ''mourir'' || "to die"
|-
| {{IPA|/uj/}} || {{IPA|/oj/}} || {{IPA|/ɔ/}} + palatal || ''*appodiāre'' || ''apuie'' || ''apoiier'' || "to lean" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/ew/}} || {{IPA|/u/}} || free {{IPA|/o/}} || ''dēmōrārī'' || ''demeure'' || ''demo(u)rer'' || "to stay" || ''cōnsuere'' ><br /> ''*cōsere'' || ''queust'' || ''co(u)sdre'' || "to sew"
|-
| {{IPA|/u/}} || {{IPA|/e/}} || intertonic blocked {{IPA|/o/}} || ''*corruptiāre'' || ''courouce'' || ''courecier'' || "to get angry" || colspan=4|
|-
| {{IPA|/ũ/}} || {{IPA|/ã/}} || intertonic blocked {{IPA|/o/}} + nasal || ''calumniārī'' || ''chalonge'' || ''chalengier'' || "to challenge" || colspan=4|
|}

In Modern French, the verbs in the ''-er'' class have been systematically levelled. Generally, the "weak" (unstressed) form predominates, but there are some exceptions (such as modern ''aimer''/''nous aimons''). The only remaining alternations are in verbs like ''acheter''/''j'achète'' and ''jeter''/''je jette'', with unstressed {{IPA|/ə/}} alternating with stressed {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and in (largely-learned) verbs like ''adhérer/j'adhère'', with unstressed {{IPA|/e/}} alternating with stressed {{IPA|/ɛ/}}. Many of the non-''er'' verbs have become obsolete, and many of the remaining verbs have been levelled;  however, a few alternations remain in what are now known as irregular verbs, such as ''je tiens'', ''nous tenons''; ''je dois'', ''nous devons'' and ''je meurs'', ''nous mourons''.

Some verbs had a more irregular alternation between different-length stems, with a longer, stressed stem alternating with a shorter, unstressed stem. That was a regular development stemming from the loss of unstressed intertonic vowels, which remained when they were stressed:
* ''j'aiu''/''aidier'' "help" < ''adi'''ū'''tō'', ''adiūt'''ā'''re''
* ''j'araison''/''araisnier'' "speak to" < ''adrati'''ō'''nō'', ''adratiōn'''ā'''re''
* ''je deraison''/''deraisnier'' "argue" < ''dērati'''ō'''nō'', ''dēratiōn'''ā'''re''
* ''je desjun''/''disner'' "dine" < ''disiēi'''ū'''nō'', ''disiēiūn'''ā'''re''
* ''je manju''/''mangier'' "eat" < ''mand'''ū'''cō'', ''mandūc'''ā'''re''
* ''je parol''/''parler'' "speak" < ''*par'''au'''lō'', ''*paraul'''ā'''re'' < ''parabolō'', ''parabolāre''

The alternation of ''je desjun'', ''disner'' is particularly complicated; it appears that:
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | {{smallcaps|inf}}
! colspan="2" | {{smallcaps|1sg.ind.pres}}
|-
! colspan="2" | Latin
| style="border-right:0" | ''disiēiūnāre''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disjeːjuːˈnaːre/}}
| style="border-right:0" | ''disiēiūnō''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disjeːˈjuːnoː/}}
|-
! rowspan="4" | Western Romance
! Triphthong reduction
| style="border-right:0" | ''disīūnāre''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disiːuːˈnaːre/}}
| style="border-right:0" | ''disīūnō''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disiːˈuːnoː/}}
|-
! Loss of phonemic length
| style="border-right:0" | ''disjunare''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disjuˈnare/}}
| style="border-right:0" | ''disjuno''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disˈjuno/}}
|-
! Syncopation
| style="border-right:0" | ''disinare''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disiˈnaːre/}}
| colspan="2" | –
|-
! Change in quality and metaphony
| style="border-right:0" | ''disinare''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disiˈnarɛ/}}
| style="border-right:0" | ''desjuno''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/desˈjuno/}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | Gallo-Romance
! Lenition
| style="border-right:0" | ''dizinare''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/diziˈnarɛ/}}
| colspan="2" | –
|-
! Further syncopation
| style="border-right:0" | ''diznare''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/dizˈnarɛ/}}
| colspan="2" | –
|-
! rowspan="7" | Old French
! Further syncopation
| style="border-right:0" | ''disnar''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/dizˈnar/}}
| style="border-right:0" | ''desjun''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/desˈjun/}}
|-
! Diphthongization
| style="border-right:0" | ''disner''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disˈnɛr/}}
| colspan="2" | –
|-
! Fortition
| colspan="2" | –
| style="border-right:0" | ''desjun''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/desˈdʒun/}}
|-
! Devoicing
| style="border-right:0" | ''disner''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/disˈnɛr/}}
| colspan="2" | –
|-
! Allophonic nasalization
| colspan="2" | –
| style="border-right:0" | ''desjun''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/desˈdʒũn/}}
|-
! Fronting
| colspan="2" | –
| style="border-right:0" | ''desjun''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/desˈdʒỹn/}}
|-
! Compensatory lengthening
| style="border-right:0" | ''disner''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/diːˈnɛr/}}
| style="border-right:0" | ''desjun''
| style="border-left:0" | {{IPA|/deːˈdʒỹn/}}
|}
Both stems have become full verbs in Modern French: ''déjeuner'' "to have lunch" and ''dîner'' "to dine". Furthermore, ''déjeuner'' does not derive directly from ''je desjun'' (< ''*disi(ēi)ūnō'', with total loss of unstressed ''-ēi-''). Instead, it comes from {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''desjeüner'', based on the alternative form ''je desjeün'' (< ''*disiē(i)ūnō'', with loss of only ''-i-'', likely influenced by ''jeûner'' "to fast" < {{abbr|OF|Old French}} ''jeüner'' < ''je jeün'' {{IPA|/d͡ʒe.ˈyn/}} "I fast" < ''iē(i)ūnō'': ''iē-'' is an initial rather than intertonic so the vowel ''-ē-'' does not disappear).

====Example of regular ''-er'' verb: ''durer'' (to last)====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="3"| &nbsp;
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Indicative
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Subjunctive
! style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
! style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
|-
| '''Present''' || '''Simple past''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Future''' || '''Present''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Present''' || '''Present'''
|-
| '''''je''''' || ''dur'' || ''durai'' || ''duroie'' || ''durerai'' || ''dur'' || ''durasse'' || ''dureroie'' || —
|-
| '''''tu''''' || ''dures'' || ''duras'' || ''durois'' || ''dureras'' || ''durs'' || ''durasses'' || ''durerois'' || ''dure''
|-
| '''''il''''' || ''dure'' || ''dura'' || ''duroit'' || ''durera'' || ''durt'' || ''durast'' || ''dureroit'' || —
|-
| '''''nos''''' || ''durons'' || ''durames'' || ''duriiens''/''-ïons'' || ''durerons'' || ''durons'' || ''durissons''/''-issiens'' || ''dureriions''/''-ïons'' || ''durons''
|-
| '''''vos'''''|| ''durez'' || ''durastes'' || ''duriiez'' || ''dureroiz''/''-ez'' || ''durez'' || ''durissoiz''/''-issez''/''-issiez'' || ''dureriiez''/''-ïez'' || ''durez''
|-
| '''''ils''''' || ''durent'' || ''durerent'' || ''duroient'' || ''dureront'' || ''durent'' || ''durassent'' || ''dureroient'' || —
|}

Non-finite forms:
* Infinitive: ''durer''
* Present participle: ''durant''
* Past Participle: ''duré''
Auxiliary verb: ''avoir''

====Example of regular ''-ir'' verb: ''fenir'' (to end)====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="3"| &nbsp;
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Indicative
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Subjunctive
! style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
! style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
|-
| '''Present''' || '''Simple past''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Future''' || '''Present''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Present''' || '''Present'''
|-
| '''''je''''' || ''fenis'' || ''feni'' || ''fenissoie'' || ''fenirai'' || ''fenisse'' || ''fenisse'' || ''feniroie'' || —
|-
| '''''tu''''' || ''fenis'' || ''fenis'' || ''fenissoies'' || ''feniras'' || ''fenisses'' || ''fenisses'' || ''fenirois'' || ''fenis''
|-
| '''''il''''' || ''fenist'' || ''feni(t)'' || ''fenissoit'' || ''fenira'' || ''fenisse(t)'' || ''fenist'' || ''feniroit'' || —
|-
| '''''nos''''' || ''fenissons'' || ''fenimes'' || ''fenissiiens'' || ''fenirons'' || ''fenissons'' || ''fenissons''/''-iens'' || ''feniriiens'' || ''fenissons''
|-
| '''''vos'''''|| ''fenissez'' || ''fenistes'' || ''fenissiiez'' || ''feniroiz''/''-ez'' || ''fenissez'' || ''fenissoiz''/''-ez''/''-iez'' || ''feniriiez'' || ''fenissez''
|-
| '''''ils''''' || ''fenissent'' || ''fenirent'' || ''fenissoient'' || ''feniront'' || ''fenissent'' || ''fenissent'' || ''feniroient'' || —
|}

Non-finite forms:
* Infinitive: ''fenir''<!--variants finir, finer-->
* Present participle: ''fenissant''
* Past participle: ''feni(t)''
Auxiliary verb: ''avoir''

====Example of regular ''-re'' verb: ''corre'' (to run)====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="3"| &nbsp;
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Indicative
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Subjunctive
! style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
! style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
|-
| '''Present''' || '''Simple past''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Future''' || '''Present''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Present''' || '''Present'''
|-
| '''''je''''' || ''cor'' || ''corui'' || ''coroie'' || ''corrai'' || ''core'' || ''corusse'' || ''corroie'' || —
|-
| '''''tu''''' || ''cors'' || ''corus'' || ''coroies'' || ''corras'' || ''cores'' || ''corusses'' || ''corroies'' || ''cor''
|-
| '''''il''''' || ''cort'' || ''coru(t)'' || ''coroit'' || ''corra'' || ''core(t)'' || ''corust'' || ''corroit'' || —
|-
| '''''nos''''' || ''corons'' || ''corumes'' || ''coriiens'' || ''corrons'' || ''corons'' || ''corussons''/''-iens'' || ''corriiens'' || ''corons''
|-
| '''''vos'''''|| ''corez'' || ''corustes'' || ''coriiez'' || ''corroiz''/''-ez'' || ''corez'' || ''corussoiz''/''-ez''/''-iez'' || ''corriiez'' || ''corez''
|-
| '''''ils''''' || ''corent'' || ''corurent'' || ''coroient'' || ''corront'' || ''corent'' || ''corussent'' || ''corroient'' || —
|}

Non-finite forms:
* Infinitive: ''corre''<!--many, many forms-->
* Present participle: ''corant''
* Past participle: ''coru(t)''
Auxiliary verb: ''estre''

====Examples of auxiliary verbs====
=====''avoir'' (to have)=====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="3"| &nbsp;
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Indicative
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Subjunctive
! style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
! style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
|-
| '''Present''' || '''Simple past''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Future''' || '''Present''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Present''' || '''Present'''
|-
| '''''je''''' || ''ai'' || ''eüi'', ''oi'' || ''avoie'' || ''aurai'' || ''ai'' || ''eüsse'' || ''auroie'' || —
|-
| '''''tu''''' || ''ais''<br />(later ''as'') || ''eüs'' || ''avois'' || ''auras'' || ''ais'' || ''eüsses'' || ''aurois'' || ''ave''
|-
| '''''il''''' || ''ai''<br />(later ''a'') || ''eü(t)'', ''ot'' || ''avoit'' || ''aura'' || ''ai'' || ''eüst'' || ''auroit'' || —
|-
| '''''nos''''' || ''avons'' || ''eümes'' || ''aviiens''/''-ïons'' || ''aurons'' || ''aions'' || ''eüssons''/''-issiens'' || ''auravons''/''-ïons'' || ''avons''
|-
| '''''vos'''''|| ''avez'' || ''eüstes'' || ''aviiez'' || ''auroiz''/''-ez'' || ''aiez'' || ''eüssoiz''/''-issez''/''-issiez'' || ''auravez''/''-ïez'' || ''avez''
|-
| '''''ils''''' || ''ont'' || ''eürent'' || ''avoient'' || ''auront'' || ''ont'' || ''eüssent'' || ''auroient'' || —
|}

Non-finite forms:
* Infinitive: ''avoir'' (earlier ''aveir'')
* Present participle: ''aiant''
* Past participle: ''eü(t)''
Auxiliary verb: ''avoir''

=====''estre'' (to be)=====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="3"| &nbsp;
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Indicative
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Subjunctive
! style="text-align: center;" | Conditional
! style="text-align: center;" | Imperative
|-
| '''Present''' || '''Simple past''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Future''' || '''Present''' || '''Imperfect''' || '''Present''' || '''Present'''
|-
| '''''je''''' || ''suis'' || ''fui'' || ''(i)ere''<br />''esteie'' > ''estoie'' || ''(i)er''<br />''serai''<br />''estrai'' || ''seie'' > ''soie'' || ''fusse'' || ''sereie'' > ''seroie''<br />''estreie'' > ''estroie'' || —
|-
| '''''tu''''' || ''(i)es'' || ''fus'' || ''(i)eres''<br />''esteies'' > ''estoies'' || ''(i)ers''<br />''seras''<br />''estras'' || ''seies'' > ''soies'' || ''fusses'' || ''sereies'' > ''seroies''<br />''estreies'' > ''estroies'' || ''seies'' > ''soies''
|-
| '''il''' || ''est'' || ''fu(t)'' || ''(i)ere(t)'', ''(i)ert''<br />''esteit'' > ''estoit'' || ''(i)ert''<br />''sera(t)''<br />''estra(t)'' || ''seit'' > ''soit'' || ''fust'' || ''sereit'' > ''seroit''<br />''estreit'' > ''estroit'' || —
|-
| '''''nos''''' || ''somes'', ''esmes'' || ''fumes'' || ''eriiens'', ''erions''<br />''estiiens'', ''estions'' || ''(i)ermes''<br />''serons''<br />''estrons'' || ''seiiens'', ''seions'' > ''soiiens'', ''soions'' || ''fussons''/''-iens'' || ''seriiens'', ''serions''<br />''estriiens'', ''estrions'' || ''seiiens'' > ''soiiens'', ''seions'' > ''soions''
|-
| '''''vos'''''|| ''estes'' || ''fustes'' || ''eriiez''<br />''estiiez'' || —<br />''sere(i)z''<br />''estre(i)z'' || ''seiiez'' > ''soiiez'' || ''fusseiz''/''-ez''/''-iez'' || ''seriiez''<br />''estriiez'' || ''seiiez'' > ''soiiez''
|-
| '''''ils''''' || ''sont'' || ''furent'' || ''(i)erent''<br />''esteient'' > ''estoient'' || ''(i)erent''<br />''seront''<br />''estront'' || ''seient'' > ''soient'' || ''fussent'' || ''sereient'' > ''seroient''<br />''estreient'' > ''estroient'' || —
|}

Non-finite forms:
* Infinitive: ''estre''
* Present participle: ''estant''
* Past participle: ''esté(t)''
Auxiliary verb: ''avoir''

===Other parts of speech===
Adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections are generally invariable. Pronouns are usually declinable.

==See also==
* History of French
* Anglo-Norman literature
* Arabic–Old French glossary
* Bartsch's law

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist-lr}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== General sources ===
* {{Cite book |last=Ayres-Bennett |first=Wendy |title=A History of the French Language Through Texts |publisher=Routledge |year=1995 |location=London/New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Banniard |first=Michel |title=Du latin aux langues romanes |publisher=Nathan |year=1997 |location=Paris}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cole |first=William |title=First and Otherwise Notable Editions of Old French Texts Printed from 1742 to 1874: A Bibliographical Catalogue of My Collection |publisher=Cole & Contreras |year=2005 |location=Sitges}}
* {{Cite book |last=de la Chaussée |first=François |title=Initiation à la morphologie historique de l'ancien français |publisher=Klincksieck |year=1977 |isbn=978-2-252-01922-1 |location=Paris}}
* {{Cite book |last=Delamarre |first=X. |title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise : Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental |last2=P.-Y. Lambert |publisher=Errance |year=2003 |isbn=978-2-87772-237-7 |edition=2nd |location=Paris}}
* {{Cite book |last=Einhorn |first=E. |url=https://archive.org/details/oldfrenchconcise0000einh |title=Old French: A Concise Handbook |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-521-20343-2 |location=Cambridge |url-access=registration}}
* Grandgent, Charles Hall (1907). ''An introduction to Vulgar Latin''. Boston: D.C. Heath & Co.
* Hall, Robert Anderson (October 1946). "Old French phonemes and orthography". ''Studies in Philology''. Vol. 43, No. 4. 575–585. {{JSTOR|4172774}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Kibler |first=William |title=An Introduction to Old French |publisher=Modern Language Association of America |year=1984 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kinoshita |first=Sharon |title=Medieval Boundaries: Rethinking Difference in Old French Literature |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2006}}
* Laborderie, Noëlle (2009). ''Précis de Phonétique Historique''. Paris: Armand Colin.
* {{Cite book |last=Lanly |first=André |title=Morphologie historique des verbes français |publisher=Champion |year=2002 |isbn=978-2-7453-0822-1 |location=Paris}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lodge |first=R. Anthony |title=French: From Dialect to Standard |publisher=Routledge |year=1993 |location=London/New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Milis |first=L. |title=Actes du 101e Congrès nationale des sociétés savantes |year=1978 |location=Paris |at=Section d'histoire moderne et contemporaine (pages 249–262) |chapter=La frontière linguistique dans le comté de Guînes: un problème historique et méthodologique}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moignet |first=Gérard |title=Grammaire de l'ancien français |publisher=Klincksieck |year=1988 |isbn=9782252015094 |edition=2nd |location=Paris}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pope |first=Mildred K. |title=From Latin to Modern French with Especial Consideration of Anglo-Norman Phonology and Morphology |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1934 |location=Manchester}}
* Rickard, Peter (1989). ''A history of the French language''. London: Unwin Hyman.
* {{Cite book |last=Zink |first=Gaston |title=Phonétique historique du français |publisher=PUF |year=1999 |isbn=978-2-13-046471-6 |edition=6th |location=Paris}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zink |first=Gaston |title=Morphologie du français médiéval |publisher=PUF |year=1992 |isbn=978-2-13-044766-5 |edition=2nd |location=Paris}}

==External links==
* ''[https://archive.org/details/anintroductiont05rogegoog An Introduction to Old French]'' by François Frédéric Roget (1887)
* [https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/ofrol Old French Online] by Brigitte L. M. Bauer and Jonathan Slocum, free online lessons at the [https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc Linguistics Research Center] at the [[Organization:University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas at Austin]]
* [http://hdl.handle.net/1959.9/536786 Historical French Reader : medieval period] by Paul Studer and E.G.R Waters (1924)  
* [http://www.atilf.fr/dect DÉCT] (Electronic Dictionary of Chretien de Troyes): complete lexicon and transcriptions of the five romances of this Old French author. University of Ottawa, Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS).
* {{Cite book |last=Du Bellay |first=Joachim |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4357/ |title=La Défense, et illustration de la langue française |publisher=Arnoul L'Angelier |year=1549 |location=Paris}}


[[Category:Medieval languages|French, 1]]

{{Sourceattribution|Old French}}