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French orthography encompasses the spelling and punctuation of the French language.It is based on a combination of phonemic and historical principles. The spelling of words is largely based on the pronunciation of Old French c. 1100 –1200 AD, and has stayed more or less the same since then, despite enormous changes to the pronunciation of the language in the intervening years.
Middle French (French: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] It is a period of transition during which:
Spelling and punctuation before the 16th century was highly erratic, but the introduction of printing in 1470 provoked the need for uniformity.. Several Renaissance humanists (working with publishers) proposed reforms in French orthography, the most famous being Jacques Peletier du Mans who developed a phonemic-based spelling system and introduced new typographic signs (1550).
Changes affecting consonants were also quite pervasive in Old French. Old French shared with the rest of the Vulgar Latin world the loss of final -M . Old French also dropped many internal consonants when they followed the strongly stressed syllable; Latin petram > Proto-Romance */ˈpɛðra/ > OF pierre; cf. Spanish piedra ("stone").
Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi (in original orthography Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roy and in English The King's 24 Violin-Family Instruments) was a five–part string ensemble at the French royal court, existing from 1626 to 1761.
It is often used to demonstrate one's education and social status. As early as the 17th century, noted grammarian Claude Favre de Vaugelas described the incorrect pronunciation of aspirated h words as typical of French spoken on the southern side of the Loire. Further discussion of the phenomenon is found in almost every collection of remarks ...
During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations (lingua franca). It retained this role until approximately the middle of the 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War.
In the 3rd century, Western Europe started to be invaded by Germanic tribes from the north and the east, and some of the groups settled in Gaul.In the history of the French language, the most important groups are the Franks in northern France, the Alemanni in the modern German/French border area (), the Burgundians in the Rhône (and the Saone) Valley and the Visigoths in the Aquitaine region ...