French is a Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin. Specifically, it began to emerge from the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in what is now northern France. This territory was named Gaul, and its residents spoke a Celtic Gaulish language until the Roman Empire occupied the region. During this time, Latin was spoken by elite classes, while Gaulish remained spoken in most of the rural and peasant population. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 6th century, Latin continued to be spoken by elites and some non-elites alike. However, rural and lower classes did not widely use Latin until much later. This evolution led to a slow mixing of words and structures from Gaulish and Vulgar Latin, producing the Gallo-Romance tongue.

Like English, there are also archaic forms of Old and Middle French. From the 8th to14th centuries, Old French split into northern and southern dialects. This division was caused by Germanic invasions in the north, bringing Frankish linguistic influence. While Old Occitan was spoken in the South, Old French in the North became a mix of Gallo-Romantic/Latin characteristics and new Germanic forms. Between the 14-17th centuries, Middle French was refined through the use of the Francien dialect, losing case declensions and other grammatical elements from Old French dialects. In the 17th century, Modern French replaced Latin as the primary language of diplomacy, or lingua franca. Modern French blossomed in urban regions like Paris, where the Parisian dialect was adopted among elites and propagated. This movement was accompanied by a concerted effort by the French government to eradicate regional languages and dialects during the 1800s.

 

Due to imperial expansion overseas, there are many dialectical and lingual French variants, including Creole and African languages and dialects. It is also the most spoken native language in the EU. Furthermore, it is used as the official diplomatic language in several official departments of the EU, like the Court of Justice. The majority of French speakers live in Africa, and the language is likely to continue to bloom in the Sub-Saharan region. With the advent of the internet, standard French will likely continue to be a useful language, with a rich history of variation and stylization.