A History of the French Language

Peter Rickard wrote this history for students who need the linguistic background to read French literature across its periods. The account opens with the Vulgar Latin of Gaul and with the earliest French that can be recorded.

This is the second edition, and the text has been updated through and through. Rickard also rewrote the closing material on modern French and on the language's global reach.

Students of French literature and language will find it a grounded introduction to how the language developed over the centuries.

Bibliographic details: published by Routledge, with the ISBN-13 9780415108874.