* Evolution, not creation: Languages evolve over time, they don't have a sudden "birth." French evolved from Vulgar Latin, the spoken language of the Roman Empire.
* Gradual transition: The transition from Vulgar Latin to Old French wasn't a clear-cut moment. It happened gradually over centuries, with dialects changing and merging.
* Defining "French": What exactly constitutes "French" is subjective. Do we mean the first recognizable form of the language? Or when it became the dominant language of a region?
Here's a general timeline:
* 5th century AD: The Roman Empire collapses. Vulgar Latin, spoken by the Roman soldiers and civilians, becomes the primary language in the areas that would become France.
* 8th-12th centuries: Vulgar Latin dialects evolve into Old French, with regional variations.
* 12th century: Old French becomes more standardized. The first literary works in Old French, like "The Song of Roland," appear.
* 16th century: The French Renaissance sees the emergence of a more sophisticated and standardized French language.
* 17th century: The Académie Française is established to standardize French grammar and vocabulary. This marks a significant step towards the modern French language we know today.
So, while we can't give a precise date, we can say that French has been evolving for at least 1500 years, with its roots firmly planted in Vulgar Latin.