* Evolution, not a sudden creation: Languages evolve gradually over time. French didn't suddenly appear one day; it developed from earlier languages.
* Latin as a foundation: French descends from Vulgar Latin, the spoken language of the Roman Empire. This means French has roots in the Roman period, but even Vulgar Latin evolved over time.
* Regional variations: Even within the Roman Empire, Latin had dialects. These dialects continued to evolve after the empire's fall, leading to various regional languages, including Old French.
* No clear "birth date": While we can identify periods in history where certain linguistic changes were significant, there's no definitive starting point for French. It's more accurate to say that French emerged gradually over centuries.
Key Milestones:
* 5th century AD: The Roman Empire declines, and Vulgar Latin continues to evolve in its former territories.
* 8th-9th centuries AD: Old French, the earliest identifiable form of the language, emerges in the Frankish region (modern-day France).
* 12th-13th centuries AD: The language begins to standardize, with influences from literature and the court of the French kings.
In summary, instead of a "start date," we can think of French as having developed from Latin and undergone various stages over a long period.