#5 What Is Middle French ?｜French Language Column

The history of French is generally divided into several stages: Old French, Middle French, and Modern French.

If Old French can be seen as the period that laid the foundation for the French language, Middle French was the period in which French changed significantly and moved much closer to its modern form.

Many features of Modern French, such as the gap between spelling and pronunciation, numerous silent letters, and the gradual standardization of grammar, were largely shaped during this period.

In this article, I will explain what Middle French is, when it was used, what characteristics it had, and how it influenced Modern French.

1. What Is Middle French ?

Middle French generally refers to the form of French used from around the 14th century to the early 17th century.

Although exact periodization may vary slightly, the history of French is often divided as follows:

• Old French: 9th century to 14th century
• Middle French: 14th century to 17th century
• Modern French: 17th century onward

In other words, Middle French was a transitional stage between Old French and Modern French.

French during this period had already become much closer to Modern French than Old French was, but there was still considerable variation in spelling and grammar.

2. What Changed from Old French?

To understand Middle French, you first need to look at how it differed from Old French.

Compared with Modern French, Old French was grammatically more complex. One of its most distinctive features was the partial survival of case distinctions inherited from Latin.

In Old French, nouns still partly preserved a distinction between the nominative case and the oblique case. However, by the Middle French period, this case system had almost disappeared.

As a result, the following elements became much more important for showing the meaning of a sentence:

• Word order
• Prepositions
• Articles

This system is much closer to Modern French.

For example, Latin could indicate grammatical relationships through word endings. From Middle French onward, however, the order of words became increasingly important. Through this change, French grammar gradually became simpler.

3. The Gap Between Spelling and Pronunciation Became Wider

During the Middle French period, the gap between spelling and pronunciation became increasingly noticeable. This was because pronunciation continued to change, while spelling did not change at the same speed.

One major change was that final consonants gradually stopped being pronounced. Consider the following Modern French words:

• petit : small
• grand : big
• froid : cold
• beaucoup : a lot

Today, the final “t, d, d,” and “p” in these words are usually not pronounced. Historically, however, many of these consonants were actually pronounced in earlier periods.

During the Middle French period, final consonants gradually weakened in everyday speech and eventually became silent, while the spelling often remained unchanged.

In addition, scholars and scribes sometimes made spelling deliberately more complex in order to show the Latin origin of words. Some letters were added not for pronunciation, but to indicate etymology.

• temps : time ー from Latin tempus
• doigt : finger ー from Latin digitus
• hôpital : hospital ー from Latin hospitale

As a result, French spelling came to contain both actual pronunciation and historical etymology. This feature has been passed down into Modern French orthography.

4. The Renaissance Greatly Changed French Vocabulary

The Middle French period also overlapped with the Renaissance.

During the Renaissance in Europe, the scholarship and culture of ancient Greece and Rome were re-evaluated and revived.

This had a major influence on French. In fields such as scholarship, philosophy, medicine, and law, many words of Latin and Greek origin entered the language.

During this period, a large number of intellectual terms were added to French. Examples of words derived from Latin and Greek include the following:

Academic and philosophical terms

• philosophie : philosophy
• théorie : theory
• logique : logic

Medical and scientific terms

• médecine : medicine
• anatomie : anatomy
• chirurgie : surgery

Political and legal terms

• justice : justice / judiciary
• constitution : constitution / structure
• autorité : authority

Through this expansion of vocabulary, French strengthened its role not only as a language of everyday communication, but also as a language of scholarship and literature.

The increase in vocabulary for abstract concepts was especially important. While Old French had mainly been rich in vocabulary connected to daily life, Middle French rapidly expanded the vocabulary needed to discuss:

• Ideas
• Science
• Art
• Politics

This expansion of vocabulary later became one of the foundations for French to gain a high status as a language of diplomacy, philosophy, and literature.

5. The Influence of the Parisian Dialect Grew Stronger

In medieval France, many regional languages and dialects existed.

At that time, people throughout France did not all speak the same French. Pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar differed depending on the region.

In the north, the langues d’oïl were widely spoken, while in the south, the langues d’oc were common. Even within France, linguistic differences could be quite significant.

However, during the Middle French period, the influence of Paris, the political center of the country, grew rapidly.

As royal power became increasingly centralized, administration, justice, education, and literature gradually became concentrated in Paris. As a result, the French spoken around Paris, especially in the Île-de-France region, gradually acquired social authority.

The spread of printing also accelerated this trend. As books and documents began to be reproduced in large quantities, there was a growing need for a common language that could be understood by a wider readership.

In this way, the language of Paris became more than just a regional dialect. It gradually established itself as a candidate for standard French.

This development later led to Standard French. In other words, the foundation of Modern Standard French was formed during this period.

6. The Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts

When discussing Middle French, the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, issued in 1539, is essential.

This ordinance was issued by King Francis I and required the use of French instead of Latin in administrative and judicial documents.

Before this, Latin had been widely used in official documents. For a long time, Latin functioned as the common language of scholarship, religion, and law.

However, this situation also created problems. Since Latin was understood mainly by clergy members and a limited educated elite, the content of official documents was difficult for many ordinary people to understand.

For this reason, Francis I adopted French as a more practical language in order to improve administrative efficiency and strengthen state governance.

As a result, French greatly elevated its status from a language of everyday communication to an official language supporting the operation of the state.

7. From Middle French to Modern French

In the 17th century, French became increasingly standardized.

During the Middle French period, spelling and grammar still showed considerable variation. It was not unusual for the same word to be spelled differently depending on the writer.

However, as state centralization advanced further and France rose as a major European power, there was a growing demand for unified linguistic norms.

A symbolic example of this movement was the founding of the Académie française in 1635. This institution was established to regulate French vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and proper usage.

The role of the Académie française was not merely to compile dictionaries. Its purpose was to develop French as a clear, refined, and logical language. This idea was closely connected with the spirit of Classicism, which was highly valued in 17th-century France.

During this period, education and publishing culture also developed, helping Standard French spread across the country.

In this way, French entered the period of Modern French.

8. Summary

Middle French refers to the form of French used from the 14th century to the early 17th century. This period was an important transitional stage from Old French to Modern French.

Its main characteristics can be summarized as follows:

Middle French can be seen as a period of major transformation just before the emergence of Modern French.

By learning about Middle French, you can better understand many of the features found in Modern French today.