Written in highly readable French, this book is designed to serve as a textbook for a course in the history of the French language. It is written for American students who are upper division French majors, and also for first-year graduate students. The text traces the evolution of the French language from Latin to the end of the 13th century, yet introduces the student to the basic concepts of linguistics, and in particular to historical linguistics. All technical terms, even elementary terms, such as syntax, phonology, morphology, etc. are fully explained with examples.

"This volume fills a definite need; a text, written in French, which covers the essentials of the history of the language in a manner that is neither too technical nor too simplistic." - Modern Language Review

"...a very well conceived presentation of the history of French language." - The French Review

"...complete treatment, excellent examples, clear and concise explanations of the terminology for students who have had neither Latin nor linguistics. The need for such a text designated for American students has existed for some time; I expect that this volume will fill that need." - The French Review

"M. deserves credit for venturing to fill an acknowledged gap in the material available for teaching the history of French to American students." - Romance Philology

"...this is an extremely useful, no-nonsense book. Whether the topic is the phenomenon of language, Bartsch's Law, or a syntactical feature, it is expressed in very clear, easily understandable terms, ideal for the beginner. It should make a very welcome addition to the canon of philological texts for undergraduates." - Modern Language Review

"...this is an extremely useful, no-nonsense book. Whether the topic is the phenomenon of language, Bartsch's Law, or a syntactical feature, it is expressed in very clear, easily understandable terms, ideal for the beginner. It should make a very welcome addition to the canon of philological texts for undergraduates." - Modern Language Review

"This volume fills a definite need; a text, written in French, which covers the essentials of the history of the language in a manner that is neither too technical nor too simplistic." - Modern Language Review

"...a very well conceived presentation of the history of French language." - The French Review

"...complete treatment, excellent examples, clear and concise explanations of the terminology for students who have had neither Latin nor linguistics. The need for such a text designated for American students has existed for some time; I expect that this volume will fill that need." - The French Review

"M. deserves credit for venturing to fill an acknowledged gap in the material available for teaching the history of French to American students." - Romance Philology