French Language Stack Exchange
French Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [histoire]

Questions relatives à l'ancien et au moyen français, aux mots présentant un intérêt historique ou à l'évolution de la langue.

Questions relatives à l'ancien et au moyen français, sur les mots présentant un intérêt historique ou sur l'évolution de la langue.

246 questions
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5 answers

Language of Franks vs later French

This is crosspost from [history.se]. Moderator suggested that I post question to this site, so I am. I am reading that before 8-9th(10th?) century, Franks were Germanic-speaking nation. How it is possible to explain that in later centuries, their…
Andrei
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6 answers

Relics of the republican calendar

Are there any language relics in French from the names of the months and days in the republican calendar?
Phira
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9
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Pourquoi les serments de Strasbourg?

Les serments de Strasbourg sont souvent décrits comme la première trace de Français écrit. Le serment de Louis le Germanique est par exemple « Pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, d'ist di in avant, in quant Deus savir et…
Evpok
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1 answer

Why did letters in French start halfway down the page?

      The structure of a page communicates much of how we understand a text (Mountford 1990). Material at the top written in larger type, often centred, is usually a title. A number in the upper or lower (occasionally the outer) margin is a page…
user1995
5
votes
1 answer

When did French 'é' become English 's'?

I've noticed that a there are quite a few French words that begin with 'é' or 'e' that have an equivalent in English that begins with 's'. Some examples are: écran : screen école : school estomac : stomach écureuil : squirrel étoile : star I'm…
tinyd
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4
votes
1 answer

What does 'masurault' mean?

I'm researching my French ancestry and found an entry for my 7th great grandfather in Emigration Rochelaise. Google Translate can translate every word except for 'masurault'. Here's the phrase it's in: "Le 12 janvier 1641, Nicolas Pinel acquiert de…
bkb105
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3
votes
1 answer

A quotation from Laplace or Lagrange?

I read a quotation from a famous French mathematician a few years ago (in English translation), and I am trying to find it again. I believe it was attributed to either Pierre-Simon Laplace or Joseph-Louis Lagrange. I don't remember the exact phrase,…
SixTwoOne
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2
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What organization is the official guardian of the French language in France and/or worldwide?

I seem to recall that there is an organization in France that is the worldwide canonical guardian of the French language. Or maybe it's just for France. But I do not remember its name. In Canada, I believe that this is governed by the Quebec…
Richard Wеrеzaк
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vote
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Did European French call themselves White, European, or just French in Pre-WWII era?

I'm interested in knowing how European French referred to themselves racially before World War II. I realize, in modern France, race is more of a taboo topic (I saw a previous question on this). However, in the past, would these people consider…
Rock
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vote
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French Proverbs

Salut! Can you contribute a famous french proverb that you like most? (and maybe translate it as well?) If this is a duplicate question, can you please guide me to a place where such an enumeration exists? Je vous remercie!
Hargun Oberoi
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