Langues d'oïl
| Oïl | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Northern and central France, southern Belgium, Switzerland |
| Linguistic classification: | Indo-European |
| Proto-language: | Old French |
| Subdivisions: |
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| Glottolog: | oila1234 |
The geographical spread of the Oïl languages (other than French) can be seen in shades of green and yellow on this map
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The langues d'oïl (/ˈwiːl/ French: [lɑ̃ɡᵊdɔjl]), or oïl languages (also in French: langues d'oui [lɑ̃ɡᵊdwi]), is a dialect continuum that includes standard French and its closest autochthonous relatives spoken today in the northern half of France, southern Belgium, and the Channel Islands. They belong to the larger Gallo-Romance languages, which also cover most of east-central (Arpitania) and southern France (Occitania), northern Italy and eastern Spain (Catalan Countries).
Linguists divide the Romance languages of France, and especially of Medieval France, into three geographical subgroups: Langues d'oïl and occitan, named after their words for 'yes' (oïl, òc), and Franco-Provençal (Arpitan), which is considered transitional.
Langue d'oïl (in the singular), Oïl dialects and Oïl languages (in the plural) designate the ancient northern Gallo-Romance languages as well as their modern-day descendants. They share many linguistic features, a prominent one being the word oïl for yes. (Oc was and still is the southern word for yes, hence the langue d'oc or Occitan languages). The most widely spoken modern Oïl language is French (oïl was pronounced [o.il] or [o.i], which has become [wi], in modern French oui).
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