Oil Languages
The langues d'oïl or langues d'oui, in English the Oïl /ˈwiːl/ or Oui /ˈwiː/ languages, are 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 group of languages, which also covers most of southern France (Occitania), northern Italy and east Spain (Catalan Countries).
Linguists divide the Romance languages of France, and especially of Medieval France, into three geographical subgroups: Langues d'oïl and Langues d'oc, named after their words for 'yes', with Franco-Provençal (Arpitan) considered transitional.
Read more about Oil Languages: Meanings and Disambiguation, Varieties, Literature, Status, Influence, Creoles Derived From French, Languages/dialects With Significant Oïl Influence
Famous quotes containing the words oil and/or languages:
“No skilled hands
caress a stranger’s flesh with lucid oil before
a word is spoken
no feasting
before a tale is told, before
the stranger tells his name.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“It is time for dead languages to be quiet.”
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)