” The Story of French”, like any good story, tells of spectacular failures & unexpected success. This is the story of the French language
- second only to English for the number of countries where it is officially spoken. A language that is the official tongue of two G-7 countries & three European nations. A language with rules so complex that only a few people ever completely master it. Nadeau & Barlow show the readers -- through their own experiences of living & travelling to French-speaking countries -- how the French language developed & changed over the centuries, how it came to be spoken in the Americas, Africa & Asia & how it gained & maintained its global appeal
- unravelling the mystique of a language that has been mysterious for too long. Written in a chronological narrative spanning more than 10 centuries, from ancient French dialects of the 8th century to the present-day French spoken in Quebec, Algeria, Beirut & more. While the story of the French language may have began over a thousand years ago, it is far from over...