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French is a modern European language, a member of the Romance language family, which like others in this group owes much of its structure to [[Latin]], with some influence from the native languages of pre-Roman [[Gaul]].  In medieval times, French had evolved into two groups, a northern branch known as the "Langue d'or," and a southerly group known as the "Langue d'Oc."  However, after the political influence of the southerly group was crushed by the [[Albigensian Crusade]], the northerly variety became dominant, and is the ancestor of modern "standard' French.  French is also spoken in many former French colonies in [[West Africa]] and around the wold, including the Canadian province of [[Québec]].

French is a modern European language, a member of the Romance language family, which like others in this group owes much of its structure to [[Latin]], with some influence from the native languages of the pre-Roman [[Franks]].  In medieval times, French had evolved into two groups, a northern branch known as the "Langue d'or," and a southerly group known as the "Langue d'Oc."  However, after the political influence of the southerly group was crushed by the [[Albigensian Crusade]], the northerly variety became dominant, and is the ancestor of modern "standard' French.  French is also spoken in many former French colonies in [[West Africa]] and around the wold, including the Canadian province of [[Québec]].