The Story of French

By Jean-Benoît Nadeau, Julie Barlow

Categories: History, Reference

Journalists Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow tell the story of the French language from its origins to the present day. They trace how French grew from the Latin of Roman Gaul, became the language of European diplomacy and culture, and spread around the world through colonization. The authors also look at the many countries where French is spoken today and the efforts to preserve and promote it in a world dominated by English.

Recommended by 1 person

• Shane Parrish: “This book is an interesting look at the evolution of a language. The authors explore French by taking it out of the confines of a nation, and in the process give a lot of food for thought about the interplay between geopolitics and language.”