In their updated edition of this definitive text, Adrian Battye and Marie-Anne Hintze offer an extensive selection of new and reworked material on the socio-linguistic aspects of the French language. The revised work heightens its focus on the distribution of French in the world, the historical development of the language, and the sound systems of France. This valuable book provides both an introduction to the techniques of linguistics as applied to the French language and a reference work for the more advanced student.