This new history of French combines texts and extracts with a readable and detailed commentary enabling the language to be viewed both synchronically and diachronically. Core texts range from the ninth century to the present day and highlight central features of the language, while a range of shorter texts illustrate particular points. The inclusion of non-literary as well as literary texts serves to illustrate some of the many varieties of French from legal, scientific, epistolary, administrative or liturgical or more popular domains, including attempts to represent spoken usage. Forty short texts are presented and explored from a variety of angles, covering such areas as spelling, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.