ABSTRACT
The official language of Roman France (and eventually its most widely used vernacular) was Latin. After the collapse of the Empire in the fifth century AD, Latin evolved in different ways in different regions of 'Gaul', and before long these varieties became mutually incomprehensible, having evolved into:
A group of southern dialects, with oc as their equivalent of 'yes': hence the collective name langue d'oc. A northern group of langue d'oil dialects: in the Middle Ages these had oil (an early form of oui) for 'yes'. An intermediate [ranco-prouencal group.
