You should know that current French language appeared in France in the 16th century, but it was not widespread yet. Other languages and regional accents in France like Picard and Norman were prevailing.
The French come from a dialect spoken in Ile de France. The accent from Tour is the purest accent because it was spoken in this region by powerful people from the capital. Some Regional accents in France are frowned upon and otherwise others highly appreciated. Although today, the trend is the homogenization of the French language even if some regions have kept their strong accent.
Here is a partial list of the different accents that can be found in France:
– Alsatian
– Lorrain (Vosges)
– Normand (Caux)
– Breton
– Paris
– Burgundian,
– Franche-Comte (Jura)
– Lyon,
– Savoy (Tarentaise)
– Provencal (Marseille)
– Languedoc (Gard)
– Basque.
Some examples of regional accents in France
The accent from Marseille is a singing accent that is characterized by exaggerated pronunciation of “e” at the end of words or diphthongization.
The accent in Franche-Comte is characterized by the accentuation of certain syllables; this accent is often considered rural, archaic and delayed by the French.
The Alsatian accent has an intonation and a very particular sound that is similar to the old German.
Author: Marie Daudey
Source of the image: http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-mfl-006-french-title-display-lettering
