| | French language (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-25) |
 | | Following a period of unification, regulation and purification, the French of the 17th to the 18th centuries is sometimes referred to as Classical French (''français classique''), although many linguists simply refer to French language from the 17th century to today as Modern French (''français moderne''). |
 | | The foundation of the Académie française (French Academy) in 1634 by Cardinal Richelieu created an official body whose goal has been the purification and preservation of the French language. |
 | | From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French was the lingua franca of educated Europe, especially with regards to the arts and literature, and monarchs such as Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia could both speak and write in French. |
| french-language.ask.dyndns.dk (3148 words) |