Whilst perceived in many quarters as a legacy of pre-Roman Gaul, Breton is in fact a much more recent arrival. Although a Celtic language, it is instead descended from the Celtic languages on the British Isles and was brought from there to Brittany by settlers some time in the late 3rd, early 4th century AD. It established itself in Lower Brittany

Catalan is a Romance languages that grew out of "Vulgar Latin". It initially developed along the northern and southern sides of the eastern Pyrenees and by the 9th century was an identifiable language in its own right. As Catalan political and military power increased during the "reconquest" of Spain from the Arab inhabitants, the language was

Dutch began to develop in the fifth century AD from old Frankish, a Germanic tribal language. At around that time, the southern dialects of old Frankish (including the forerunner of modern German) underwent significant phonetic changes (known as the High German shift) whereas the northern dialects (including the forerunner of modern Dutch) did not.

French is one of the many so-called Romance languages that grew out of "Vulgar Latin". It is part of the linguistic subgroup known as Langue d'oil that developed in northern France in the middle ages. It differs from the other two main subgroups spoken in France, Langue d'oc (also known as Occitan) and Franco-Provencal spoken in southern France, in

German is a West-Germanic language that began to develop around the 6th century AD. At around that time, the southern dialects of old Frankish (including the forerunner of modern German) underwent significant phonetic changes (known as the High German shift). There was, however, little unifying force driving the development of the language until th

In a world where the Spanish language is the third most spoken tongue, there is little doubt that learning Spanish can be a advantageous undertaking. Adopting Spanish will allow you to keep in touch and up to date with the influence of the Hispanic culture which is becoming progressively authoritative in the United States and throughout the world.

Luxembourgish is a West Central German language belonging to the High German language family (to which modern-day German belongs) spoken along the banks of the Moselle since Frankish times (circa 1000 AD). There is, however, no defined geographic boundary as such between Luxembourgish and the neighbouring related West Central German languages with

Often incorrectly referred to as Provencal in English, Occitan (or Langue d'oc) is one of the many so-called Romance languages that grew out of "Vulgar Latin". Whereas the Langue d'oil dominated the north of France, the Langue d'oc dominated much of the south. Historically, it was dominant from Aquitaine in the west, across the Pyrenees to Languedo

Spanish is one of the many so-called Romance languages that grew out of "Vulgar Latin". It originally developed in Cantabria in northern Spain before spreading its influence throughout much of the Iberian Peninsula during the "reconquest" of Spain from the Arab inhabitants. As a result, the language was heavily influenced by Arabic during this peri

Do you need to understand the Spanish language for the holidays that are coming up soon? Are you acquiring new customers at your work, and want to know how to communicate with them in an effective way? Are you taking a course in Spanish at school, and want to learn different ways to remember the words that you learn rapidly and in an effective way?

One thing that often confuses English language learners is when they should use there is or there are. This is one topic that is covered in a free online English course. In the course of the lesson, you will also realize that there is can become a contraction: there's. First of all you have to think of what you want to talk about in your sentence.

With the technology of the Internet, you can learn English at home and on your own time. While it would be beneficial to enroll in classes, if your work schedule does not permit this or if you don't have the finances to pay for the tuition, you can take free English courses online. When you decide that this is the route you want to take, you do hav

If you are running an international business, business translation service is definitely essential for you. With translation services, you will be able to expand into overseas markets by translating your website, brochures, or instruction manual into the local country's language. There are 2 types of translation. The first one is called inbound

In addition to Spain's four constitutionally protected official languages (Catalan-Valencian-Balear, Castilian [known as Spanish outside Spain], Galician, Basque), the country has a myriad of unofficial languages enjoying little or no support from the central government. Whilst some, such as Aranese, Aragonese, Fala, Leonese and Calo, are spoken by

Although France is a signatory to the European Charter for Regional Languages, it has failed to ratify it because to do so would be in contravention of the current French constitution. In any event, it has been official French state policy since 1539 to promote French to the detriment of the other regional languages. This primer only focuses on