Italian and French do not come from Latin

Unlike what is taught in all the universities, it appears that Italian does not come from Latin, any more than any other Romance language such as Spanish, French or Rumanian comes from Latin.

Just as we thought for centuries that the sun rotated around the earth, based on our daily observations, common sense leads us naturally to think that Latin evolved into the different Romance languages.

However linguists, who are aware of substantial divergences between Latin and the Romance languages both in terms of syntax and glossary, have taken a first step towards supporting a different theory. They had to appeal to the concept of “Vulgar Latin”, which is supposed to be the spoken language resulting from Classical Latin. It is the former that is purported to have given rise to the Romance languages.

I agree with these linguists on one single point, namely that Classical Latin could not have evolved into the Romance languages, but I disagree on the rest:

- What we wrongly call “Vulgar Latin” is none other than Italian

- This Italian did not develop from Latin, but is a distinct Indo-European language

- So the Romans were bilingual, speaking Italian and writing Latin

- The Romans gave their Empire two languages: a spoken language which was Italian and a written one, Latin

Of course, to reach such conclusions I have carried out in-depth research that I summarised in my book entitled “Le français ne vient pas du latin” (Edition L’Harmattan, Paris 2007).

Some people block up their ears, when I state my conclusions, but those who take the time to read my book, do not remain indifferent. What I have written is not a pamphlet, but a thorough demonstration.

So I wish you enjoyable reading and look forward to discussing the issues with you.