The term langue d'oïl is also used in a historical sense to refer to Old French, which was distinguished from another Gallo-Romance variety, the langue d'oc, by the word meaning "yes" in those languages. The languages spoken in medieval France into three geographical subgroups: Langue d'oïl and Langue d'oc are the two major groups; the third group, Franco-Provençal, is considered a transitional language between the two other groups.
The Langues d'oïl language family in linguistics comprises Romance languages originating in territories now occupied by northern France, part of Belgium and the Channel Islands. Oïl languages or Languages of Oïl are modern-day languages, of which the most widely spoken is the French language. Sometimes the term is used to apply to all the languages of this family except French. More frequently, however, the French term langue d'oïl is used to refer to languages of this family. The Oïl languages in their range from Belgium across northern and central France and the Channel Islands form a dialect continuum.
The "French" language, imposed by the Ordinance of Villers-Cotteręts to replace Latin, was not a particular variety of Oïl language, but rather a generalised administrative language, shorn of distinguishing regional features and equally comprehensible to all—a lingua franca. The major goal of these articles was the discontinuation of the use of Latin in official documents (although one continued to find Latin used in church registers in some regions of France for some time to come. Other articles enforced the recording, by priests, of baptisms (necessary for determining the age of candidates for ecclesiastical office) and burials, and required these acts to be signed by notaries.
Walloon (walon) is a regional Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Belgium, whose most prominent member is the French language, and is sometimes considered a French dialect. Walloon appeared between the 8th and 12th centuries. This orthography is based on diasystems that can be pronounced differently by different readers, a concept inspired by the spelling of Breton. The word "Walloon" thus came closer to its current meaning: the vernacular of the Roman part of the Low Countries. Around the yeare 1600, the French writing system became dominant in the Wallonia. The written language of the preceding centuries, scripta, was a composite language with some Walloon characteristics but not attempting to be a systematic reproduction of the spoken language. Walloon is spoken in Wallonia in Southern Belgium, and should not be confused with Belgian French, which differs from the French of France only in some minor points of vocabulary and pronunciation. Walloon was widely spoken till the mid 20th century, only few inhabitants of Wallonia are currently able to use it.