page_title: Langues d'oïl
section_title: Status
hierarchical_section_title: Langues d'oïl / Status
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Fosses-la-Ville (Belgique), plaque émaillée de rue rédigée en wallon. English: Fosses-la-Ville (Belgium), enameled street sign writen in Walloon. Nederlands: Fosses-la-Ville (België), emaille bord op straat geschreven in het Waals. Walon: Fosse (Bèljike), Plake di rouwe è walon.
context_page_description: The langues d'oïl, also known as the French languages, are a dialect continuum that includes standard French and its closest autochthonous relatives historically spoken in the northern half of France, southern Belgium, and the Channel Islands. These belong to the larger category of Gallo-Romance languages, which also include the historical languages of east-central France and western Switzerland, southern France, portions of northern Italy, and the Val d'Aran in Spain.
  Linguists divide the Romance languages of France, and especially of Medieval France, into three geographical subgroups: the first two are Langues d'oïl and occitan, both named after their words for 'yes', and the third is Franco-Provençal.
context_section_description: Apart from French, an official language in many countries (see list), the Oïl languages have enjoyed little status in recent times.
  Currently Walloon, Lorrain (under the local name of Gaumais), and Champenois have the status of regional languages of Wallonia.
  The Norman languages of the Channel Islands enjoy a certain status under the governments of their Bailiwicks and within the regional and lesser-used language framework of the British-Irish Council. The Anglo-Norman language, a variant of Norman once the official language of England, today holds mostly a place of ceremonial honour in the United Kingdom (now referred to as Law French).
  The French government recognises the Oïl languages as languages of France, but the Constitutional Council of France barred ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
caption: Bilingual street sign for market square in French and Walloon
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