The Curious Multilingual Prehistory of French and German Monolingualism
Sara S. Poor
In 842, Louis the German (of eastern Franks) and his younger brother, Charles Bald western performed Strasbourg oaths of loyalty to one another—each in vernacular associated with other followers. language-based disciplines French German, these stand at beginning a history that has obscured multilingual situation from which it emerged. This essay revisits prehistory, uncovering biases current terminology offering alternatives. The concludes discussion early modern reception, suggesting different narrative for monolingualism.
German Studies Review