Page "Walloon language" Paragraph 43

The word " Walloon " thus came closer to its current meaning: the vernacular of the Roman part of the Low Countries.

One might say that the period which saw the establishment of the unifying supremacy of the Burgundians in the Walloon country was a turning-point in their linguistic history.

The crystallization of a Walloon identity, as opposed to that of the thiois ( i. e. Dutch-speaking ) regions of the Low Countries, established " Walloon " as a word for designating its people.

Somewhat later, the vernacular of these people became more clearly distinct from central French and other neighbouring langues d ' oïl, prompting the abandonment of the vague term " Roman " as a linguistic, ethnic, and political designator for " Walloon ".