Editorial Methodology
Methodology: Sources and Editorial Process
Sources reviewed May 2026
How DaysOfTheWeekInFrench.com sources its etymology, IPA, and grammar claims. The primary-source table below covers every authority cited on the site, with role and refresh cadence per source. In-scope and out-of-scope statements, verification framework, limitations, and the corrections process follow.
Primary sources
Every etymology claim, IPA transcription, and grammar rule on the site cites one or more of the sources below. Sources are listed in the order they are most frequently consulted: lexicographic and etymological anchors first, dictionary cross-references second, pronunciation third, grammar and certification fourth, francophone-wide and regional references last.
| Source | Role |
|---|---|
| Academie francaise (Questions de langue) | Standard orthographic and grammatical rulings, including the day-name lowercase convention and the definite-article generic / habitual usage that underlies the le-lundi rule. |
| CNRTL (Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales) | Lexicographic anchor for the seven French day names, etymology from Latin dies Lunae, dies Martis, dies Mercurii, dies Jovis, dies Veneris, sabbati dies, dies Dominicus, attested historical usage. Backed by CNRS and the Universite de Lorraine ATILF laboratory. |
| Le Robert (Dico en ligne) | Cross-reference for noun gender (all seven day names masculine), plural, etymology, and current-usage notes. |
| Larousse (Dictionnaire francais) | Cross-reference for current usage, cultural-context entries (Mardi Gras, Jeudi Saint, Lundi de Paques), and pedagogical conventions. |
| Wiktionnaire francophone | IPA cross-reference for /lœ̃.di/ (lundi), /maʁ.di/ (mardi), /mɛʁ.kʁə.di/ (mercredi), /ʒø.di/ (jeudi), /vɑ̃.dʁə.di/ (vendredi), /sam.di/ (samedi), /di.mɑ̃ʃ/ (dimanche). Public-facing pronunciation source used to triangulate IPA against the existing engine output. |
| Bescherelle (conjugation and grammar reference) | Reference for the habitual definite-article rule (le lundi = on Mondays habitually vs lundi = this Monday specifically) and the French day-name lowercase grammar convention. |
| OQLF Banque de depannage linguistique | Office quebecois de la langue francaise reference for Quebec French day-name norms. Quebec uses identical day names to France, with pronunciation differences only. |
| Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) | A1 to C2 framework. The seven days of the week sit at A1 alongside numbers 0-100 and basic date formatting. |
| France Education International (DELF / DALF) | Certification framework for accredited language tuition routing. Site does not certify CEFR level; readers seeking DELF / DALF route through France Education International. |
| Conseil international de la langue francaise | Cross-reference for francophone-wide standards across France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, and West African francophone nations. |
| Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles (Belgian standard) | Belgian French institutional standard. Used for the Belgian-French note: day names identical to France, pronunciation and intonation differences only. |
| Universite de Lausanne CLSL (Swiss French) | Centre de linguistique et des sciences du langage. Reference for Swiss-French institutional usage and cantonal cross-reference. |
In scope
- - Etymology of the seven French day names from Latin sources (dies Lunae, dies Martis, dies Mercurii, dies Jovis, dies Veneris, sabbati dies, dies Dominicus) and their Christian-replacement chains for samedi (replacing dies Saturni) and dimanche (replacing dies Solis).
- - Pronunciation: IPA per day, plain-English approximation, the three phonetic patterns (nasal vowels, uvular r, voiced palatal fricative).
- - Grammar: the habitual definite-article rule (le lundi vs lundi), the always-lowercase capitalisation rule, masculine gender (all seven days), the prepositional patterns (lundi prochain, lundi dernier, un lundi sur deux, tous les lundis).
- - Date format: day-of-week + DD + month-lowercase + YYYY (e.g. lundi 17 avril 2026), the 1er ordinal exception for first-of-month, the DD/MM/YYYY numeric format.
- - Mnemonics: the Roman-god cognate scaffold (lunar / martial / mercurial / jovial / venerate / sabbatical / dominion), the Lundi matin l'empereur traditional comptine, the memory-palace method.
- - Cultural context: Mardi Gras (Larousse cultural entry), Jeudi Saint (Catholic liturgical), Lundi de Paques (French bank holiday), dimanche church-context.
- - Quebec, Belgian, and Swiss-French notes: day names identical to France; pronunciation and intonation differences only.
Out of scope
- - Full French grammar (verb conjugation, tense system, noun-adjective agreement beyond the day-name examples).
- - Translation of full sentences or documents.
- - Idiomatic expressions beyond direct day-name usage (e.g. tous les trente-six du mois is mentioned only in passing).
- - Structured CEFR-level placement, language tuition, or DELF / DALF preparation. Readers seeking certification route through France Education International or the Alliance francaise network.
- - Cantonal-level Swiss-French prosodic detail; sub-regional dialect variation within France or Belgium.
- - Historical (Old French / Middle French) forms beyond brief etymology notes; the site is a current-usage reference, not a historical-linguistics resource.
Verification framework
Every claim on the site routes through at least one of the verification chains below. Where multiple sources disagree, the consensus position is reported with the divergence flagged.
Etymology attestation chain
Each day's Latin source (dies Lunae through dies Dominicus) is attested by CNRTL primary lookup, cross-referenced against Le Robert dictionary entry, and triangulated against Larousse etymological history. The samedi (sabbati dies, replacing dies Saturni) and dimanche (dies Dominicus, replacing dies Solis) Christian-replacement chains follow the CNRTL consensus.
Grammar rule attestation
The le-lundi habitual-article rule and the lowercase-day-name rule are stated per Academie francaise standard usage and the Bescherelle reference. Where these sources agree, the rule is reported as standard. Where they diverge (rare for day-name grammar), the divergence is flagged.
IPA cross-check
Every IPA transcription on the pronunciation guide is cross-referenced against the Wiktionnaire francophone entry for that French day name. Discrepancies between the published transcription and the Wiktionnaire entry trigger an out-of-cycle review.
Regional norm sourcing
Quebec-French notes cite OQLF Banque de depannage linguistique. Belgian-French notes cite Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles institutional usage. Swiss-French notes cite Universite de Lausanne CLSL. No regional norm is fabricated or carried over from one francophone region to another without independent attestation.
No-fabrication disclosure
Sentence examples (Je te verrai lundi, Le lundi je travaille, A lundi !, Lundi de Paques) are real-world usage patterns drawn from CNRTL attested example corpora or naturalistic everyday French. Cultural panels (Mardi Gras, Jeudi Saint, Dimanche de Paques) follow the Larousse cultural entry and the Catholic liturgical calendar; no cultural claim is fabricated.
Refresh cadence
Every page is reviewed against the primary-source list on a first-business-week monthly cadence. The current verification stamp (Updated May 2026) appears in the layout footer, on every sub-page Updated line, in the WebSite schema dateModified, and in every Article schema dateModified. One ISO-date constant in src/lib/schema.ts drives all of these surfaces.
Out-of-cycle review triggers:
- - Academie francaise ruling on day-name capitalisation, definite-article generic usage, or related grammar topic
- - Bescherelle new edition with updated treatment of the habitual definite-article rule
- - OQLF terminologic update affecting Quebec day-name usage
- - Le Robert or Larousse new edition with revised etymology or current-usage notes
- - Reader-flagged correction with primary-source backing (5-business-day SLA)
Limitations
- - Regional variation: Belgian-French and Swiss-French day names are identical to France; only pronunciation / intonation differs. The site flags this but does not enumerate cantonal-level prosodic detail.
- - IPA narrow vs broad transcription: published IPA follows the broad-transcription convention used by Wiktionnaire francophone. Narrow phonetic detail (allophonic schwa deletion in mercredi, optional liaison) is noted in prose but not in the IPA string.
- - Historical drift: Old French and Middle French forms (mardi attested as marsdi in early Old French manuscripts) are noted only in the etymology page, not in current-usage pages.
- - Contested etymology chains: where CNRTL flags a contested chain (rare for day names; the dies-Lunae-through-dies-Dominicus chain is well-attested), the site reports the consensus and flags the contestation, not a single competing hypothesis as fact.
- - Audio quality: pronunciation is delivered via the browser Web Speech API, not a licensed-recording library. Quality varies by browser, operating system, and installed French TTS voice. Wiktionnaire and Forvo are recommended for human-recording reference.
Corrections process
Spotted an etymology error, an IPA mismatch against Wiktionnaire francophone, a grammar rule that does not match the Academie francaise standard or the Bescherelle treatment, or a regional-norm claim that does not match OQLF / Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles / Universite de Lausanne CLSL? Email hello@digitalsignet.com with:
- - The page URL (e.g.
/etymology,/pronunciation,/usage). - - The specific claim or transcription that is incorrect.
- - The primary source you reviewed against (CNRTL entry, Wiktionnaire entry, Bescherelle reference, Academie ruling URL).
Substantive corrections are reviewed within 5 business days. Trivial corrections (typos, broken links) are addressed faster. For accredited tuition rather than reference, route through France Education International (DELF / DALF) or the Alliance francaise network.