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Why did Michel de Montaigne learn Latin before French?
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Michel de Montaigne
French writer Michel de Montaigne.
Michel de Montaigne learned Latin before French because his father, Pierre Eyquem, implemented a specific pedagogy for his son's early education. This approach involved creating a nurturing environment of gentle encouragement and the exclusive use of Latin, which was still considered the international language of educated people at the time. As a result of this immersive method, Montaigne did not learn to speak French until he was six years old.1