The French Language

French is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either a native or a second language, with significant populations in 54 countries.

French is a descendant of the Latin of the Roman Empire, as are languages such as Spanish, Italian, Catalan, Romanian, and Portuguese. Its development was also influenced by the native Celtic languages of Roman Gaul and by the Germanic language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders.

It is an official language in 29 countries, most of which form what is called in French La Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations. It is an official language of all United Nations agencies and a large number of international organisations.

French in Switzerland

French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland (along with German, Italian, and Romansh), and is spoken in the part of Switzerland called Romandie. French is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss.

French in Belgium

In Belgium, French is the official language of the Walloon Region (excluding the East Cantons, which are German-speaking) and one of the two official languages—along with Dutch—of the Brussels-Capital Region where it is spoken by the majority of the population, be it often not as primary language. French and German are not official languages nor recognised minority languages in the Flemish Region, although along borders with the Walloon and Brussels-Capital regions, there are a dozen of municipalities with language facilities for French-speakers; a mirroring situation exists for the Walloon Region with respect to the Dutch and German languages. In total, native French-speakers make up about 40% of the country's population, the remaining 60% speak Dutch, the latter of which 59% claim to speak French as a second language. French is thus known by an estimated 75% of all Belgians, either as a mother tongue, as second, or as third language.

French in Luxembourg

French is one of the two official languages in Luxembourg, along with German. The Luxembourgish language, as per the Constitution, is a national language.

French in Monaco

Although Monégasque is the national language of the Principality of Monaco, French is the only official language, and French nationals make up some 47% of the population.

French in Andorra

Catalan is the only official language of Andorra, French is, however, commonly used due to the proximity to France. French nationals make up 7% of the population.

French in Italy

Although everyone assumes Italian is the main language of Italy, French is also an official language, along with Italian, in the province of Aosta Valley, Italy. In addition, a number of Franco-Provençal dialects are spoken in the province, although they do not have official recognition.

French in the Channel Islands

Although Jersey and Guernsey, the two bailiwicks collectively referred to as the Channel Islands, are separate entities, both use French to some degree, mostly in an administrative capacity. Jersey Legal French is the standardized variety used in Jersey.

French Overseas Territories

French is also the official language in France's overseas territories of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, St. Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

French in the Middle East

French is an official language in Lebanon and Syria. French is also spoken by many immigrants of French or Maghrebin origin and their descendants in Israel.

French in Asia

French is an administrative language in Laos, Cambodia, India (Mahé, Karikal and Yanam). French has official status in Union Territory of Pondicherry, along with the regional language Tamil. French was historically spoken by the elite in the leased territory Guangzhouwan in southern China. In colonial Vietnam, the elites spoke French and many who worked for the French spoke a French creole known as "Tay Boi" (now extinct).

French in the Pacific

French is also an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, along with France's territories of French Polynesia, Wallis & Futuna, and New Caledonia.

French in Haiti

French is an official language of Haiti, although it is mostly spoken by the upper class and well-educated, while Haitian Creole (a French-based creole language) is more widely spoken as a mother tongue.

French in Africa

A majority of the world's population of Francophones lives in Africa. According to the 2007 report by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, an estimated 115 million African people spread across 31 francophone African countries can speak French either as a first or second language.

French is mostly a second language in Africa, but in some areas it has become a first language, such as in the region of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and in Libreville, Gabon. It is impossible to speak of a single form of African French, but rather of diverse forms of African French which have developed due to the contact with many indigenous African languages.

In the territories of the Indian Ocean, the French language is often spoken alongside French-derived creole languages, the major exception being Madagascar. There, a Malayo-Polynesian language (Malagasy) is spoken alongside French. The French language has also met competition with English since English has been the official language in Mauritius and the Seychelles for a long time and has recently become an official language of Madagascar.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand due to the expansion of education and it is also there the language has evolved most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries but written forms of the language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world.

French is an official language of many African countries, most of them former French or Belgian colonies:

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Comoros
• Congo (Brazzaville)
• Côte d'Ivoire
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Djibouti
• Equatorial Guinea (former colony of Spain)
• Gabon
• Guinea
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Niger
• Rwanda
• Senegal
• Seychelles
• Togo

In addition, French is an administrative language and commonly used though not on an official basis in Mauritius and in the Maghreb states, Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Various reforms have been implemented in recent decades in Algeria to improve the status of Arabic relative to French, especially in education.

While the predominant European language in Egypt is English, French is considered to be a more sophisticated language by some elements of the Egyptian upper and upper-middle classes; for this reason, a typical educated Egyptian will learn French in addition to English at some point in his or her education. The perception of sophistication may be related to the use of French as the royal court language of Egypt during the 19th century. Egypt participates in La Francophonie.

French is also the official language of Mayotte and Réunion, two overseas territories of France located in the Indian Ocean, as well as an administrative and educational language in Mauritius, along with English.

French in Canada

About 7 million Canadians are native French-speakers, of whom 6 million live in Quebec [3], and French is one of Canada's two official languages (the other being English). Various provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms deal with Canadians' right to access services in both languages, including the right to a publicly funded education in the minority language of each province, where numbers warrant in a given locality. By law, the federal government must operate and provide services in both English and French, proceedings of the Parliament of Canada must be translated into both these languages, and most products sold in Canada must have bilingual labels.

Overall, about 13% of Canadians have knowledge of French only, while 18% have knowledge of both English and French. In contrast, over 80% of the population of Quebec speaks French natively, and 95% can speak it. It has been the sole official language of Quebec since 1974. The legal status of French was further strengthened with the 1977 adoption of the Charter of the French Language (popularly known as Bill 101), which guarantees that every person has a right to have the civil administration, the health and social services, corporations, and enterprises in Quebec communicate with him in French. While the Charter mandates that certain provincial government services, such as those relating to health and education, be offered to the English minority in its language, where numbers warrant, its primary purpose is to cement the role of French as the primary language used in the public sphere.

The provision of the Charter that has arguably had the most significant impact mandates French-language education unless a child's parents or siblings have received the majority of their own primary education in English within Canada, with minor exceptions. This measure has reversed a historical trend whereby a large number of immigrant children would attend English schools. In so doing, the Charter has greatly contributed to the "visage français" (French face) of Montreal in spite of its growing immigrant population. Other provisions of the Charter have been ruled unconstitutional over the years, including those mandating French-only commercial signs, court proceedings, and debates in the legislature.

Though none of these provisions are still in effect today, some continued to be on the books for a time even after courts had ruled them unconstitutional as a result of the government's decision to invoke the so-called notwithstanding clause of the Canadian constitution to override constitutional requirements.

In 1993, the Charter was rewritten to allow signage in other languages so long as French was markedly "predominant." Another section of the Charter guarantees every person the right to work in French, meaning the right to have all communications with one's superiors and coworkers in French, as well as the right not to be required to know another language as a condition of hiring, unless this is warranted by the nature of one's duties, such as by reason of extensive interaction with people located outside the province or similar reasons. This section has not been as effective as had originally been hoped, and has faded somewhat from public consciousness. As of 2006, approximately 65% of the workforce on the island of Montreal predominantly used French in the workplace.

The only other province that recognizes French as an official language is New Brunswick, which is officially bilingual, like the nation as a whole. Outside of Quebec, the highest number of Francophones in Canada, 485,000, excluding those who claim multiple mother tongues, reside in Ontario, whereas New Brunswick, home to the vast majority of Acadians, has the highest percentage of Francophones after Quebec, 33%, or 237,000. In Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba, French does not have full official status, although the provincial governments do provide some French-language services in all communities where significant numbers of Francophones live. Canada's three northern territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) all recognize French as an official language as well.

All provinces make some effort to accommodate the needs of their Francophone citizens, although the level and quality of French-language service vary significantly from province to province. The Ontario French Language Services Act, adopted in 1986, guarantees French language services in that province in regions where the Francophone population exceeds 10% of the total population, as well as communities with Francophone populations exceeding 5,000, and certain other designated areas; this has the most effect in the north and east of the province, as well as in other larger centres such as Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Mississauga, London, Kitchener, St. Catharines, Greater Sudbury and Windsor. However, the French Language Services Act does not confer the status of "official bilingualism" on these cities, as that designation carries with it implications which go beyond the provision of services in both languages. The City of Ottawa's language policy (by-law 2001-170) has two criteria which would allow employees to work in their official language of choice and be supervised in the language of choice; this policy is being challenged by an organization called Canadians for Language Fairness.

Canada has the status of member state in la Francophonie, while the provinces of Québec and New Brunswick are recognized as participating governments. Ontario is currently seeking to become a full member on its own.

French in the United States

The French language is spoken as a minority language in the United States. French speakers are particularly located in southern Louisiana and in northern New England. French is the second most-spoken language in four states: Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Cajun French is spoken in some parts of Louisiana (a colony of France from 1682 to 1762 and again from 1800 until it was sold to the United States in 1803). Cajuns are descendants of the Acadians who were expelled by the British in 1755 from what is now Nova Scotia.

Canadian French is also spoken in parts of northern New England in the form of either Quebec French or Acadian French, a legacy of significant immigration from Canada between 1880 and 1930.

More than 13 million Americans claim some French ancestry, and 1.6 million over the age of five speak the language at home, making French either the third or fourth most-spoken language in the country, behind English, Spanish, and - if languages such as Mandarin and Cantonese are grouped together - Chinese.

Some Americans of French heritage who have lost the language are currently attempting to revive it, with varying degrees of success[citation needed]. The city of Miami is home to a large Francophone community, consisting of French expatriates, Haitians, and French Canadians (although the Haitians mainly speak French as their second language, their first being Haitian Creole); there is also a growing community of Francophone Arabs in and around Orlando. Many retired individuals from Quebec have moved to Florida or winter there.

Until the 1980s, French was the most popular foreign language studied in the United States. (Indeed, French has traditionally been the foreign language of choice for English-speakers across the globe.) That distinction has since been claimed by Spanish -- likely a consequence of increased interest in Latin America and Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. French is currently the second-most studied foreign language in the country, behind Spanish and ahead of German. Most U.S. high schools and universities offer French-language courses, and degree programs in the language are common.

Dialects of French

There are many dialects of the French language, each of which has unique vocabulary and accent:

• Acadian French
• African French
• Aostan French
• Belgian French
• Cajun French
• Canadian French
• Cambodian French
• Guyana French
• Indian French
• Jersey Legal French
• Lao French
• Levantine French (more commonly referred to as Lebanese French)
• Maghreb French
• Meridional French
• Metropolitan French
• New Caledonian French
• Newfoundland French
• Oceanic French
• Quebec French
• South East Asian French
• Swiss French
• Vietnamese French
• West Indian French

Numbers in French

The French counting system is partially vigesimal: twenty (vingt) is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 80–99. The French word for eighty, for example, is quatre-vingts, which literally means "four twenties", and soixante-quinze (literally "sixty-fifteen") indicating 75. This reform arose after the French Revolution to unify the different counting system (mostly vigesimal near the coast, due to Celtic [via Basque] and Viking influence). This system is comparable to the archaic English use of score, as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70).

Belgian French and Swiss French are different in this respect. In Belgium and Switzerland 70 and 90 are septante and nonante. In Switzerland, depending on the local dialect, 80 can be quatre-vingts (Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) or huitante (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg). Octante had been used in Switzerland in the past, but is now considered archaic. In Belgium, however, quatre-vingts is universally used.

L'Académie française

Unlike English, French has an official body in charge of defining the language.

L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. In the French educational system an académie is an administrative unit. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution, it was restored in 1803 by Napoleon Bonaparte (the Académie considers itself having been suspended, not suppressed, during the revolution). It is the oldest of the five académies of the Institut de France.

The Académie consists of forty members, known as immortels (immortals). New members are elected by the members of the Académie itself. Académicians hold office for life, but they may be removed for misconduct. The body has the task of acting as an official authority on the language; it is charged with publishing an official dictionary of the language. Its rulings, however, are only advisory; not binding on either the public or the government.

The Académie is France's official authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal power — sometimes, even governmental authorities disregard the Académie's rulings. The Académie publishes a dictionary of the French language, known as the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, which is regarded as official in France. A special Commission composed of several (but not all) of the members of the Académie undertakes the compilation of the work. The Académie has completed eight editions of the dictionary, which have been published in 1694, 1718, 1740, 1762, 1798, 1835, 1878, and 1935. It continues work on the ninth edition, of which the first volume (A to Enzyme) appeared in 1992, and the second volume (Éocène to Mappemonde) in 2000. In 1778, the Académie attempted to compile a "historical dictionary" of the French language; this idea, however, was later abandoned, the work never progressing past the letter A.

As French culture has come under increasing pressure with the widespread availability of English media, the Académie has tried to prevent the anglicisation of the French language. For example, the Académie has recommended, with mixed success, that some loanwords from English (such as walkman and software) be avoided, in favour of words derived from French (baladeur and logiciel, respectively). Moreover, the Académie has worked to modernise French orthography. The body, however, has sometimes been criticised for behaving in an excessively conservative fashion. A recent controversy involved the officialisation of feminine equivalents for the names of several professions. For instance, in 1997, Lionel Jospin's government began using the feminine noun "la ministre" to refer to a female minister, following the official practice of Canada, Belgium and Switzerland and a common, though until then unofficial, practice in France. The Académie, however, insisted on the traditional use of the masculine noun, "le ministre," for a minister of either gender. Use of either form remains controversial.

source: Wikipedia
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Have Fun Learning

I started learning French in 1959 when I was 13 and in my first year of high school. I am still learning today.

Personally, I find learning a language is fun. Each has its own peculiarities. They all take time to master.

In my opinion, French is one of the world's most difficult languages, mostly because it is not at all phonetic. Unlike Spanish, where what you see is what you speak, French requires a great deal of attention to spelling and listening.

In this section of my web site, I have gathered several articles about learning French; hopefully you will find some of this advice useful and pertinent to your own learning. I will add more articles over time as I find them.

Please browse the list of articles in the menu at the left, and click on a title to read that article. The article will appear here, in this frame.

Good luck with your education

Doug Anderson

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