French language

|states List of countries where French is an official language |region Europe the Americas Africa Asia and Oceania |speakers 200 million (2005) (first and second language speakers)lt;/ref>lt;/ref>http://www.francophonie.org/English.html and by an estimated 500 million francophones worldwide, (2000)lt;/ref>lt;/ref> |iso1 fr |iso2 |iso2b fre |iso2t fra |iso3 fra |familycolor Indo-European |fam1 Indo-European |fam2 Italic languages |fam3 Romance languages |fam4 Italo-Western |fam5 Western Romance |fam6 Gallo-Iberian |fam7 Gallo-Romance |fam8 Gallo-Rhaetian |fam9 Oïl |script Latin alphabet (French alphabet |rank 14 (native), 4 (total)http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/francophonie/francophonie.htm Quest-ce que la Francophonie?] Université Laval.Retrieved 2010-3-07.http://www.ambafrance-au.org/france_australie/spip.php?article2223 230 million French speakers in the world] Embassy of France.Retrieved 2010-3-07.http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?codeFRN FRENCH: a language of France] Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 14th Edition .Retrieved 2010-3-07.http://www.france24.com/en/20081018-cheer-french-speakers-francophone-francophonie-nadeau Cheer up French speakers, you’re not alone] France 24.Retrieved 2010-3-07. |nation }}
Clipperton Pondicherry }}
List of international organisations which have French as an official language |agency Académie française (French Academy) |mapFile:New-Map-Francophone World.PNG }} French (français is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. A total of 200 million speak it as a first and second languagehttp://www.francophonie.org/English.htmlhttp://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/francophonie/OIF-francophones-est2005.htmhttp://www.krysstal.com/spoken.html. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories.lt;/ref> Most native speakers of the language live in France where the language originated. The rest live essentially in Canada particularly Quebec New Brunswick and Ontario as well as Belgium Switzerland Luxembourg and certain places in the U.S. states of Maine lt;ref>http://www.francomaine.org/English/Pres/Pres_intro.html Maines French Communities] FrancoMaine.Retrieved 2010-3-07. and Louisiana lt;/ref> Most second-language speakers of French live in African French arguably exceeding the number of native speakers.http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2098821778 La Francophonie dans le monde 2006–2007 published by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie http://www.nathan.fr Nathan], Paris 2007. French is a descendant of the Latin language of the Roman Empire as are national languages such as Italian language Portuguese language Spanish language Romanian language and Catalan language and minority languages ranging from Occitan language to Neapolitan language and many more. Its closest relatives however are the other langues d'oïl and French-based creole languages Its development was also influenced by the native Celtic languages of Roman Gaul and by the (Germanic languages Old Frankish language of the post-Roman Franks invaders. It is an official language in List of countries where French is an official language most of which form what is called, in French, La [[Francophonie]] the community of French-speaking countries. It is an official language of all United Nations agencies and a List of international organisations which have French as an official language According to the European Union 129 million (or 26% of the Unions total population), in 27 member states speak French, of which 65 million are native speakers and 69 million claim to speak French either as a second language or as a foreign language, making it the third most spoken second language in the Union, after English language and German language Twenty-percent of non-Francophone Europeans know how to speak French, totaling roughly 145.6 million people.lt;/ref> In addition, from the 17th century to the mid 20th century, French served as the pre-eminent international language of diplomacy and international affairs as well as a lingua franca among the educated classes of Europe.http://www.franceinlondon.co.uk/en-Article-335-Is-the-French-obsession-with-cultural-exception-declininge-Culture--london-language.htm ls the French obsession with "cultural exception" declining?] France in London The dominant position of French language has only been overthrown recently by English.http://www.diplomacy.edu/language/Translation/default.htmhttp://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/language-of-diplomacy/ Why Is French Considered the Language of Diplomacy?] French is the only language, with English, to be spoken on the five continents.http://www.fll.vt.edu/French/whyfrench.html Why study French] As a result of Frances extensive French colonial empire between the 17th and 20th centuries, French was introduced to America, Africa, Polynesia, East Asia, and the Caribbean.

Geographic distribution

Europe

Legal status in France

According to the Constitution of France French has been the official language since 1992.http://www.languefrancaise.net/dossiers/dossiers.php?id_dossier50 Loi constitutionnelle 1992] — lt;/ref> (although previous legal texts have made it official since 1539, see ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts . France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases (though these dispositions are often ignored) and legal contract ; advertisement must bear a translation of foreign words. In addition to French, there are also a variety of regional languages and dialects. France has signed the European Charter for Regional Languages, but has not ratified it since that would go against the 1958 Constitution.

Switzerland

French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland (along with German language Italian language and Romansh language and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called [[Romandie]] of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions and some Cantons of Switzerland enjoy bilingual status. French is the native language of about 20% of the Swiss population. Most of Swiss French is mutually compatible with the standard French spoken in France, but it is often used with small differences, such as those involving some numbers.

Belgium

File:Brussels signs.jpg signs in Brussels ]] In Belgium French is the official language of Wallonia (excluding the East Cantons which are German language and one of the two official languages—along with Dutch language of the Brussels-Capital Region where it is spoken by the majority of the population, though often not as their primary language. amp;nbsp;— The linguistic situation in Belgium (and in particular various estimations of the population speaking French and Dutch in Brussels) is discussed in detail. French and German are not official languages nor recognized minority languages in the Flemish Region although along borders with the Walloon and Brussels-Capital regions, there are a dozen municipalities with language facilities for French speakers. A mirror 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 countrys population, while the remaining 60% speak Dutch as a first language. Of the latter, 59% claim to speak French as a second language, meaning that about three quarters of the Belgian population can speak French. | urlhttp://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf | formatPDF | accessdate7 May 2007}}40%+60%*59%75.4%

Monaco and Andorra

Although Monégasque language 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. Catalan language is the only official language of Andorra however, French is commonly used because of the proximity to France. French nationals make up 7% of the population. File:Knowledge French EU map.png and candidate countriesSource: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf EUROPA], data for EU25, published before 2007 enlargement.]]

Italy

French is also an official language, along with Italian language in the small region of Aosta Valley Italy lt;/ref> although most people speak the Franco-Provençal language they use standard French to write. That is becausethe international recognition of Franco-Provençal as a separated language (as opposed to a dialect or patois of French) was quite recent.

Luxembourg

French is one of three official languages of Luxembourg alongside German language and Lëtzebuergesch the natively spoken language of Luxembourg. Luxembourgs education system is trilingual: the first years of primary school are in Luxembourgish, before changing to German; while in secondary school, the language of instruction changes to French.

The United Kingdom and the Channel Islands

French is a large minority language and immigrant Languages of the United Kingdom with over 300,000 French-born people in the UK. It is also the most popular foreign language. French is understood by 23% of the UK population.lt;/ref> A large portion of words of the English language (originating in Great Britain) are of French root or origin. This is mostly due to the Norman Conquest of 1066, which led to Norman French becoming the language of administration and the use of French by the aristocracy and upper classes for a 300 year period following the Conquest (while the peasants and lower classes spoke an Anglo-Saxon language). French is an official language in Jersey and Guernsey the two bailiwicks collectively referred to as the Channel Islands although they are separate entities. Both use French to some degree, mostly in an administrative or ceremonial capacity. Jersey Legal French is the standardized variety used in Jersey. However, Norman language (in its local forms, Guernésiais and Jèrriais is the historical vernacular of the islands.

Americas

Canada

File:Arret.jpg (French for "stop") are used in Quebec while the international stopis used in the European French-speaking countries.]] French is the second most common language in Canada after English language and both are official languages at the federal level. French is the sole official language in the province of Quebec being the mother tongue for some 6.8 million people, or almost 80.1 % (2006 Census) of the Province. About 95.0 % of the people of Quebec speak French as either their first or second language, and for some as their third language. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal which is the worlds second largest French speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick where about a third of the population is francophone, is the only officially bilingual province. Portions of Eastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Nova Scotia and Manitoba have sizable French minorities, but its prescription as an official language in those jurisdictions and the level of francophone services varies. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. 10,170,000 Canadians can speak French as either a first or second language, or 30.6%of the country. Due to the increased bilingual school programs and French Immersion Classes in English Canada, the portion of Canadians proficient in French has risen significantlyin the past two decades, and is still rising The difference between French spoken in Quebec and French spoken in France is similar to American and British English. In Quebec where the majority of French Canadian live, the Office québécois de la langue française ( regulates Quebec French and ensures the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) is respected. As Québécois live near to English-speaking regions, they are more sensitive about the language situation than the European French speakers are, and many object to the use of English words in French (anglicism ). The Office québécois de la langue française determined that "stop" is a valid French word, however it is observed that stop sign reading "ARRÊT" predominate in French-speaking areas, and "STOP" can be found in majority English-speaking areas.

Haiti

French is one of the official languages of Haiti in which it is spoken by the educated because of the school system while Haitian Creole (a French-based creole language is more widely spoken as the common language and about 75-85% have the ability to speak French

French overseas departments and territories in the Americas

French is also the official language in Frances overseas departments and territories of French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin (France) and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

The United States

File:French in the United States.png are not included.]] French is the fourthhttp://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/USlanguages.html National Virtual Translation Center] — Languages Spoken in the U.S.http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bmy&-geo_idD&-qr_nameDEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP16&-ds_nameD&-_langen U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3] — Language Spoken at Home: 2000. most-spoken language in the United States, after English language Spanish language and Chinese language and the second most-spoken in the states of Louisiana Maine Vermont and New Hampshire Louisiana is home to many distinct dialects, of which Cajun French has the largest number of speakers. According to the 2000 US Census, there are over 194,000 people in Louisiana who speak French at home, the most of any state if Louisiana Creole French is excluded.

Brazil

The French language in Brazil was spoken in brief period at the colonial attempts in [[France antarctique]] and [[France ecquinociale]]. Also, the language was used by the community of French immigrants and expatriates in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries, and by the Brazilian public education system. Today the [[Karipuna]] indigenous community (nearly 30,000 people) of [[Amapá]] in North Brazil speaks a French creole, the [[Lanc-Patuá]], possibly related to the [[French Guiana Creole]].

Africa

{{Main|African French|Maghreb French}} [[File:Yoff-Tonghor.jpg|thumb|300px|Supermarket sign in French in [[Dakar]], [[Senegal]].]] [[File:Francophone Africa.svg|thumb|right|300px|{{legend|#006BA8|Countries usually considered as Francophone Africa. These countries had a population of 344 million in 2010.{{cite web|urlhttp://www.prb.org/pdf10/10wpds_eng.pdf|title

010 World Population Data Sheet|authorPopulation Reference Bureau formatPDF|accessdate2010-08-21}} Their population is projected to reach between 684 millionlt;/ref> and 732 million in 2050.}} ] A majority of the worlds French-speaking population 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 as either a first language or a second language This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learnt French as a foreign language. French is mostly a second language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some areas, such as the region of Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire lt;ref>http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2271059682 Le français à Abidjan : Pour une approche syntaxique du non-standard by Katja Ploog, Centre national de la recherche scientifique Paris 2002. and in Libreville Gabon http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/Gabon.htm "De plus, le français est également devenu la langue maternelle de plus de 30 % des Librevillois et il est de plus en plus perçu comme une langue gabonaise."] It is not possible to speak of a single form of African French but rather of diverse forms of African French which have developed because of the contact with many indigenous African languages http://www.cecif.com/?pagela_francophonie#francaisafrique "En Afrique, il est impossible de parler dune forme unique du français mais..."] 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 language is spoken alongside French. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid demographic growth.http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/France-priorities_1/francophony-french-language_1113/french-language_1934/french-language-in-the-world_3441/the-french-language-in-the-world-an-expanding-community_4289.html France-Diplomatie] "Furthermore, the demographic growth of Southern hemisphere countries leads us to anticipate a new increase in the overall number of French speakers." It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years.http://www.cecif.com/?pagela_francophonie "Le français, langue en évolution. Dans beaucoup de pays francophones, surtout sur le continent africain, une proportion importante de la population ne parle pas couramment le français (même sil est souvent la langue officielle du pays). Ce qui signifie quau fur et à mesure que les nouvelles générations vont à lécole, le nombre de francophones augmente : on estime quen 2015, ceux-ci seront deux fois plus nombreux quaujourdhui.]"http://www.cecif.com/?pagela_francophonie#francaisafrique c) Le sabir franco-africain]: lt;/ref> Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries,http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/centrafrique.htm République centrafricaine]: (One example of a variety of African French that is difficult to understand for European French speakers. 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 in many African countries, most of them former French or Belgian colonial empire In addition, French is an administrative language and commonly used, though not on an official basis, in Mauritius and in the Maghreb states: :* Algeria :* Mauritania :* Morocco :* Tunisia

Algeria

Most urban Algerians have some working knowledge of French, and a high (though unknown) percentage speak it fluently. In their everyday spoken language, they intermix French words and expressions with their native Arabic language or Berber language Much of the educated intelligentsia in the capital speaks both French and Arabic in everyday life, a classic situation of diglossia A small percentage of the urban elite speaks French as a first language. However, because of the countrys colonial past, the predominance of French has long been politically fraught. Numerous reforms have been implemented in recent decades to improve the status of Arabic language in relation to French, especially in education. For this reason, although Algeria is certainly one of the most Francophone countries in the world outside of France, and has perhaps the largest number of French speakers, it does not participate in the Francophonie association.

Egypt

While the predominant European language in Egypt is English language French is learned by some elements of the Egyptian upper and upper-middle classes;for this reason, some highly educated Egyptians will learn French in addition to English at some point in his or her education. Egypt participates in La Francophonie

French overseas departments and territories in Africa

French is also the official language of Mayotte and Réunion two Overseas departments and territories of France of France located in the southwest Indian Ocean.

Asia

Lebanon

File:1000 Lebanese pound reverse.jpg "mille livres" (thousand-pound) bank note]] Arabic is the official language of Lebanon while a special law shall regulate the use of French. French is considered a second language by the Lebanese people and is used on bank notes (along with Arabic) and on official buildings. French is widely used by the Lebanese, especially for administrative purposes, and is taught in many schools as a secondary language along with Arabic and English.

Syria

Like Lebanon, French was official in Syria until 1943. But in contrast to Lebanon, the language is not official, but still spoken by educated groups, both elite and middle-class.

Israel

There are a significant number of second-language French-speakers in Israel who trace their origins to the Jewish communities of North Africa and Romania. Also, there has been considerable immigration of native French speakers from France in recent years.

Southeast Asia

French is an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia although its influence has waned in recent years.http://www.iht.com/articles/1993/10/16/lang.php French Declines in Indochina, as English Booms], [[International Herald Tribune]] 16 October 1993: "In both Cambodia and Laos, French remains the official second language of government." In colonial Vietnam the elites spoke French, and many who worked for the French spoke a French creole known as "Tây Bồi (now extinct). The language was also spoken by the elite in the leased territory Guangzhouwan in southern China (See also: French Indochina In Singapore, the language has no official status but students are given the option of taking French as a third language for the GCE Ordinary Level as well as the GCE Advanced Level examination.

India

French has de-jure official status in the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry along with the regional languages Tamil language and Telugu language Some students of Tamil Nadu opt for French as their second or third language (usually behind English language and Tamil language . French is commonly taught as a third language in secondary schools in most cities of Maharashtra including Mumbai (Bombay), as part of the preparation for secondary school (X-SSC) and higher secondary school (XII-HSC) certificate examinations. Certain high-profile schools affiliated with the CBSE in the National Capital Region (India) offer French as an option as early as grade 4. French is also taught in schools in Chandannagar (a former French colony in West Bengal . Students also have the option for having French as an additional subject in the secondary school (WBBSE) and higher secondary school (WBCHSE) certificate examinations. Nevertheless, French is taught throughout India as an optional Foreign language and is very popular subject among students. See also: French India

Oceania

French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu where 45% of the population can speak French.lt;/ref> In the French territory of New Caledonia 97% of the population can speak, read and write French, whereas only 1% have no knowledge of French.lt;/ref> In French Polynesia 95% of the population can speak, read and write French, whereas only 2% have no knowledge of French.lt;/ref> In the French territory of Wallis and Futuna 78% of the population can speak, read and write French, whereas 17% have no knowledge of French.lt;/ref>

Dialects

History

Phonology

Although there are many French regional accents, foreign learners normally study only one version of the language, which has no commonly used special name. * There are 16 vowels in French, not all of which are used in every dialect: plus the nasalized vowels and In France, the vowels and are tending to be replaced by and in many peoples speech. * Voiced stops (i.e. are typically produced fully voiced throughout. * Voiceless stops (i.e. are unaspirated. * Nasals: The velar nasal can occur in final position in borrowed (usually English) words: parking, camping, swingbut the palatal nasal often substitute it. The palatal nasal can occur in word initial position (e.g. gnon), but it is most frequently found in intervocalic, onset position or word-finally (e.g. montagne. * Fricatives: French has three pairs of homorganic fricatives distinguished by voicing, i.e. labiodental dental and palato-alveolar Notice that are dental, like the plosives and the nasal * French has one rhotic whose pronunciation varies considerably among speakers and phonetic contexts. In general it is described as a voiced uvular fricative as in roue "wheel" . Vowels are often lengthened before this segment. It can be reduced to an approximant, particularly in final position (e.g. fort or reduced to zero in some word-final positions. For other speakers, a uvular trill is also common, and an apical trill occurs in some dialects. * Lateral and central approximants: The lateral approximant is unvelarised in both onset (lire and coda position (il. In the onset, the central approximants and each correspond to a high vowel, and respectively. There are a few minimal pair where the approximant and corresponding vowel contrast, but there are also many cases where they are in free variation. Contrasts between and occur in final position as in paye "pay", vs. pays "country". French pronunciation follows strict rules based on spelling, but French spelling is often based more on history than phonology. The rules for pronunciation vary between dialects, but the standard rules are: * final consonants: Final single consonants, in particular s x z t d nfgand m are normally silent. A consonants is final when no vowel follow it even though one or more consonants follow it. (The final letters ckqand l however, are normally pronounced.) For the r usually its silent when it follow an ein a word of two or more syllables and pronounced in other case. The tis pronounced when it follow a c ** When the following word begins with a vowel, however, a silent consonant mayonce again be pronounced, to provide a [[liaison (linguistics)|liaison]]or "link" between the two words. Some liaisons are mandatory for example the sin les amantsor vous avez some are optional depending on dialect and register (linguistics) for example the first sin deux cents eurosor euros irlandais and some are forbidden for example the sin beaucoup dhommes aiment. The tof etis never pronounced and the silent final consonant of a noun is only pronounced in the plural and in set phrase like pied-à-terre ** Doubling a final nand adding a silent eat the end of a word (e.g. chien→ chienne makes it clearly pronounced. Doubling a final land adding a silent e(e.g. gentil→ gentille adds a j] sound if the lis preceded by the letter i * elision (French) or vowel dropping: Some monosyllabic function words ending in aor e such as jeand que drop their final vowel when placed before a word that begins with a vowel sound (thus avoiding a hiatus (linguistics) . The missing vowel is replaced by an apostrophe. (e.g. je aiis instead pronounced and spelled → jai). This gives, for example, the same pronunciation for lhomme qul a vu ("the man whom he saw") and homme qui la vu ("the man who saw him"). However, for Belgian French the sentences are pronounced differently; in the first sentence the syllable break is as "quil-a", while the second breaks as "qui-l". It can also be noted that, in Quebec French the second example (lhomme qui l vu) is more emphasized on a vu. == Writing system == === Alphabet === {{Main|French alphabet}} French is written with the 26 letters of the [[Latin alphabet]], with four diacritics appearing on vowels ([[circumflex]] accent, [[acute accent]], [[grave accent]], [[Umlaut (diacritic)|diaeresis]]) and the [[cedilla]] appearing in ‹ç›. There are two [[ligature (typography)|ligature]]s, ‹œ› and ‹æ›. === Orthography === {{Main|French orthography}} French spelling, like English spelling, tends to preserve obsolete pronunciation rules. This is mainly due to extreme phonetic changes since the Old French period, without a corresponding change in spelling (see [[French language#Vocabulary|Vocabulary]] below) . Moreover, some conscious changes were made to restore Latin orthography: * Old French oit > French oigt "finger" (Latin igitus) * Old French ie > French ied "foot" (Latin es (stem: ed-)) As a result, it is difficult to predict the spelling based on the sound alone. Final consonants are generally silent, except when the following word begins with a vowel. For example, all of these words end in a vowel sound: ied, ller, es, lang|fr|finit}}, eaux. The same words followed by a vowel, however, may sound the consonants, as they do in these examples: eaux-arts, es amis, ied-à-terre. On the other hand, a given spelling will usually lead to a predictable sound, and the [[Académie française]] works hard to enforce and update this correspondence{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}. In particular, a given vowel combination or diacritic predictably leads to one phoneme. French writing, as with any language, is affected by the spoken language. In Old French, the plural for nimal was nimals. The {{IPA|/als/}} sequence was unstable and was turned into a diphthong {{IPA|/aus/}}. This change was then reflected in the orthography: nimaus. The s ending, very common in Latin, was then abbreviated by copists monks by the letter , resulting in a written form nimax. As the French language further evolved, the pronunciation of u turned into {{IPA|/o/}} so that the was reestablished in orthography for consistency, resulting in modern French nimaux (pronounced first {{IPA|/animos/}} before the final {{IPA|/s/}} was dropped in contemporary French). The same is true for heval pluralized as hevaux and many others. In addition, astel pl. astels became hâteau pl. hâteaux. * [[Nasal vowel|Nasal]]: n]] and . When or follows a vowel or diphthong, the or becomes silent and causes the preceding vowel to become nasalized (i.e. pronounced with the soft palate extended downward so as to allow part of the air to leave through the nostrils). Exceptions are when the or is doubled, or immediately followed by a vowel. The prefixes n- and m- are always nasalized. The rules are more complex than this but may vary between dialects. * [[digraph (orthography)|Digraphs]]: French uses not only [[diacritic]]s to specify its large range of vowel sounds and [[diphthongs]], but also specific combinations of vowels, sometimes with following consonants, to show which sound is intended. * [[Consonant length|Gemination]]: Within words, double consonants are generally not pronounced as geminates in modern French (but geminates can be heard in the cinema or TV news from as recently as the 1970s, and in very refined elocution they may still occur). For example, llusion is pronounced {{IPA|[ilyzjɔ̃]}} and not {{IPA|[ilːyzjɔ̃]}}. But gemination does occur between words. For example, ne info ("a news item" or "a piece of information") is pronounced {{IPA|[ynɛ̃fo]}}, whereas ne nympho ("a nymphomaniac") is pronounced {{IPA|[ynːɛ̃fo]}}. * [[Diacritic|Accents]] are used sometimes for pronunciation, sometimes to distinguish similar words, and sometimes for etymology alone. ** Accents that affect pronunciation *** The [[acute accent]] (accent aigu), (e.g. école—school), means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/e/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}. *** The [[grave accent]] (accent grave), (e.g. lè e—pupil) means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}. *** The [[circumflex]] (accent circonflexe) (e.g. orê —forest) shows that an is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and that an is pronounced {{IPA|/o/}}. In standard French, it also signifies a pronunciation of {{IPA|/ɑ/}} for the letter , but this differentiation is disappearing. In the late 19th century, the circumflex was used in place of after a vowel, where that letter was not to be pronounced. Thus, orest became orêt and ospital becamehôpital. *** The [[Umlaut (diacritic)|diaeresis]] (e tréma) (e.g. aï —naive, oë —Christmas) as in English, specifies that this vowel is pronounced separately from the preceding one, not combined, and is not a [[schwa]]. *** The [[cedilla]] (a cédille) (e.g. arç n—boy) means that the letter is pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the hard vowels , and ( is otherwise {{IPA|/k/}} before a hard vowel). is always pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the soft vowels , , and , thus is never found in front of soft vowels. ** Accents with no pronunciation effect *** The circumflex does not affect the pronunciation of the letters or , and in most dialects, as well. It usually indicates that an came after it long ago, as in le (sland, compare with English sle). The explanation is that some words share the same orthograph, and the circumflex is put here to spot the difference between the two words. For example, ites (you say) / îtes (you said), or even u (of the) / û (past for the verb evoir = must, have to, owe; in this case, the circumflex splits at the plural and the feminine) *** All other accents are used only to distinguish similar words, as in the case of distinguishing the adverbs à and ù ("there", "where") from the article a ("the" fem. sing.) and the conjunction u ("or") respectively. Some proposals exist to simplify the existing writing system, but they still fail to gather interest. {{fr icon}} [http://sites.google.com/site/ortofasil/ Ortofasil writing system proposal]. {{fr icon}} [http://www.alfograf.net/ Alfograf writing system proposal]. {{fr icon}} [http://ortograf.net/ Ortograf.net writing system proposal]. == Grammar == {{Main|French grammar}} French grammar shares several notable features with most other Romance languages, including: * the loss of Latins [[declension]]s * only two [[grammatical gender]]s * the development of grammatical [[article (grammar)|article]]s from Latin [[demonstrative]]s * new [[Grammatical tense|tenses]] formed from auxiliaries French declarative word order is [[Subject Verb Object]], although if the object is a pronoun, it precedes the verb. Some types of sentences allow for or require different word orders, in particular [[inversion (linguistics)|inversion]] of the subject and verb. == Vocabulary == The majority of French words derive from [[Vulgar Latin]] or were constructed from [[Latin]] or [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] roots. In many cases a single etymological root appears in French in a "popular" or native form, inherited from Vulgar Latin, and a learned form, borrowed later from [[Classical Latin]]. The following pairs consist of a native noun and a learned adjective: * brother: wikt:frère / [[wikt:fraternel|fraternel]]< from Latin [[wikt:frater|frater]] * finger: [[wikt:doigt|doigt]]/ [[wikt:digital|digital]]< from Latin [[wikt:digitum|digitum]] * faith: [[wikt:foi|foi]]/ [[wikt:fidèle|fidèle]]< from Latin [[wikt:fidem|fidem]] * eye: [[wikt:œil|œil]]/ [[wikt:oculaire|oculaire]]< from Latin [[wikt:oculum|oculum]] There are also noun-noun and adjective-adjective pairs: * thing/cause: [[wikt:chose|chose]]/ [[wikt:cause|cause]]< from Latin [[wikt:causa|causa]] * cold: [[wikt:froid|froid]]/ [[wikt:frigide|frigide]]< from Latin [[wikt:frigidum|frigidum]] It can be difficult to identify the Latin source of native French words, because in the evolution from Vulgar Latin unstressed syllables were severely reduced and the remaining vowels and consonants underwent significant modifications. It is estimated that 12% (4,200) of common French words found in a typical dictionary such as the Petit Larousseor Micro-Robert Plus(35,000 words) are of foreign origin (where Ancient Greek and Latin language learned words are not seen as foreign). About 25% (1,054) of these foreign words come from English language and are fairly recent borrowings. The others are some 707 words from Italian language 550 from ancient Germanic languages 481 from other Gallo-Romance languages 215 from Arabic language 164 from German language 160 from Celtic languages 159 from Spanish language 153 from Dutch language 112 from Persian language and Sanskrit language 101 from Native American languages 89 from other Asian languages 56 from other Afro-Asiatic languages 55 from Slavic languages and Baltic languages 10 from Basque language and 144 (about 3%) from other languages.Walter & Walter 1998.

Numerals

The French counting system is partially vigesimal 20 (number) ({{lang|fr|vingt}} is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 60 to 99. The French word for 80is {{lang|fr|quatre-vingt}} literally "four twenty", and the word for 75is {{lang|fr|soixante-quinze}} literally "sixty-fifteen". This reform arose after the French Revolution to unify the different counting systems (mostly vigesimal near the coast, because of Celtic (via Breton language and Viking influences). This system is comparable to the archaic English use of score as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70). In Old French (during the Middle Ages , all numbers from 30 to 99 could be said in either base 10 or base 20, e.g. vint et doze(twenty and twelve) for 32, dous vinz et diz(two twenties and ten) for 50, uitantefor 80, or nonantefor 90.lt;/ref> Belgian French Swiss French and the French used in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Rwanda and Burundi are different in this respect. In Belgium and Switzerland 70 and 90 are {{lang|fr|septante}}and {{lang|fr|nonante}} In Switzerland, depending on the local dialect, 80 can be {{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}(Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) or {{lang|fr|huitante}}(Vaud, Valais, Fribourg). Octantehad been used in Switzerland in the past, but is now considered archaic. See also the English Wikipedia article on Welsh language especially the section "Counting system" and its note on the influence of Celtic in the French counting system. In Belgium and in its former African colonies, however, quatre-vingtsis universally used. It should also be noted that French uses a Full stop#Mathematical usage (also called a full stop) or a space to separate thousands where English uses a comma or (more recently) a space. The comma is used in French numbers as a decimal point: 2,5 deux virgule cinq Cardinal numbers in French from 1 to 20 are as follows: * One: [[wikt:un|un]][[wikt:une|une]]- * Two: [[wikt:deux|deux]] * Three: [[wikt:trois|trois]] * Four: [[wikt:quatre|quatre]] * Five: [[wikt:cinq|cinq]] * Six: [[wikt:six|six]] * Seven: [[wikt:sept|sept]] * Eight: [[wikt:huit|huit]] * Nine: [[wikt:neuf|neuf]] * Ten: [[wikt:dix|dix]] * Eleven: [[wikt:onze|onze]] * Twelve: [[wikt:douze|douze]] * Thirteen: [[wikt:treize|treize]] * Fourteen: [[wikt:quatorze|quatorze]] * Fifteen: [[wikt:quinze|quinze]] * Sixteen: [[wikt:seize|seize]] * Seventeen: [[wikt:dix-sept|dix-sept]] * Eighteen: [[wikt:dix-huit|dix-huit]] * Nineteen: [[wikt:dix-neuf|dix-neuf]] * Twenty: [[wikt:vingt|vingt]]

Examples

The "Canadian" audio samples here are not necessarily from speakers of Quebec French, which has distinct regional pronunciations of certain words.references needed | class"wikitable" |- !English || French || IPA pronunciation (Canadian accent) || IPA pronunciation (French accent) |- | |French || Français|| || |- | |English || Anglais|| || |- | |Yes || Oui(siwhen countering an assertion or a question expressed in the negative) || || |- | |No || Non|| || |- | |Hello! || Bonjour !(formal) or Salut !(informal) or "Allô" (Canada or when answering on the telephone) || || |- | |Good evening! || Bonsoir !|| || |- | |Good night! || Bonne nuit !|| || |- | |Goodbye! || Au revoir !|| || |- | |Have a nice day! || Bonne journée !|| || |- | |Please || S’il vous plaît(formal) or S’il te plaît(informal) || || |- | |Thank you || Merci|| /mɛʀˈsi/ || |- | |You are welcome || De rien(informal) or Ce n’est rien(formal) ("it is nothing") or Je vous en prie(formal) or Je t’en prie(informal) || || |- | |I am sorry || Pardonor Je suis désolé(if male) / Je suis désolée(if female) or Excuse-moi(informal) / Excusez-moi(formal) / "Je regrette" || / || / |- | |Who? || Qui ?|| || |- | |What? || Quoi ?(←informal; used as "What?" in English)) or Comment ?(←formal; used the same as "Pardon me?" in English) || || |- | |When? || Quand ?|| || |- | |Where? || Où ?|| || |- | |Why? || Pourquoi ?|| || |- | |What is your name? || Comment vous appelez-vous ?(formal) or Comment t’appelles-tu ?(informal) || || |- | |Because || Parce que/ Car|| || |- | |Because of || à cause de |- | |Therefore || Donc|| || |- | |How? || Comment ?|| || |- | |How much? || Combien ?|| || |- | |I do not understand. || Je ne comprends pas.|| || |- | |Yes, I understand. || Oui, je comprends.Except when responding to a negatively posed question, in which case Siis used preferentially over Oui|| || |- | |I agree || Je suis d’accord.D’accord can be used without je suis |- | |Help! || Au secours ! (à l’aide !)|| /o səˈkuʀ/ || /o səku:ʁ/ |- | |Can you help me please? || Pouvez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ?/ Pourriez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ?(formal) or Peux-tu m’aider s’il te plaît ?/ Pourrais-tu m’aider s’il te plaît(informal) || |- | |Where are the toilets? || Où sont les toilettes ?|| || |- | |Do you speak English? || Parlez-vous anglais ?|| || |- | |I do not speak French. || Je ne parle pas français.|| || |- | |I do not know. || Je ne sais pas.|| || |- | |I know. || Je sais.|| || |- | |I am thirsty. || J’ai soif.(literally, "I have thirst") || || |- | |I am hungry. || J’ai faim.(literally, "I have hunger") || || |- | |How are you? / How are things going? / How is everything? || Comment allez-vous?(formal) or Ça va?/ Comment ça va ?(informal) || || |- | |I am (very) well / Things are going (very) well // Everything is (very) well || Je vais (très) bien(formal) or Ça va (très) bien./ Tout va (très) bien(informal) || || |- | |I am (very) bad / Things are (very) bad / Everything is (very) bad || Je vais (très) mal (formal) or Ça va (très) mal/ Tout va (très) mal(informal) || || |- | |I am all right/so-so / Everything is all right/so-so || Assez bienor Ça va comme ci, comme çaor simply Ça va. (Sometimes said: « Couci, couça. », informal: "bof") i.e. « Comme ci, comme ça. ») || || |- | |I am fine. || Je vais bien.|| || |}

See also

* Académie française * Alliance française * Francophonie * French language in Canada * French language in the United States * French proverbs * French-based creole languages * History of French * List of countries where French is an official language * List of English words of French origin * List of French loanwords in Persian * List of French words and phrases used by English speakers * List of pseudo-French words adapted to English * Louchébem * Office québécois de la langue française * Quebec French * Reforms of French orthography * Varieties of French * Verlan

References

External links

*http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20100319-french-language-growing-especially-africa French is spreading, especially in Africa] Radio France Internationale in English

Courses and tutorials

* http://www.clickonfrench.com/ A non-free online French course provided by an Indian company with support of the French embassy in India] (culture, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation) * http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/ Learn French] [[BBC]] * http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/ français interactif] [[University of Texas at Austin]] * http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/ Texs French Grammar] [[University of Texas at Austin]] * http://french.about.com/ Learn French at About] (including French gestures) * http://www.targetlanguage.co.uk/ Learn French at Target Language] (Ab initio)

Online dictionaries

* http://frenchprofessor.org/english-french-dictionaries.htm Comprehensive list of the best French dictionaries]

Vocabulary

*:wikt:Appendix:French Swadesh list * http://www.dudziak.com/verbs.php A Two-Page PDF Reference Guide of the 681 Most Common French/English Verbs] }} Category:French language Category:Languages of Switzerland Category:Languages of Andorra Category:Languages of Canada Category:Languages of Réunion Category:Languages of Seychelles Category:Languages of France Category:Languages of Belgium Category:Languages of Luxembourg Category:Languages of Monaco Category:Languages of the Republic of the Congo Category:Languages of Benin Category:Languages of Burkina Faso Category:Languages of Burundi Category:Languages of Cameroon Category:Languages of the Central African Republic Category:Languages of Chad Category:Languages of Comoros Category:Languages of Côte d'Ivoire Category:Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category:Languages of Djibouti Category:Languages of Equatorial Guinea Category:Languages of Gabon Category:Languages of Guinea Category:Languages of Madagascar Category:Languages of Mali Category:Languages of Niger Category:Languages of Rwanda Category:Languages of Senegal Category:Languages of Lebanon Category:Languages of Togo Category:Languages of Haiti Category:Languages of Vanuatu Category:Romance languages ace:Bahsa Peurancih af:Frans als:Französische Sprache am:ፈረንሳይኛ ang:Frencisc sprǣc ar:لغة فرنسية an:Idioma francés arc:ܠܫܢܐ ܦܪܢܣܝܐ frp:Francês ast:Francés az:Fransız dili bm:Faransekan bn:ফরাসি ভাষা zh-min-nan:Hoat-gí ba:Франк теле be:Французская мова be-x-old:Француская мова bcl:Tataramon na Pranses bar:Französische Sproch bo:ཧྥ་རན་སིའི་སྐད། bs:Francuski jezik br:Galleg bg:Френски език ca:Francès cv:Франци чĕлхи ceb:Prinanses cs:Francouzština co:Lingua francese cy:Ffrangeg da:Fransk (sprog) de:Französische Sprache dv:ފަރަންސޭސި nv:Dáághahii bizaad dsb:Francojska rěc et:Prantsuse keel el:Γαλλική γλώσσα eml:Francês es:Idioma francés eo:Franca lingvo ext:Luenga francesa eu:Frantses ee:Fransegbe fa:زبان فرانسوی hif:French bhasa fo:Franskt mál fr:Français fy:Frânsk fur:Lenghe francese ga:An Fhraincis gv:Frangish gd:Frangais gl:Lingua francesa gan:法語 got:𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌽𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌶𐌳𐌰 hak:Fap-ngî xal:Пранцсин келн ko:프랑스어 haw:‘Ōlelo Palani hy:Ֆրանսերեն hi:फ़्रांसीसी भाषा hsb:Francošćina hr:Francuski jezik io:Franciana linguo ilo:Pagsasao a Frances bpy:পর্তুগীজ ঠার id:Bahasa Perancis ia:Lingua francese iu:ᐅᐃᕖᑎᑐᑦ/uiviititut os:Францаг æвзаг is:Franska it:Lingua francese he:צרפתית jv:Basa Prancis kl:Franskisut kn:ಫ್ರೆಂಚ್ ಭಾಷೆ ka:ფრანგული ენა kk:Француз тілі kw:Frenkek ky:Француз тили sw:Kifaransa kv:Франция кыв kg:Kifalanse ht:Lang franse ku:Zimanê fransî lad:Lingua fransesa krc:Француз тил lo:ພາສາຝະລັ່ງ la:Lingua Francogallica lv:Franču valoda lb:Franséisch lt:Prancūzų kalba lij:Lengua françèise li:Frans ln:Falansé jbo:fasybau hu:Francia nyelv mk:Француски јазик mg:Fiteny frantsay ml:ഫ്രഞ്ച് ഭാഷ mr:फ्रेंच भाषा arz:لغه فرنساوى ms:Bahasa Perancis cdo:Huák-ngṳ̄ mdf:Кранцонь кяль mn:Франц хэл nah:Franciatlahtōlli nl:Frans nds-nl:Frans cr:ᐅᐱᔥᑎᑯᔮᐅᐊᔨᒧᐎᓐ ne:फ्रान्सेली भाषा new:फ्रेञ्च भाषा ja:フランス語 nap:Lengua franzese no:Fransk nn:Fransk språk nrm:Fraunceis nov:Fransum oc:Francés mhr:Пырансуз йылме uz:Fransuz tili pnb:فرانسیسی ps:فرانسوي km:ភាសាបារាំង pcd:Frinsé pms:Lenga fransèisa tpi:Tok Pranis nds:Franzöösche Spraak pl:Język francuski pt:Língua francesa crh:Frenk tili ty:Reo farāni ksh:Franzüüsėsh (Shprooch) ro:Limba franceză rm:Lingua franzosa qu:Phransya simi ru:Французский язык sah:Француз тыла se:Fránskkagiella sc:Limba frantzesa sco:French leid stq:Frantsöösk st:Se-french sq:Gjuha frënge scn:Lingua francisa simple:French language ss:SíFulentji sk:Francúzština cu:Франкі́искъ ѩꙁꙑ́къ sl:Francoščina szl:Francusko godka so:Af-Faransiis ckb:زمانی فەڕەنسی sr:Француски језик sh:Francuski jezik su:Basa Perancis fi:Ranskan kieli sv:Franska tl:Wikang Pranses ta:பிரெஞ்சு மொழி kab:Tafransist tt:Француз теле te:ఫ్రెంచి భాష th:ภาษาฝรั่งเศส tg:Забони фаронсавӣ tr:Fransızca tk:Fransuz dili uk:Французька мова ur:فرانسیسی زبان ug:فرانسۇز تىلى za:Fazyij vec:Łéngua fransexe vi:Tiếng Pháp wa:Francès zh-classical:法蘭西語 war:Frinanses wo:Wu-faraas wuu:法文 yi:פראנצויזיש yo:Èdè Faransé zh-yue:法國話 diq:Fransızki bat-smg:Prancūzu kalba zh:法语

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