Introduction to the French Language

• French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family.
• It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire.
• French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul.
• French is an official language in 29 countries.
• Most of these are part of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), a community of 84 countries which share the official use or teaching of French.
• French is the 18th most spoken language in the world.
• In 2022, approximately 300 million people were able to speak the language.
• French is the second most studied foreign language worldwide, with about 120 million learners.
• French is likely descended from the Latin spoken in Gaul during Roman times.
• The development of French was influenced by Celtic languages of Roman Gaul and by Frankish, the Germanic language of the Franks who invaded Gaul after the collapse of the Roman Empire.
• French is an official language of all United Nations agencies and a large number of international organizations.

Geographic distribution

• French is an official language in: Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Vanuatu.
• French is a language of culture in: Algeria, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Vietnam.

History

• The earliest text considered French is the Oaths of Strasbourg (842).
• During the Middle Ages, French dialects developed.
• These include: Picard, Norman, Walloon, Lorrain, Champenois, Poitevin, and Burgundian.
• The Francien dialect, spoken in Île-de-France, gradually became the standard language.
• In the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the language of diplomacy and international affairs.
• The Académie Française was established in 1635 to standardize the French language.
• The Edict of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) declared French the language of administration and law in France.

Grammar

• French is an inflected language.
• Nouns are marked for gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
• Articles and adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify.
• Verbs are conjugated to indicate tense, mood, and person.
• French uses subject-verb-object (SVO) word order.

Vocabulary

• The majority of French vocabulary comes from Vulgar Latin or has been created from Latin or Greek roots.
• French has also borrowed words from other languages, including English, Arabic, and Germanic languages.
• There are noticeable differences between French words used in Quebec (Canada).
• Example: "stationnement" (France) versus "parking" (Quebec).
• Both French and English have influenced each other throughout their histories.
• Many French words have been borrowed into English: art, cuisine, government.
• Many English words have been borrowed into French: marketing, design, software.

Phonology

• French pronunciation is characterized by nasal vowels, liaison, and elision.
• Nasal vowels are produced by lowering the velum and allowing air to escape through the nose and mouth.
• Liaison is the pronunciation of a final consonant of one word at the beginning of the following word, if the following word begins with a vowel.
• Elision is the dropping of a final vowel before a word that begins with a vowel.
• The French language has sounds that English does not have.

Writing system

• The French alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet.
• It consists of 26 letters, with the addition of diacritics (accents and other marks) to indicate pronunciation.
• Accents include the acute accent (é), grave accent (à, è, ù), circumflex accent (â, ê, î, ô, û), cedilla (ç), and diaeresis (ë, ï, ü).

French influence on other languages

• French has had a significant influence on English, particularly in vocabulary related to law, cuisine, art, and literature.
• French has also influenced other Romance languages as well as Germanic, Slavic, and Celtic languages.

Dialects and regional variations

• Within France, there are regional variations in pronunciation and vocabulary.
• These variations are often referred to as "accents régionaux."
• French spoken in other countries, such as Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland, also exhibit regional variations.
• Some regional languages in France, also called dialects, such as Occitan, Breton, and Corsican, are distinct from French but have influenced it to varying degrees.

French in international relations

• French is an official language of numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the International Olympic Committee.
• French is a working language in many international forums.
• France continues to play a significant role in international diplomacy and cultural exchange.

Status as a global language

• French is considered a global language due to its widespread use, its status as an official language in many countries and international organizations, and its cultural influence.
• While the number of native French speakers is smaller than that of some other major languages, the number of people who speak French as a second language is substantial.
• The French language is promoted through cultural institutions such as the Alliance Française, which has locations around the world.

Linguistic features

• Grammatical gender: Every noun is assigned a gender, either masculine or feminine.
• Verb conjugations: Verbs are highly inflected, with different forms depending on tense, mood, and person.
• Pronounciation: Some French sounds, such as the "r," nasal vowels, and liaisons are noticeably different from English.
• Formal and informal pronouns: French uses "tu" (informal) and "vous" (formal or plural) as second-person pronouns, which affects verb conjugation and adjective agreement.

Modern trends

• Efforts to preserve the purity of the French language against Anglicisms, particularly in technology and business.
• The increasing use of technology and social media impacts the evolution of the French language and how it is used.
• Debates about inclusivity in language, such as the use of gender-neutral language.