French was chosen as the official language because of its perceived neutrality — though no language is “neutral,” especially when it comes from a colonizing country — acting as a lingua franca to facilitate communication between the indigenous ethnic groups, the majority of whom speak one of four national languages: ...
Why does France speak French?
It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire , as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. ... Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole.
How did French become a language?
As such, the Franks ensured the Gallo-Roman population became merged with the German settlers , and from this mixing pot of Germanic, Celtic and (predominantly) Latin roots, the French language emerged.
Why is French one of the main languages spoken in international organizations?
Organizations Where French Is an Official Language
French is considered an international language not only because it is spoken in dozens of countries, but also because it is one of the official working languages in many important international organizations.
Why do so many countries speak French?
The French Empire
Many colonies gained independence after World War One and France still had a strong influence in some countries in Africa and South East Asia up until the 1960s. A result of the colonial era is that many countries still use French as a national language , even though they are no longer ruled by France.
Is French hard to learn?
The FSI scale ranks French as a “category I language”, considered as “more similar to English”, as compared to categories III and IV “hard” or “super-hard languages”. According to the FSI, French is one of the easiest languages to learn for a native English speaker .
What is the longest word in the world in French?
| Word Letters Translation | hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobie 36 hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia | dichlorodiphényltrichloroéthane 30 dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane | hexakosioihexekontahexaphobie 29 hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia | intergouvernementalisation 26 intergovernmentalisation |
|---|
Why is French a romantic language?
The French language sounds like music
The melodic rhythm of the French language is enough to melt hearts all over the world , which is why it is known as the language of love and romance. Even non-romantic words like “Pamplemousse” which literally means ‘dragonfly,' can cause a flutter in the heart.
What is the oldest language in the world?
- Tamil: Origin (according to first appearance as script) – 300 BC. ...
- Sanskrit: Origin (according to first appearance as script) – 2000 BC. ...
- Greek: Origin (according to first appearance as script) – 1500 BC. ...
- Chinese: Origin (according to first appearance as script) – 1250 BC.
What was the first language?
Sumerian language, language isolate and the oldest written language in existence. First attested about 3100 bce in southern Mesopotamia, it flourished during the 3rd millennium bce.
Which country has the largest number of French speakers?
Unsurprisingly, France boasts the highest number of native French speakers, although it's not the most populous country to have French as an official language. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a population of 77 million, compared to 62 million in France.
What two languages are taught in every country in the world?
French is also the only language, with English, that is taught in every country of the world, with 100 million students and 2 million teachers – 20 % of whom are outside of francophone countries.
What are the benefits of studying French?
- A world language. ...
- A language for the international job market. ...
- The language of culture. ...
- A language for travel. ...
- A language for higher education. ...
- The other language of international relations. ...
- A language that opens up the world. ...
- A language that is fun to learn.
Which African country speaks the best French?
Of these countries, Gabon comes in first as the African country with the greatest percentage of French speakers (80 percent) with Mauritius taking second at 72.7 percent and Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal tying for third with 70 percent.
Who in the world speaks French?
French is the official language** in Belgium, Benin, Burkina, Faso, Burundi , Cameroon, Canada, Central, African, Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte, d'Ivoire, Democratic, Republic, of, the, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial, Guinea, France, Guinea, Haiti, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Niger, Republic, of, the, Congo, ...
What is your name in French?
If you'd like to say “What is your name?” in French, you generally have two options. To pose the question formally, you'd say “ Comment vous-appelez vous? Speaking informally, you can simply ask “Comment t'appelles-tu?”
