The French Language: 10 Facts
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This time, we will talk about the French language. It is the 5th most spoken language worldwide. French grammar is similar to other romance languages and its vocabulary is easy to learn for english speakers. It is an official language of many international organizations like the Red Cross, the International Olympic Comittee and Médecins sans Frontières.
10 French is the 5th most spoken language worldwide!
There are around 280 million French speakers, 80 million of those being native speakers, and those numbers are increasing. French is an official language in 29 countries and it is spoken on every continent. According to demographers, the number of French speakers is expected to reach 700 million by the year 2050, mostly owed to population growth in Africa.
75% of French citizens did not speak French as a mother tongue at the time of the French revolution, that means that the French language wasn’t widely used across France until back then. Before this period, France had pockets where various dialects and languages like Occitan were used. In fact, until the beginning of the 19th Century, French was used rather by the Aristocracy in other European places like Germany and Holland than in some parts of France.
Counting in French seems simple enough. Until you hit the number 70, which translates to soixante-dix (sixty-ten). Then you keep counting up. For example, 74 is soixante-quatorze (sixty-fourteen). Eighty translates to quatre-vingts (four-twenties).
This system of counting by twenty came about after the French Revolution as a way of unifying the counting system.
The literary integrity of the French language has been preserved by the Académie Française since its creation in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu. The Academy consists of 40 members who oversee the language, adding new words and contemplating changes to modernize the language. The origin of French language purism, including the French Academy, can all be traced back to the influence of a single poet, François de Malherbe.The French Academy was the first body ever to rule over a language. Since then, most of the world’s main languages have had a similar type of institution. English-speaking countries are the only exception. French has more than a million words and 20,000 new ones are created every year.
Since the end of World War 2, the number of French speakers has tripled. Interestingly enough, the language’s popularity continues to increase as French-speaking countries in Africa continue to grow and develop. As we said before, current projections show that the population of French speakers around the world could increase to over 700 million by 2050. This number isn’t too surprising when you take into account that there are currently 500,000 French teachers instructing over 120 million students worldwide. It is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world.
French is used widely in the United States as well. In the United States, French is the fourth most used language throughout the country. It is the second most taught, after Spanish.There are eight million Francophones living in North America, and most are descendents of only 10,000 original French colonists.
Just like Spanish and Italian, The French language derived from Vulgar Latin. Gaulish, a Celtic language which was spoken in ancient Gaul before the Roman invasion, and Old Frankish also left their mark on the French language. In 1539, French was announced the official language of administration in France.
It started to be standardised from the 17th century onwards, with the creation of the Académie française in 1634. During the 17th century, French became the lingua franca of European Aristocracy and spread worldwide as France expanded its colonial empire, influencing many other European languages on the same occasion.
10. French is the 5th most spoken language worldwide
9. French was not widely used in France until the French Revolution in 1789
8. French vocabulary is easy to learn for English speakers
7. Along with English, French is a main language in diplomacy
6. It is an official language in 29 countries and 10 regions
5. Kinshasa is the second largest French-speaking city
4. Counting in French is quite unique starting from 70 to 99
3. There is a French Governmental Institute that protects the language
2. Many French words sound the same, but have a different meaning
1. French Popularity is steadily increasing
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Видео The French Language: 10 Facts канала grammarpirate
This time, we will talk about the French language. It is the 5th most spoken language worldwide. French grammar is similar to other romance languages and its vocabulary is easy to learn for english speakers. It is an official language of many international organizations like the Red Cross, the International Olympic Comittee and Médecins sans Frontières.
10 French is the 5th most spoken language worldwide!
There are around 280 million French speakers, 80 million of those being native speakers, and those numbers are increasing. French is an official language in 29 countries and it is spoken on every continent. According to demographers, the number of French speakers is expected to reach 700 million by the year 2050, mostly owed to population growth in Africa.
75% of French citizens did not speak French as a mother tongue at the time of the French revolution, that means that the French language wasn’t widely used across France until back then. Before this period, France had pockets where various dialects and languages like Occitan were used. In fact, until the beginning of the 19th Century, French was used rather by the Aristocracy in other European places like Germany and Holland than in some parts of France.
Counting in French seems simple enough. Until you hit the number 70, which translates to soixante-dix (sixty-ten). Then you keep counting up. For example, 74 is soixante-quatorze (sixty-fourteen). Eighty translates to quatre-vingts (four-twenties).
This system of counting by twenty came about after the French Revolution as a way of unifying the counting system.
The literary integrity of the French language has been preserved by the Académie Française since its creation in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu. The Academy consists of 40 members who oversee the language, adding new words and contemplating changes to modernize the language. The origin of French language purism, including the French Academy, can all be traced back to the influence of a single poet, François de Malherbe.The French Academy was the first body ever to rule over a language. Since then, most of the world’s main languages have had a similar type of institution. English-speaking countries are the only exception. French has more than a million words and 20,000 new ones are created every year.
Since the end of World War 2, the number of French speakers has tripled. Interestingly enough, the language’s popularity continues to increase as French-speaking countries in Africa continue to grow and develop. As we said before, current projections show that the population of French speakers around the world could increase to over 700 million by 2050. This number isn’t too surprising when you take into account that there are currently 500,000 French teachers instructing over 120 million students worldwide. It is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world.
French is used widely in the United States as well. In the United States, French is the fourth most used language throughout the country. It is the second most taught, after Spanish.There are eight million Francophones living in North America, and most are descendents of only 10,000 original French colonists.
Just like Spanish and Italian, The French language derived from Vulgar Latin. Gaulish, a Celtic language which was spoken in ancient Gaul before the Roman invasion, and Old Frankish also left their mark on the French language. In 1539, French was announced the official language of administration in France.
It started to be standardised from the 17th century onwards, with the creation of the Académie française in 1634. During the 17th century, French became the lingua franca of European Aristocracy and spread worldwide as France expanded its colonial empire, influencing many other European languages on the same occasion.
10. French is the 5th most spoken language worldwide
9. French was not widely used in France until the French Revolution in 1789
8. French vocabulary is easy to learn for English speakers
7. Along with English, French is a main language in diplomacy
6. It is an official language in 29 countries and 10 regions
5. Kinshasa is the second largest French-speaking city
4. Counting in French is quite unique starting from 70 to 99
3. There is a French Governmental Institute that protects the language
2. Many French words sound the same, but have a different meaning
1. French Popularity is steadily increasing
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Credits: Wikipedia, Pexels, Pixabay
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