French is a Romance language spoken by about 354 million people.
It is the third most spoken language in Europe, after German and
English, and is also spoken in parts of Africa, North America,
South America, Asia and Oceania.
French at a glance
Native name: français [fʁ̥ɒ̃sɛ]
Linguistic affliation: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Western Romance, Gallo-Romance, Oïl
Number of speakers: c. 354 million
Spoken in: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and many other countries
First written: 842 AD
Writing system: Latin script
Status: official language in France, and also in Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu
French is an 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, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu.
There are also French speakers in Algeria, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Tunisia, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Jersey, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, and in parts of the USA, particularly Louisiana.
French was widely used as a diplomatic language from the 17th century until the middle of the 20th century, when English replaced it in that role. It is still used in many international organisations, such as NATO, the UN, EU institutions, and the World Trade Organisation.
Written French
French first appeared in writing in 842 AD, when it was used in the Strasbourg Oaths. Before then, Latin was the language used for literature throughout Europe. During the 10th and 11th centuries, French appeared in a number of documents and religious writings. However, French literature didn't start to take off until the late 12th / early 13th century. The first great work of French literature was the 'Chanson de Roland' (Song of Roland), which was published in about 1200.
ie = [i] at the end of a word, [j̃ɛ]
before n, [je] elsewhere.
ill =[j] after vowel(s): e.g. travailler [tʁava'je]
m and n are mute at the ends of words
and preceeding vowels are nasalized.
At the ends of words, r, s, t,
x and z are mute, unless the next word begins
with a vowel, e.g. vous êtes [vuz εt]
u = [ɥ] before vowels, but [y] elsewhere
x when in final position = [s~z~Ø]
k and w only appear in loan words
y is used mainly loanwords but also in placenames
Letters with accents are not considered part of the French alphabet
The ligature Πis used in certain French words, and in words of
Greek origin, to represent a single sound (/œ/ or /ø/). In alphabetical ordering it
is treated as o plus e
The ligature Æ is used in a few words of Latin or Greek origin.
In alphabetical ordering it is treated as a plus e
Canadian French
Here are some of the differences in the pronunciation of Canadian French.
In all words except loan words, the letter before the vowels i and u is pronounced [dzi] and [dzy], as in dimanche [dzimãːʃ]. For the other vowels, nasal vowels and consonant clusters, remains , d, .
In all words except loan words, the letter before the vowels i, u and y are pronounced [tsi] [tsy] and [tsi], as in tige [tsiːʒ]. In all other instances, follows its usual pattern.
The presence of these lax vowels /ʏ/, / ɪ/, /ʊ/ (allophonic to their tense counterparts: /y/, /i/, /u/ but not all words have interchangeable pronunciation), e.g. the word pile is usually only realized as [pɪl]
These pairs are allophonic: /ɛ̃/, /ẽ/, /ĩ/, /ɑ/̃ and /ã/, /œ̃/ and /ũ/, /ɔ/̃ and /õ/, /ɲ/ and /ŋ/. also has the allophone /ɔ/.
also has the pronunciations of /a/, /ɑ/ (less) and /we/, /wɛ/ (the latter two being used more in informal speech).
The existence of diphthongs (considered to be informal speech) where long vowels exist. e.g. pâte can be either [pɑːt(ə)] or diphthongized as [pɑʊt] informally
Sample text
Tous les êtres humains naissent libres et égaux en
dignité et en droits. Ils sont doués de raison et de
conscience et doivent agir les uns envers les autres dans un esprit
de fraternité
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
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