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French language

French (le français, la langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered only by Spanish and Portuguese. French is the 11th most spoken language in the world, spoken by about 77 million people (called Francophones) as a mother tongue, and 128 million including second language speakers, in 1999. It is an official or administrative language in various communities and organizations (such as the European Union, IOC, United Nations and Universal Postal Union).

French (Français)
Spoken in:France and 53 other countries.
Total speakers: 128 Million
Ranking:11
Genetic
classification:		 Indo-European
 Italic
  Romance
   Italo-Western
    Western
     Gallo-Iberian
      Gallo-Romance
       Gallo-Rhaetian
        Oïl
         French
Official status
Official language of:France and 24 other countries
Regulated by:Académie française
Language codes
ISO 639-1: fr
ISO 639-2(B): fre
ISO 639-2(T):fra
SIL: FRN

Table of contents
1 History
2 Geographic distribution
3 Sounds
4 Grammar
5 Vocabulary
6 Writing system
7 See also
8 External links

History

The Roman Invasion of Gaul

The French language is a Romance language, meaning that it is descended from Latin. Before the Roman invasion of what is modern-day France by Julius Cæsar (58-52 B.C.), France was inhabited largely by a Celtic people that the Romans referred to as Gauls , although one also finds other linguistic/ethnic groups in France at this time, such as the Iberians (in southern France and Spain), the Ligurians (on the Mediterranean coast), Greek and Phoenician outposts (like Marseille) and the Vascons (on the Spanish/French border).

Although in the past many Frenchmen liked to refer to their descent from Gallic ancestors ("Nos ancêtres les gaulois"), perhaps fewer than 200 words with a Celtic etymology remain in French today (largely place and plant names and words dealing with rural life and the hearth). In the reverse direction, some words for Gallic objects which were new to the Romans (like clothing items) and for which there were no words in Latin were imported into Latin. Latin quickly became the lingua franca of the entire Gallic region for both mercantile, official and educational reasons, yet it should be remembered that this was the colloquial or vulgar Latin as spoken by the Roman army and its agents and not the literary language of Cicero.

The Franks

From the third century on, Western Europe was invaded by Germanic (or "Barbarian") tribes from the east, and some of these groups settled in Gaul. For the history of the French language, the most important of these groups are the Franks (northern France), the Alemanni (German/French border), the Burgundians (the Rhone valley) and the Visigoths (the Aquitaine region and Spain). These Germanic-speaking groups had a profound effect on the Latin spoken in their respective regions, altering both the pronunciation and the syntax. They also introduced a number of new words: perhaps as much as 15% of modern French comes from Germanic words (including many terms and expressions associated with their social structure and military tactics).

Langue d'Oïl

Linguists typically divide the languages spoken in medieval France into two geographical subgroups: Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. Langue d'Oïl (meaning the language where one says "oïl" for "yes") are those dialects in the north of France which were the most affected by the Frankish invasions (dialects like Picard, Walloon, Francien, Norman, etc.). From the baptism of the Frankish king Clovis (c.498) on, the Franks extended their power over much of northern Gaul. Over time, the Langue d'Oïl dialect spoken in the Ile-de-France (the region around Paris) called Francien supplanted the other dialects and became the basis for the official French language.

Langue d'Oc (meaning the language where one says "oc" for "yes") are those dialects in the south of France and northern Spain (see Ibero-Romance dialects) which remained closer to the original Latin (dialects like Gascon and Provençal, etc.).

Other Linguistic Groups

The early middles ages also saw the movement of other linguistic groups into France:

From the 5th to the 8th centuries, Celtic speaking peoples from south western Britain (Wales, Cornwall, Devon) traversed the English channel (both for reasons of trade and also as a result of the Anglo-Saxon invasions of England) and established themselves in Brittany. Although this is not a direct descendant of the pre-Roman Gallic, it is a Celtic dialect. This dialect is called Breton.

From the 6th to the 7th centuries, the Vascons crossed over the Pyrénées and influenced the occitan language dialect spoken in south-western France. This dialect is called Gascon.

The Norsemen or Vikings invaded France from the 9th century on and established themselves in what would come to be called the Normandy region; they took up the langue d'oïl dialect spoken in that region but also contributed words to French dealing with, among other things, maritime activities. With the Norman conquest of England in 1066 the Normans brought their Norman language to England; the dialect which developed in the Norman realms as a language of administration and literature is referred to as Anglo-Norman. Because of the Norman conquest, perhaps as much as two thirds of modern English comes from French.

Finally, the Arabs also supplied many words to French in this period, including words for luxury goods, spices, trade stuffs, sciences and mathematics.

History of French

For the period up to around 1300, linguists refer collectively to the langue d'oïl dialects as Old French ("l'ancien français"). With the final ascendancy of Francien and the loss of the declension system, the language is referred to as Middle French ("le moyen français"). Following a period of unification, regulation and purification, the French of the 17th to the 18th centuries is sometimes referred to as Classical French ("le français classique"), although many linguists simply refer to French language from the 17th century to today as Modern French. The earliest extant text in French is the Oath of Strasbourg from 842; Old French became a literary language with the chansons de geste that told tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and the heroes of the Crusades. By the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts in 1539 King Francis I made French the official language of administration and court proceedings in France, ousting the Latin that had been used before then.

The foundation of the Académie française in 1634 by Richelieu created a official body whose goal has been the purification and preservation of the French language. This group of 40 members (the "immortals") chosen for life still exists today and contributes to the policing of the language and the elimination of foreign words and expressions.

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French was the lingua franca of educated Europe, especially with regards to the arts and literature, and monarchs such as Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia could both speak and write in French.

It is important however to realize that as of 1790 , one half of the French population did not speak or understand French and that many other languages were spoken in France. A huge part of southern France spoke Occitan dialects, such as Provençal, Gascon (including Béarnais), Auvergnat, Limousin, Languedocian and (along the Spanish border) Catalan. In the Savoie region of France, Franco-Provençal (a dialect considered halfway bewteen Langue d'Oc and Langue d'Oïl) was spoken. One also found Alsatian (a dialect of German), Flemish (a dialect of Dutch), Basque and Corsican (a dialect of Italian). Furthermore, even in those regions where French was spoken and understood, each region had its own particular accent and regionalisms. In the 1880's, the rise of French nationalism (via universal military service and national education) encouraged the suppression of regional differences and local dialects; by 1910, 90% of the French population understood French, although 50% still understood a local dialect. Since then, many of these linguistic groups have fought hard to maintain their linguistic traditions and in today's France one finds some of these local dialects coming back. Some linguists estimate that 10% of the French today understand a local dialect (although they may not speak it).

Modern Issues

There is some debate in today's France about the preservation of the French language and the influence of English (or "franglais"), especially with regards to international business, the sciences and popular culture. There have been laws enacted which require that all print ads and billboards with foreign expressions include a French translation and which require quotas of French language songs (at least 40%) on the radio.

Geographic distribution

French is an official language in the following countries:
country native speakers population pop. dens. area
  (rough est.) (July 2003 est.) (/km2) (km2)
France (Metropolitan)
60,000,000 60,180,600 105 547,030
Democratic Republic of the Congo 55,225,478 24 2,345,410
Canada 6,700,000 32,207,000 3 9,976,140
Madagascar 16,979,900 - 587,040
Côte d'Ivoire 16,962,500 - 322,460
Cameroon 15,746,200 - 422,277
Burkina Faso 13,228,500 - 274,200
Mali 11,626,300 - 1,240,000
Senegal 10,580,400 - 196,190
Belgium 4,000,000 10,290,000 335 30,510
Rwanda 7,810,100 - 26,338
Haiti 7,527,800 - 27,750
Switzerland 1,400,000 7,318,638 - 41,290
Burundi 6,096,156 - 27,830
Togo 5,429,300 - 56,785
Central African Republic 3,683,600 - 622,984
Republic of the Congo 2,954,300 - 342,000
Gabon 1,321,500 - 267,667
Comoros 632,948 - 2,170
Djibouti 457,130 - 23,000
Luxembourg 100,000 454,157 171 2,586
Guadeloupe 442,200 - 1,780
Martinique 390,200 - 1,100
Mauritius 1,000,000 1,210,500 - 2,040
Vanuatu 200,000 - 12,200
Seychelles 80,469 - 455

Although not official, French is the major second language in the following countries.
country population pop. dens. area
  (July 2003 est.) (/km2)

 (km2)

Algeria 32,810,500 - 2,381,440
Tunisia 9,924,800 - 163,610
Morocco 31,689,600 - 446,550

Also, there are some French-speakers in Egypt, India (Pondicherry), Italy (Aosta Valley), Laos, Mauritania, United Kingdom (Channel Islands), United States of America (mainly Louisiana & New England) and Vietnam.

La Francophonie is an international organization of French-speaking countries and governments.

Historically, for nearly 300 years Anglo-Norman French was also the language of the ruling classes and commerce in England, from the time of the Norman Conquest until Source | Copyright


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