French

Guide Note

French is by spoken by approximately 350 million people worldwide. It is spoken by a significant percentage of the population in 54 countries. As with most European languages, French originated from Latin.

Fast Facts

1. Language Family: Indo-European, Romance Language
2. Number of Speakers: 76 million people as a native language; 280 million as a second or third language
3. Official Language: 31 countries including France, Belgium
4. Major Dialects: Acadian French, Quebec French, Maghreb French, African French

• Hello: Bonjour
• Good-bye: Au revoir
• Please: S'il vous plaît
• Thank you: Merci
• You're welcome: De rien
• My name is...: Je m'appelle...
• Excuse me: Pardon
• Where?: Où?
• How much is it?: C'est combien?

The French language is descended from Latin. Its development was also influenced by Celtic and Germanic languages. It is the official language of 31 countries, which form the La Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations. It is an official language of the United Nations.

1. Study regularly: When learning anything persistent and regular study will help put get the concepts into long term memory.
2. Get some audio tapes: Especially when learning a language correct pronunciation is essential and something that can't easily be learned from a book.
3. Practice out loud: When learning to speak a new language, your mouth needs to learn to move in ways its not used to moving. Expect to make mistakes and don't feel shy when you do. Its part of the learning process.
4. Get a buddy: Conversing with a fluent French speaker will speed up the learning process.
5. Go to France: Traveling to France or any other French speaking country will allow you to be immersed in the language and culture.