French language

{{Main|History of French}}

French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French.

Due to Roman rule, Latin was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan.

The evolution of Latin in Gaul was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language, which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.{{Cite book |last=Hélix |first=Laurence |title=Histoire de la langue française |publisher=Ellipses Edition Marketing S.A. |year=2011 |isbn=978-2-7298-6470-5 |page=7}} Because few Latin speakers settled in rural areas during Roman times, Latin there held little or no social value for the peasantry; as a result, 90% of the total population of Gaul remained indigenous in origin. The urban aristocracy, who used Latin for trade, education or official uses, would send their children to Roman schools and administered lands for Rome. In the fifth century, at the time of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the vast majority of the (predominantly rural) population remained Gaulish speakers. They shifted to Latin as their native speech only one century after the Frankish conquest of Gaul, adopting the prestige language of their urban literate elite. This eventual spread of Latin can be attributed to the social migration from the focus of urban power to village-centred economies and legal serfdom.{{Cite book |last=Lodge |first=R. Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hfanhTGi-z0C |title=French: From Dialect to Standard |date=1993 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-08071-2 |page=46 |access-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104347/https://books.google.com/books?id=hfanhTGi-z0C |archive-date=18 September 2023 |url-status=live}}{{Cite book |last=Craven |first=Thomas D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvODm8_Y6CgC&q=Braudel&pg=PA1 |title=Comparative Historical Dialectology: Italo-Romance Clues to Ibero-Romance Sound Change |date=2002 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=1-58811-313-2 |page=51 |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104417/https://books.google.com/books?id=XvODm8_Y6CgC&q=Braudel&pg=PA1 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last=Mufwene |first=Salikoko S. |author-link=Salikoko Mufwene |year=2004 |title=Language birth and death |journal=Annu. Rev. Anthropol. |volume=33 |pages=201–222 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143852}}

The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization. Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including {{lang|fr|oui}},{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Schrijver |title=Studies in the History of Celtic Pronouns and Particles |location=Maynooth |isbn=9780901519597 |publisher=Department of Old Irish, National University of Ireland |year=1997 |page=15}} the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence,{{cite book |last=Pellegrini |first=Giovanni Battista |year=2011 |chapter=Substrata |editor-last1=Posner |editor-last2=Green |title=Romance Comparative and Historical Linguistics |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=43–74}} Celtic influences on French discussed in pages 64–67. Page 65:"In recent years the primary role of the substratum... has been disputed. Best documented is the CT- > it change which is found in all Western Romania... more reservations have been expressed about... ū > [y]..."; :"Summary on page 67: "There can be no doubt that the way French stands out from the other Western Romance languages (Vidos 1956: 363) is largely due to the intensity of its Celtic substratum, compared with lateral areas like Iberia and Venetia..."{{cite book |first=Henri |last=Guiter |chapter=Sur le substrat gaulois dans la Romania |title=Munus amicitae. Studia linguistica in honorem Witoldi Manczak septuagenarii |editor-first=Anna |editor-last=Bochnakowa |editor-first2=Stanislan |editor-last2=Widlak |location=Krakow |year=1995}}{{sfn|Roegiest|2006|p=83}} and influences in conjugation and word order.{{Cite book |last=Savignac |first=Jean-Paul |title=Dictionnaire Français-Gaulois |publisher=La Différence |year=2004 |location=Paris |page=26}}{{Cite conference |last=Matasovic |first=Ranko |year=2007 |title=Insular Celtic as a Language Area |book-title=The Celtic Languages in Contact: Papers from the Workshop Within the Framework of the XIII International Congress of Celtic Studies |page=106}}{{Cite book |last=Adams |first=J. N. |title=The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC – AD 600 |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-511-48297-7|pages=279–289 |chapter=Chapter V – Regionalisms in provincial texts: Gaul |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511482977}} Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by the gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish.{{Cite journal |last1=Polinsky |first1=Maria |last2=Van Everbroeck |first2=Ezra |year=2003 |title=Development of Gender Classifications: Modeling the Historical Change from Latin to French |journal=Language |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=356–390 |citeseerx=10.1.1.134.9933 |doi=10.1353/lan.2003.0131 |jstor=4489422 |s2cid=6797972| issn = 0097-8507}}

The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert,{{Cite journal |first=Christian |last=Schmitt |year=1997 |title=Keltische im heutigen Französisch |journal=Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie |volume=49-50 |pages=814–829|doi=10.1515/zcph.1997.49-50.1.814 }} which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240.{{Cite book |last=Müller |first=Bodo |title=Festschrift für Johannes Hubschmid zum 65. Geburtsag. Beiträge zur allgemeinen, indogermanischen und romanischen Sprachwissenschaft. |date=1982 |editor-last=Winkelmann |editor-first=Otto |pages=603–620 |chapter=Geostatistik der gallischen/keltischen Substratwörter in der Galloromania}} Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life (chêne, bille, etc.), animals (mouton, cheval, etc.), nature (boue, etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau), farming and rural units of measure (arpent, lieue, borne, boisseau), weapons,{{Cite book |first1=Urban |last1=Holmes |first2=Alexander |last2=Herman Schutz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbjX4ebc2lsC&q=gAULISH&pg=PR5 |title=A History of the French Language |date=June 1938 |publisher=Biblo & Tannen Publishers |isbn=978-0-8196-0191-9 |page=30 |quote="...sixty-eight or more Celtic words in standard Latin; not all of these came down into Romance.... did not survive among the people. Vulgar speech in Gaul used many others... at least 361 words of Gaulish provenance in French and Provençal. These Celtic words fell into more homely types than... borrowings from Germanː agriculture... household effects... animals... food and drink... trees... body -- 17 (dor < durnu), dress... construction... birds... fish... insects... pièce < *pettia, and the remainder divided among weapons, religion, literature, music, persons, sickness and mineral. It is evident that the peasants were the last to hold to their Celtic. The count on the Celtic element was made by Leslie Moss at the University of North Carolina... based on unanimity of agreement among the best lexicographers... |access-date=10 June 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104350/https://books.google.com/books?id=jbjX4ebc2lsC&q=gAULISH&pg=PR5 |url-status=live }} and products traded regionally rather than further afield.{{sfn|Roegiest|2006|p=82}} This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being the last to hold onto Gaulish.{{sfn|Roegiest|2006|p=82}}

{{Main|Old French}}The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there.{{Cite web |title=HarvardKey – Login |url=https://www.pin1.harvard.edu/cas/login;jsessionid=BB951275000142B63AD17A43564E70A5?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pin1.harvard.edu%2Fpin%2Fauthenticate%2FHUL_ACC_MGMT_SVC%3Bjsessionid%3DBB951275000142B63AD17A43564E70A5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813193930/https://www.pin1.harvard.edu/cas/login;jsessionid=BB951275000142B63AD17A43564E70A5?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pin1.harvard.edu%2Fpin%2Fauthenticate%2FHUL_ACC_MGMT_SVC%3Bjsessionid%3DBB951275000142B63AD17A43564E70A5 |archive-date=13 August 2021 |access-date=16 May 2019 |website=pin1.harvard.edu}} A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke {{lang|fr|langue d'oïl}} while the population in the south spoke {{lang|fr|langue d'oc}}. Langue d'oïl grew into what is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the late 8th{{cite book |last1=Battye |first1=Adrian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RnUGCAAAQBAJ&dq=History+of+French+language&pg=PP1 |title=The French Language Today |last2=Hintze |first2=Marie-Anne |last3=Rowlett |first3=Paul |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-90328-1 |edition=2nd |pages=12}} [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it was deemed no longer make to think of the varieties spoken in Gaul as Latin. Although a precise date can't be given, there is a general consensus (see Wright 1982, 1991, Lodge 1993) that an awareness of a vernacular, distinct from Latin, emerged at the end of the eighth century.] and mid-14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects.{{Cite journal |last1=Lahousse |first1=Karen |last2=Lamiroy |first2=Béatrice |year=2012 |title=Word order in French, Spanish and Italian:A grammaticalization account |url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/329255 |url-status=live |journal=Folia Linguistica |language=en |volume=46 |issue=2 |doi=10.1515/flin.2012.014 |issn=1614-7308 |s2cid=146854174 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427075923/https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/329255 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |access-date=7 January 2021}} The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from the Germanic Frankish language, which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order,Rowlett, P. 2007. The Syntax of French. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Page 4 a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabularyPope, Mildred K. (1934). From Latin to Modern French with Especial Consideration of Anglo-Norman Phonology and Morphology. Manchester: Manchester University Press.) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man), and the name of the language itself.

Up until its later stages, Old French, alongside Old Occitan, maintained a relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in the Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia, while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland, epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court, as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

During the period of the Crusades French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that it became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades, who referred to them{{who?|date=March 2025}} as Franj, numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero).{{Cite book |last1=Nadeau |first1=Jean-Benoit |author-link=Jean-Benoît Nadeau |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYDOrzMpgGcC&pg=PT34 |title=The Story of French |last2=Barlow |first2=Julie |author-link2=Julie Barlow |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4299-3240-0 |pages=34ff |access-date=4 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175328/https://books.google.com/books?id=JYDOrzMpgGcC&pg=PT34#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=18 May 2024 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Middle French}}

Within Old French many dialects emerged but the Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar.{{Cite book |last=Victor |first=Joseph M. |title=Charles de Bovelles, 1479–1553: An Intellectual Biography |publisher=Librairie Droz |year=1978 |page=28}} Politically, the first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France.

During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations (lingua franca). It retained this role until approximately the middle of the 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War.[http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm The World's 10 Most Influential Languages]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312042140/http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm |date=12 March 2008 }}. Top Languages. Retrieved 11 April 2011.{{Cite book |last1=Battye |first1=Adrian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pya2KY8upAUC&pg=PA2 |title=The French Language Today: A Linguistic Introduction |last2=Hintze |first2=Marie-Anne |last3=Rowlett |first3=Paul |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-203-41796-6 |language=en |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104351/https://books.google.com/books?id=pya2KY8upAUC&pg=PA2 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |url-status=live}} Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language.{{Cite news |last=Meisler |first=Stanley |date=1 March 1986 |title=Seduction Still Works: French – a Language in Decline |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-01-mn-13048-story.html |access-date=18 October 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702203738/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-03-01/news/mn-13048_1_french-language/2 |archive-date=2 July 2015}}

During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV, enjoyed a period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the {{lang|fr|Académie française|italic=no}} to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France.

Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages (patois) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire's "Report on the necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language".{{cite web |date=18 November 2003 |title=Rapport Grégoire an II |url=http://www.languefrancaise.net/dossiers/dossiers.php?id_dossier=66 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123134600/http://www.languefrancaise.net/dossiers/dossiers.php?id_dossier=66 |archive-date=23 November 2006 |access-date=11 June 2007 |website=Languefrancaise.net |language=fr}} When public education was made compulsory, only French was taught and the use of any other (patois) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany. Instructions given by a French official to teachers in the department of Finistère, in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language".{{Cite book |last=Labouysse |first=Georges |title=L'Imposture. Mensonges et manipulations de l'Histoire officielle |publisher=Institut d'études occitanes |year=2007 |isbn=978-2-85910-426-9 |location=France}} The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha.{{Cite web |last=Joubert |first=Aurélie |year=2010 |title=A Comparative Study of the Evolution of Prestige Formations and of Speakers' Attitudes in Occitan and Catalan |url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/files/54504513/FULL_TEXT.PDF |publisher=University of Manchester}}

{{Main|Francophonie|Geographical distribution of French speakers}}

File:Top 6 Native French Speaking Countries.jpg

{{Main|European French}}

File:Knowledge French EU map.svg and candidate countries[http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf EUROPA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617020142/http://www.tns-opinion.com/ |date=17 June 2017 }}, data for EU25, published before 2007 enlargement.]]

Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English.{{Cite web |title=Explore language knowledge in Europe |url=http://languageknowledge.eu/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917153120/http://languageknowledge.eu/ |archive-date=17 September 2016 |access-date=24 November 2014 |website=languageknowledge.eu}}

Under the Constitution of France, French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992,{{Citation |last1=Novoa |first1=Cristina |title=The Oxford Handbook of Multicultural Identity |year=2014 |page=468 |editor-last=Benet-Martínez |editor-first=Verónica |series=Oxford Library of Psychology |chapter=Applied Perspectives: Policies for Managing Cultural Diversity |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gAqKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA468 |place=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-979669-4 |lccn=2014006430 |oclc=871965715 |last2=Moghaddam |first2=Fathali M. |editor2-last=Hong |editor2-first=Ying-Yi |mode=cs1}} although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words.

In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons, which are German-speaking) and one of the two official languages—along with Dutch—of the Brussels-Capital Region, where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language.{{Cite journal |author-link=Philippe Van Parijs|last=Van Parijs|first=Philippe|title=Belgium's new linguistic challenge |url=http://www.statbel.fgov.be/studies/ac699_en.pdf |journal=KVS Express (Supplement to Newspaper de Morgen) March–April 2006 |pages=Article from [http://www.kvs.be/kvs_express/KVS_EXPRESS_13_WEB.pdf original source (pdf 4.9 MB)] pp. 34–36 republished by the Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy – Directorate–general Statistics Belgium |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613234540/http://www.statbel.fgov.be/studies/ac699_en.pdf |archive-date=13 June 2007 |access-date=5 May 2007|df=dmy}}

French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh, and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy, of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais, Fribourg and Bern. French is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50%{{Cite book |last=Abalain |first=Hervé |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=abit8Yd6J-cC&pg=PA92 |title=Le français et les langues |publisher=Editions Jean-paul Gisserot |year=2007 |isbn=978-2-87747-881-6 |access-date=10 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104351/https://books.google.com/books?id=abit8Yd6J-cC&pg=PA92 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |url-status=live}} of the population.

Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg, where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco.

At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in the Aosta Valley region of Italy (the first government authority to adopt Modern French as the official language in 1536, three years before France itself),{{cite news |last1=Caniggia |first1=Mauro |last2=Poggianti |first2=Luca |date=25 October 2012 |title=La Vallée d'Aoste: enclave francophone au sud-est du Mont Blanc |url=http://zigzag-francophonie.eu/ITALIE-Le-Val-d-Aoste |publisher=Zigzag magazine |language=fr |access-date=2013-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204062709/http://zigzag-francophonie.eu/ITALIE-Le-Val-d-Aoste |archive-date=2013-12-04 |url-status=dead }} in which is spoken as a first language by 1.25% of the population and as a second one by approximately 50%.Une Vallée d'Aoste bilingue dans une Europe plurilingue / Una Valle d'Aosta bilingue in un'Europa plurilingue, Aoste, Fondation Émile Chanoux, 2003. French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands; it is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa. The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland, with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French.{{Cite web |date=28 April 2014 |title=Allemagne: le français, bientôt la deuxième langue officielle de la Sarre |url=http://www.francetvinfo.fr/allemagne-le-francais-bientot-la-deuxieme-langue-officielle-de-la-sarre_587877.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822012043/http://www.francetvinfo.fr/allemagne-le-francais-bientot-la-deuxieme-langue-officielle-de-la-sarre_587877.html |archive-date=22 August 2017 |access-date=20 June 2017}}{{Cite news |date=21 January 2014 |title=German region of Saarland moves towards bilingualism |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25834960 |url-status=live |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014054905/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25834960 |archive-date=14 October 2018}}

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{{Main|African French}}

[[File:NativevsOfficial.png|thumb|Official status of French in Africa as of 2025:
{{legend|#00AAE2|Countries in which it is an official de jure language}}

{{legend|#02007F|Regions in which is spoken as a native language}}]]

[[File:Francophone Africa 2023.png|thumb|Countries of Africa by percentage of French speakers in 2023

{{legend|#c6dbef|0–10% Francophone}}

{{legend|#9ecae1|11–20% Francophone}}

{{legend|#6baed6|21–30% Francophone}}

{{legend|#4292c6|31–40% Francophone}}

{{legend|#2171b5|41–50% Francophone}}

{{legend|#084594|>50% Francophone}}]]

The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa; while it is an official language in 18 countries, it is not spoken as a first language by the majority, acting mainly as a second one or a lingua franca due to the many indigenous languages spoken in the territories.{{Cite news|date=2019-04-07|title=Why the future of French is African|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47790128|access-date=2021-04-24|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411215818/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47790128|url-status=live}} According to a 2023 estimate from the {{lang|fr|Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|italic=no}}, an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories{{efn|29 full members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF): Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, and Tunisia.
One associate member of the OIF: Ghana.
Two observers of the OIF: Gambia and Mozambique.
One country not member or observer of the OIF: Algeria.
Two French territories in Africa: Réunion and Mayotte.}} can speak French as either a first or a second language.{{Cite web |last=Observatoire de la langue française de l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |title=Francoscope. « 327 millions de francophones dans le monde en 2023 » |url=https://www.odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/sites/odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/files/uploads/Pr%C3%A9sentation_FRANCOSCOPE_2023-03-15_Finale.pdf |access-date=2024-02-05 |archive-date=15 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415152637/https://www.odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/sites/odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/files/uploads/Pr%C3%A9sentation_FRANCOSCOPE_2023-03-15_Finale.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Observatoire démographique et statistique de l'espace francophone (ODSEF) |title=Estimation du pourcentage et des effectifs de francophones (2023-03-15) |url=https://www.outils-odsef-fss.ulaval.ca/francoscope/tab/tab.html |access-date=2024-02-05 |archive-date=24 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124215019/https://outils-odsef-fss.ulaval.ca/francoscope/tab/tab.html |url-status=live }} This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050.{{cite web|url=https://www.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-World-Population-Data-Sheet-Booklet.pdf|title=2023 World Population Data Sheet|author=Population Reference Bureau|access-date=2024-02-05|archive-date=20 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220122534/https://www.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-World-Population-Data-Sheet-Booklet.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=United Nations |author-link=United Nations |title=World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_General/WPP2022_GEN_F01_DEMOGRAPHIC_INDICATORS_COMPACT_REV1.xlsx |access-date=2024-02-05 |format=XLSX |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306213755/https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20%28Standard%29/EXCEL_FILES/1_General/WPP2022_GEN_F01_DEMOGRAPHIC_INDICATORS_COMPACT_REV1.xlsx |url-status=live }}{{Citation |last=Cross |first=Tony |title=French language growing, especially in Africa |date=2010-03-19 |url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20100319-french-language-growing-especially-africa |publisher=Radio France Internationale |access-date=2013-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325094856/http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20100319-french-language-growing-especially-africa |url-status=live |archive-date=25 March 2010}} French was the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages).{{Cite web |date=24 November 2004 |title=Agora: La francophonie de demain |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/non-classe/69236/agora-la-francophonie-de-demain |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104416/https://www.ledevoir.com/non-classe/69236/agora-la-francophonie-de-demain |archive-date=18 September 2023 |access-date=2011-06-13}}{{Cite web |title=Bulletin de liaison du réseau démographie |url=http://www.demographie.auf.org/IMG/pdf/BULLETIN_No_22.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426011333/http://www.demographie.auf.org/IMG/pdf/BULLETIN_No_22.pdf |archive-date=26 April 2012 |access-date=2011-06-14}}

While spoken mainly as a second language, French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa among some communities in urban areas or the elite class. This is especially true in the cities of Abidjan,{{Cite book |title=Language and National Identity in Africa |publisher=y Oxford University Press Language and National Identity in Asia |year=2008 |isbn=9780199286751 |editor-last=Simpson |editor-first=Andrew}}{{Cite book |last=Ploog |first=Katja |date=25 September 2002 |title=Le français à Abidjan : Pour une approche syntaxique du non-standard Broché – 25 septembre 2002 |id={{ASIN|2271059682|country=fr}} }} Kinshasa, and Lubumbashi,{{Cite journal |last=Carson |first=Ben |year=2023 |title='A Metamorphosed Language': Tracing Language Attitudes Towards Lubumbashi Swahili and French in the DRC |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/40382/1/Final_SWPL21_Carson.pdf |journal=SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics |volume=21 |pages=30–45}}{{Cite web |last=Lu |first=Marcus |date=August 31, 2024 |title=Mapped: Top 15 Countries by Native French Speakers |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-top-15-countries-by-native-french-speakers/}}{{Cite journal |last=Hulstaert |first=Karen |date=2018-11-02 |title="French and the school are one" – the role of French in postcolonial Congolese education: memories of pupils |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326888188 |journal=Paedagogica Historica |language=en |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=822–836 |doi=10.1080/00309230.2018.1494203 |issn=0030-9230}}{{Cite journal |last1=Katabe |first1=Isidore M. |last2=Tibategeza |first2=Eustard R. |date=2023-01-17 |title=Language-in-Education Policy and Practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo |url=https://www.ej-lang.org/index.php/ejlang/article/view/58 |journal=European Journal of Language and Culture Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=4–12 |doi=10.24018/ejlang.2023.2.1.58 |issn=2796-0064|doi-access=free }} Douala,{{Cite web |last=Fonyuy |first=Kelen Ernesta |date=October 24, 2024 |title=Revitalizing Cameroon Indigenous Languages Usage in Empowering Realms |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/ab9d0f98-1724-4994-9c01-72582a009845/content}}{{Cite web |last=Rosendal |first=Tove |year=2008 |title=Multilingual Cameroon Policy, Practice, Problems and Solutions |url=http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/34485/1/8.pdf }} Libreville,{{Cite journal |last=Ndinga-Koumba-Binza |first=H.S. |date=2011-06-22 |title=From foreign to national: a review of the status of the French language in Gabon |url=https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/15 |journal=Literator |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=135–150 |doi=10.4102/lit.v32i2.15 |issn=2219-8237|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |last=Ursula |first=Reutner |date=December 2023 |title=Manual of Romance Languages in Africa |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376319724 }} Antananarivo,{{Cite web |last=Øyvind |first=Dahl |date=June 19, 2024 |title=Linguistic policy challenges in Madagascar |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/225930576.pdf |access-date=June 19, 2024 |website=core.ac.uk}} Cotonou{{Cite web |last=Fahrney |first=Megan |date=28 February 2025 |title=Emphasis on French and English accelerates decline of local language in Benin |url=https://globalvoices.org/2025/02/28/emphasis-on-french-and-english-accelerates-decline-of-local-language-in-benin/ |url-status=live}}, and Brazzaville{{Cite web |last=Massoumou |first=Omer |date=April 12, 2025 |title=The Republic of Congo Francophone Country |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/707596878/The-Republic-of-Congo-francophone-country |url-status=live}}. However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to remove the use of French in favor of native languages, and it was removed as an official language in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively.{{Cite web |date= 26 July 2023|title=Mali drops French as official language |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/07/26/mali-drops-french-as-official-language/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Africanews |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-12-07 |title=Burkina abandons French as an official language |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/12/07/burkina-abandons-french-as-an-official-language/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Africanews |language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/niger-downgrades-french-as-it-distances-from-its-colonial-past-with-a-new-official/xl6ldbr|title=Niger downgrades French as it distances from its colonial past with a new official language|date=8 April 2025|first=Chinedu|last=Okafor|access-date=8 April 2025|work=Business Insider}}

There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages.{{Cite web |title=Annonces import export Francophone |url=http://www.cecif.com/?page=la_francophonie#francaisafrique |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117012244/http://www.cecif.com/?page=la_francophonie#francaisafrique |archive-date=17 January 2013 |access-date=2 March 2007 |website=cecif.com}}

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth.[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/France-priorities_1/francophony-french-language_1113/french-language_1934/french-language-in-the-world_3441/the-french-language-in-the-world-an-expanding-community_4289.html France-Diplomatie] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727195522/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/France-priorities_1/francophony-french-language_1113/french-language_1934/french-language-in-the-world_3441/the-french-language-in-the-world-an-expanding-community_4289.html |date=27 July 2009 }} "Furthermore, the demographic growth of Southern hemisphere countries leads us to anticipate a new increase in the overall number of French speakers." It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years.{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.cecif.com/?page=la_francophonie "Le français, langue en évolution. Dans beaucoup de pays francophones, surtout sur le continent africain, une proportion importante de la population ne parle pas couramment le français (même s'il est souvent la langue officielle du pays). Ce qui signifie qu'au fur et à mesure que les nouvelles générations vont à l'école, le nombre de francophones augmente : on estime qu'en 2015, ceux-ci seront deux fois plus nombreux qu'aujourd'hui.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117012244/http://www.cecif.com/?page=la_francophonie |date=17 January 2013 }}"{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.cecif.com/?page=la_francophonie#francaisafrique c) Le sabir franco-africain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117012244/http://www.cecif.com/?page=la_francophonie#francaisafrique |date=17 January 2013 }}: {{lang|fr|"C'est la variété du français la plus fluctuante. Le sabir franco-africain est instable et hétérogène sous toutes ses formes. Il existe des énoncés où les mots sont français mais leur ordre reste celui de la langue africaine. En somme, autant les langues africaines sont envahies par les structures et les mots français, autant la langue française se métamorphose en Afrique, donnant naissance à plusieurs variétés."}} Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries,{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/centrafrique.htm République centrafricaine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405113112/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/centrafrique.htm |date=5 April 2007 }}: {{lang|fr|Il existe une autre variété de français, beaucoup plus répandue et plus permissive : le français local. C'est un français très influencé par les langues centrafricaines, surtout par le sango. Cette variété est parlée par les classes non-instruites, qui n'ont pu terminer leur scolarité. Ils usent ce qu'ils connaissent du français avec des emprunts massifs aux langues locales. Cette variété peut causer des problèmes de compréhension avec les francophones des autres pays, car les interférences linguistiques, d'ordre lexical et sémantique, sont très importantes.}} (One example of a variety of African French that is difficult to understand for European French speakers). but written forms of the language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world.

{{Further|Languages of North America|Languages of South America|Languages of the Caribbean|French language in Canada}}

{{multiple image

| direction = vertical

| image1 = French language distribution in Canada.png

| caption1 = French language distribution in Canada

{{legend|#0049a2|Regions where French is the main language and an official language at both the federal and provincial level}}

{{legend|#006aFF|Regions where French is an official language at the federal level but not a majority native language or an official language at the provincial level}}

| image2 = Arret.jpg

| caption2 = The "arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in the Canadian province of Québec, while the English stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France and other French-speaking countries and regions.

}}

French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population).{{cite web |title=Profile table |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Quebec&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124,2021A000224&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&HEADERlist=15,13,18,12,16,14,17,45,46,47 |website=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population | date=9 February 2022 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=2024-11-13}}{{Cite web |title=Francophonie ("Qu'est-ce que la Francophonie?") |url=http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/francophonie/francophonie.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713040533/http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/francophonie/francophonie.htm |archive-date=13 July 2015 |access-date=6 July 2015 |website=axl.cefan.ulaval.ca}} French is the sole official language in the province of Quebec, where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal, which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers.{{cite web |title=Montreal |url=https://www.olympiccities.org/montreal/ |website=World Union of Olympic Cities |access-date=2024-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007092422/https://www.olympiccities.org/montreal/ |archive-date=2024-10-07}}{{cite news |last1=Péladeau |first1=Pierrot |title=Montréal n'est pas la deuxième ville française du monde |url=https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2014/09/13/montreal-nest-pas-la-deuxieme-ville-francaise-du-monde |access-date=2024-11-13 |work=Journal de Montréal |date=2014-09-13 |language=fr-ca}} New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories (Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population.{{Cite web |date=7 December 2010 |title=Detailed Mother Tongue (186), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) (2006 Census) |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=89201&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=701&Temporal=2006&Theme=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&GID=838089 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202091813/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=89201&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=701&Temporal=2006&Theme=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&GID=838089 |archive-date=2 February 2009 |access-date=22 February 2011 |publisher=2.statcan.ca}} Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario, the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in the language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario. Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa, the Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English,{{cite web |title=Services and communications from federal institutions |url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/language-rights/services-communications-federal-institutions |website=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=2024-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114030845/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/language-rights/services-communications-federal-institutions |archive-date=2024-11-14}} and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau.

File:French in the United States.png are not included.]]

According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth{{Cite web |title=Language Use in the United States: 2011, American Community Survey Reports, Camille Ryan, Issued August 2013 |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205101044/http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf |archive-date=5 February 2016 |access-date=18 February 2018}} most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire. In Louisiana, it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.{{Cite web |title=Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over : Universe: Population 5 years and over: 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates?? |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_5YR_B16001&prodType=table |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212054904/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_5YR_B16001&prodType=table |archive-date=2020-02-12 |access-date=2015-03-14 |publisher=Factfinder2.census.gov}} Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French. New England French, essentially a variant of Canadian French, is spoken in parts of New England. Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana), but is nearly extinct today.{{Cite book |last1=Ammon |first1=Ulrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=geh261xgI8sC |title=Status and Function of Languages and Language Varieties |last2=International Sociological Association |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-89925-356-5 |pages=306–08 |access-date=14 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104854/https://books.google.com/books?id=geh261xgI8sC |archive-date=18 September 2023 |url-status=live}} French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana, such as Mon Louis Island, Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in the 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct.

French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole. It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language; the rest largely speak French as a first language.{{Cite web |last1=DeGraff |first1=Michel |last2=Ruggles |first2=Molly |date=1 August 2014 |title=A Creole Solution for Haiti's Woes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/opinion/a-creole-solution-for-haitis-woes.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906084134/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/opinion/a-creole-solution-for-haitis-woes.html |archive-date=6 September 2015 |website=The New York Times |page=A17 |issn=0362-4331 |quote=Under the 1987 Constitution, adopted after the overthrow of Jean‑Claude Duvalier's dictatorship, {{bracket|Haitian}} Creole and French have been the two official languages, but most of the population speaks only Creole fluently.}} As a French Creole language, Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles.Ministère de l'Éducation nationale

French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in the Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies, namely Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, and Martinique.

French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent,{{Cite web |title=Guyana – World Travel Guide |url=http://www.worldtravelguide.net/french-guiana/history-language-culture |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018224639/http://www.worldtravelguide.net/french-guiana/history-language-culture |archive-date=18 October 2016 |access-date=17 October 2016}} and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon,{{Cite web |date=18 October 2021 |title=Saint Pierre and Miquelon |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-pierre-and-miquelon/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202195959/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-pierre-and-miquelon/ |archive-date=2 February 2021 |access-date=28 January 2021 |website=The World Factbook}} an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America.

{{See also|French language in Vietnam|French language in Laos|French language in Cambodia}}

French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina, comprising modern-day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades.{{Cite news |last=Richardson |first=Michael |date=16 October 1993 |title=French Declines in Indochina, as English Booms |language=en |work=International Herald Tribune |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/style/IHT-french-declines-in-indochina-as-english-booms.html |url-status=live |access-date=2018-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009172258/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/style/IHT-french-declines-in-indochina-as-english-booms.html |archive-date=9 October 2018}} In colonial Vietnam, the elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as "Tây Bồi" (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade.{{Cite web |last=Chiman |first=Aly |date=1 February 2007 |title=The Role of English in Vietnam's Foreign Language Policy: A Brief History |url=https://www.worldwide.rs/en/role-english-vietnams-foreign-language-policy-brief-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225034415/https://www.worldwide.rs/en/role-english-vietnams-foreign-language-policy-brief-history/ |archive-date=25 February 2021 |access-date=26 February 2021 |website=worldwide.rs}} However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as the other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language.Kirkpatrick, Andy and Anthony J. Liddicoat, The Routledge International Handbook of Language Education Policy in Asia., Routledge, 2019, p. 192

All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF).

{{See also|Indian French}}

French was the official language of French India, consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry. It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965.{{Cite news |date=14 September 2014 |title=English to continue as link language in Puducherry: Court |work=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/English-to-continue-as-link-language-in-Puducherry-Court/articleshow/42400463.cms |url-status=live |access-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021143645/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/English-to-continue-as-link-language-in-Puducherry-Court/articleshow/42400463.cms |archive-date=21 October 2021}} A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of the language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English.[https://www.france24.com/en/20130318-pondicherry-the-French-outpost-in-India Pondicherry, the French outpost in India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016075001/https://www.france24.com/en/20130318-pondicherry-the-French-outpost-in-India |date=16 October 2021 }}, France 24

{{See also|French language in Lebanon}}

File:Bienvenue a Rechmaya.jpg and French at the entrance of Rechmaya in Lebanon]]

A former French mandate, Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used".{{Cite web |last=Axel Tschentscher, LL.M. |title=Article 11 of the Lebanese Constitution |url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/le00000_.html#A011_ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116235845/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/le00000_.html#A011_ |archive-date=16 January 2013 |access-date=17 January 2013 |publisher=Servat.unibe.ch}} The French language in Lebanon is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people, and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates, and on official buildings (alongside Arabic).

Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon, with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone.{{sfn|OIF|2014|p=217}} The use of English is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French.{{sfn|OIF|2014|p=218}} Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value.{{sfn|OIF|2014|p=358}}

File:CFP 500 recto.jpg (€4.20; US$5.00) banknote, used in French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna]]

French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. It is the sole official language in the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and the overseas collectivities of Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia.{{Cite journal |last=Vernaudon |first=Jacques |date=2020-07-01 |title=Les langues polynésiennes et kanak, des « langues de France » en contexte de décolonisation |url=https://journals.openedition.org/glottopol/488 |journal=Glottopol. Revue de sociolinguistique en ligne |language=fr |issue=34 |doi=10.4000/glottopol.488 |issn=1769-7425}}

In New Caledonia, 97% of the population can speak, read and write French{{Cite web |title=P9-1 – Population de 14 ans et plus selon la connaissance du français, le sexe, par commune, "zone" et par province de résidence |url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/ir/rpnc04/dd/excel/rpnc04_P9-1.xls |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104854/https://www.insee.fr/fr/accueil |archive-date=18 September 2023 |access-date=3 October 2009 |publisher=Government of France |language=fr |format=XLS}} while in French Polynesia this figure is 95%,{{Cite web |last=Institut Statistique de Polynésie Française (ISPF) |title=Recensement 2017 – Données détaillées Langues |url=http://ispf.pf/bases/Recensements/2017/Donnees_detaillees/Langues.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407144500/http://ispf.pf/bases/Recensements/2017/Donnees_detaillees/Langues.aspx |archive-date=7 April 2019 |access-date=2019-04-07}} and in Wallis and Futuna, it is 84%.{{Cite web |last=STSEE |title=Les premiers résultats du recensement de la population 2018 – Principaux_tableaux_population_2018 |url=http://www.statistique.wf/wp-content/plugins/download-attachments/includes/download.php?id=921 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608211620/http://www.statistique.wf/wp-content/plugins/download-attachments/includes/download.php?id=921 |archive-date=8 June 2019 |access-date=2019-04-07 |language=fr |format=ODS}} In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal, French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census.{{Cite web |last=Institut Statistique de Polynésie Française (ISPF) |title=Recensement 2007 – Données détaillées Langues |url=http://ispf.pf/bases/Recensements/2007/Details/Langues.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218054513/http://ispf.pf/bases/Recensements/2007/Details/Langues.aspx |archive-date=18 February 2020 |access-date=2019-04-07}} In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census.{{Cite web |title=Tableau Pop_06_1: Population selon le sexe, la connaissance du français et l'âge décennal |url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/bases-de-donnees/irweb/rpwf08/dd/excel/rpwf08_Pop_06.xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604180112/http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/bases-de-donnees/irweb/rpwf08/dd/excel/rpwf08_Pop_06.xls |archive-date=2011-06-04 |access-date=3 October 2009 |publisher=Government of France |language=fr |format=XLS}}

According to a demographic projection led by the {{lang|fr|Université Laval|italic=no}} and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, the total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa.{{Cite web |date=24 November 2004 |title=Agora: La francophonie de demain |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/non-classe/69236/agora-la-francophonie-de-demain |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104416/https://www.ledevoir.com/non-classe/69236/agora-la-francophonie-de-demain |archive-date=18 September 2023 |access-date=13 June 2011}} OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa.

In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes, the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050.{{Cite web |last=Gobry |first=Pascal-Emmanuel |title=Want To Know The Language Of The Future? The Data Suggests It Could Be...French |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/03/21/want-to-know-the-language-of-the-future-the-data-suggests-it-could-be-french/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181751/http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/03/21/want-to-know-the-language-of-the-future-the-data-suggests-it-could-be-french/ |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=8 August 2017 |website=Forbes}}{{Better source needed|date=December 2023}}

In the European Union, French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains the preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union, where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture. Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union.{{Cite web |date=17 October 2019 |title=Focus – EU after Brexit: Will the French language make a comeback? |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20191017-eu-after-brexit-will-the-french-language-make-a-comeback-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002121351/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20191017-eu-after-brexit-will-the-french-language-make-a-comeback-1 |archive-date=2 October 2020 |access-date=16 September 2020 |publisher=France 24}}

{{Main|Varieties of French}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• African French
• Maghreb French (North African French)
• Aostan French
• Belgian French
• Cambodian French
• Canadian French
• Acadian French
• Newfoundland French
• New England French
• Ontario French
• Quebec French
• French French
• Guianese French
• Meridional French
• Haitian French
• Indian French
• Jersey Legal French
• Lao French
• Louisiana French
• Cajun French
• Missouri French
• South East Asian French
• Swiss French
• Vietnamese French
• West Indian French

{{div col end}}

File:Dialects of the french language.png

According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022,{{Cite web |title=La langue française dans le monde |url=https://www.francophonie.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/Synth%C3%A8se_La_langue_fran%C3%A7aise_dans_le_monde_2022.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317150259/https://www.francophonie.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/Synth%C3%A8se_La_langue_fran%C3%A7aise_dans_le_monde_2022.pdf |archive-date=17 March 2022 |access-date=30 March 2022}} without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses.{{Cite web |date=6 November 2014 |title=French language is on the up, report reveals |url=http://www.thelocal.fr/20141106/french-speakers-world-language-english |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901065140/http://www.thelocal.fr/20141106/french-speakers-world-language-english |archive-date=1 September 2015 |access-date=30 August 2015 |website=thelocal.fr}} A leading world language, French is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence, education, and diplomacy.Kai Chan, Distinguished Fellow, INSEAD Innovation and Policy Initiative, [https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/these-are-the-most-powerful-languages-in-the-world/ "These are the most powerful languages in the world"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324152019/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/these-are-the-most-powerful-languages-in-the-world/ |date=24 March 2019 }}, World Economic Forum, December 2016

In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat's only two working languagesRodney Ball, Dawn Marley, The French-Speaking World: A Practical Introduction to Sociolinguistic Issues, Taylor & Francis, 2016, page 6), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union, an official language of NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest, one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency, World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English).{{Cite web |last=The French Ministry of Foreign affairs |title=France-Diplomatie |url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/article_imprim.php3?id_article=15179 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119053541/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/article_imprim.php3?id_article=15179 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |access-date=26 July 2011 |website=France Diplomatie: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development}} Given the demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future".{{Cite web |last=Gobry |first=Pascal-Emmanuel |date=21 March 2014 |title=Want To Know The Language of the Future? The Data Suggests It Could Be...French |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/03/21/want-to-know-the-language-of-the-future-the-data-suggests-it-could-be-french/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181751/http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/03/21/want-to-know-the-language-of-the-future-the-data-suggests-it-could-be-french/ |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=2018-11-18 |website=Forbes}} However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Significant as a judicial language, French is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body. It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights's two working languages.{{cite journal |first=Mathilde |last=Cohen |title=On the Linguistic Design of Multinational Courts – The French Capture |journal=International Journal of Constitutional Law |volume=14 |issue=2 |date=April 2016 |pages=498–517 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/mow023 |doi=10.1093/icon/mow023 |access-date=20 June 2024 |archive-date=22 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722173000/https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/14/2/498/2526798 |url-status=live }}

In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today, a comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages".[https://web.archive.org/web/20130507110651/http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm The World's 10 most influential languages], George Weber, 1997, Language Today, retrieved on scribd.com In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations, the economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged."

Knowledge of French is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%).{{Cite news |last=Burns |first=Judith |date=2014-06-22 |title=Foreign languages 'shortfall' for business, CBI says |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/education-27948049 |url-status=live |access-date=2018-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230172911/https://www.bbc.com/news/education-27948049 |archive-date=30 December 2018}} MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in the workplace.{{Cite news |last=Johnson |date=9 December 2017 |title=Johnson: What is a foreign language worth? |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2014/03/language-study |url-status=live |access-date=9 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209204031/https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2014/03/language-study |archive-date=9 December 2017}}

In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese.{{Citation |last=Lauerman |first=John |title=Mandarin Chinese Most Useful Business Language After English |date=30 August 2011 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-08-30/mandarin-chinese-most-useful-business-language-after-english-1- |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329042844/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-08-30/mandarin-chinese-most-useful-business-language-after-english-1-#content |url-status=live |place=New York |quote=French, spoken by 68 million people worldwide and the official language of 27 countries, was ranked second {{bracket|to Mandarin}}. |archive-date=29 March 2015 |mode=cs1}}

In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of the country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught.

{{Main|French phonology}}

File:10-07-2013 - Mary Robinson juge « inacceptables » les violences faites aux femmes en RDC - VOA.ogg

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center

|+Consonant phonemes in French

!colspan=2|

!Labial

!Dental/
Alveolar

!Palatal/
Postalveolar

!Velar/
Uvular

|-

!colspan=2| Nasal

| {{IPA link|m}}

| {{IPA link|n}}

| {{IPA link|ɲ}}

| ({{IPA link|ŋ}})

|-

!rowspan=2| Stop

! {{small|voiceless}}

| {{IPA link|p}}

| {{IPA link|t̪|t}}

|

| {{IPA link|k}}

|-

! {{small|voiced}}

| {{IPA link|b}}

| {{IPA link|d̪|d}}

|

| {{IPA link|ɡ}}

|-

!rowspan=2| Fricative

! {{small|voiceless}}

| {{IPA link|f}}

| {{IPA link|s}}

| {{IPA link|ʃ}}

| rowspan=2 |{{IPA link|ʁ}}

|-

! {{small|voiced}}

| {{IPA link|v}}

| {{IPA link|z}}

| {{IPA link|ʒ}}

|-

!rowspan=2|Approximant

!{{small|plain}}

|

| {{IPA link|l}}

| {{IPA link|j}}

|

|-

!{{small|labial}}

|

|

| {{IPA link|ɥ}}

| {{IPA link|w}}

|-

|}

Vowel phonemes in French

{|

|- style="vertical-align: top;"

|

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+ Oral

|-

! rowspan="2" |

! colspan="2" | Front

! rowspan="2" | Central

! rowspan="2" | Back

|-

! {{small|unrounded}}

! {{small|rounded}}

|- class="nounderlines"

! Close

| {{IPA link|i}}

| {{IPA link|y}}

|

| {{IPA link|u}}

|- class="nounderlines"

! Close-mid

| {{IPA link|e}}

| {{IPA link|ø}}

| rowspan="2" | ({{IPA link|ə}})

| {{IPA link|o}}

|- class="nounderlines"

! Open-mid

| {{IPA link|ɛ}}/({{IPA link|ɛː}})

| {{IPA link|œ}}

| {{IPA link|ɔ}}

|- class="nounderlines"

! Open

| {{IPA link|a}}

|

|

| ({{IPA link|ɑ}})

|}

| valign="top" |

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

|+Nasal

! rowspan="2" |

! colspan="2" | Front

! rowspan="2" | Back

|-

! {{small|unrounded}}

! {{small|rounded}}

|- class="nounderlines"

! Open-mid

| {{IPA link|ɛ̃}}

| ({{IPA link|œ̃}})

| {{IPA link|ɔ̃}}

|- class="nounderlines"

! Open

|

|

| {{IPA link|ɑ̃}}

|}

|}

Although there are many French regional accents, foreign learners normally use only one variety of the language.

• There are a maximum of 17 vowels in French, not all of which are used in every dialect: {{IPA|/a/, /ɑ/, /e/, /ɛ/, /ɛː/, /ə/, /i/, /o/, /ɔ/, /y/, /u/, /œ/, /ø/,}} plus the nasalized vowels {{IPA|/ɑ̃/, /ɛ̃/, /ɔ̃/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}}. In France, the vowels {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/ɛː/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}} are tending to be replaced by {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}} in many people's speech, but the distinction of {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}} is present in Meridional French. In Quebec and Belgian French, the vowels {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/ə/}}, {{IPA|/ɛː/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}} are present.
• Voiced stops (i.e., {{IPA|/b, d, ɡ/}}) are typically produced fully voiced throughout.
• Voiceless stops (i.e., {{IPA|/p, t, k/}}) are unaspirated.
• The velar nasal {{IPA|/ŋ/}} can occur in final position in borrowed (usually English) words: parking, camping, swing.
• The palatal nasal {{IPA|/ɲ/}}, which is written ⟨gn⟩, can occur in word initial position (e.g., gnon), but it is most frequently found in intervocalic, onset position or word-finally (e.g., montagne).
• French has three pairs of homorganic fricatives distinguished by voicing, i.e., labiodental {{IPA|/f/~/v/}}, dental {{IPA|/s/~/z/}}, and palato-alveolar {{IPA|/ʃ/~/ʒ/}}. {{IPA|/s/~/z/}} are dental, like the plosives {{IPA|/t/~/d/}} and the nasal {{IPA|/n/}}.
• French has one rhotic whose pronunciation varies considerably among speakers and phonetic contexts. In general, it is described as a voiced uvular fricative, as in {{IPA|[ʁu]}} {{Wikt-lang|fr|roue}}, "wheel". Vowels are often lengthened before this segment. It can be reduced to an approximant, particularly in final position (e.g., fort), or reduced to zero in some word-final positions. For other speakers, a uvular trill is also common, and an apical trill {{IPA|[r]}} occurs in some dialects. The cluster /ʁw/ is generally pronounced as a labialised voiced uvular fricative [ʁʷ], such as in [ʁʷa] roi, "king", or [kʁʷaʁ] croire, "to believe".
• Lateral and central approximants: The lateral approximant {{IPA|/l/}} is unvelarised in both onset (lire) and coda position (il). In the onset, the central approximants {{IPA|[w]}}, {{IPA|[ɥ]}}, and {{IPA|[j]}} each correspond to a high vowel, {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/y/}}, and {{IPA|/i/}} respectively. There are a few minimal pairs where the approximant and corresponding vowel contrast, but there are also many cases where they are in free variation. Contrasts between {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/i/}} occur in final position as in {{IPA|/pɛj/}} {{Wikt-lang|fr|paye}}, "pay", vs. {{IPA|/pɛi/}} {{Wikt-lang|fr|pays}}, "country".
• The lateral approximant /l/ can be delateralised when word- or morpheme-final and preceded by /i/, such as in /tʁavaj/ travail, "work", or when a word ending in ⟨al⟩ is pluralised, giving ⟨aux⟩ /o/.

French pronunciation follows strict rules based on spelling, but French spelling is often based more on history than phonology. The rules for pronunciation vary between dialects, but the standard rules are:

• Final single consonants, in particular s, x, z, t, d, n, p and g, are normally silent. (A consonant is considered "final" when no vowel follows it even if one or more consonants follow it.) The final letters f, k, q, and l, however, are normally pronounced. The final c is sometimes pronounced, as in bac, sac, roc, but can also be silent, as in blanc or estomac. The final r is usually silent when it follows an e in a word of two or more syllables, but it is pronounced in some words (hiver, super, cancer etc.).
• When the following word begins with a vowel, however, a silent consonant may once again be pronounced, to provide a liaison or "link" between the two words. Some liaisons are mandatory, for example the s in les amants or vous avez; some are optional, depending on dialect and register, for example, the first s in deux cents euros or euros irlandais; and some are forbidden, for example, the s in beaucoup d'hommes aiment. The t of et is never pronounced and the silent final consonant of a noun is only pronounced in the plural and in set phrases like pied-à-terre.
• Doubling a final n and adding a silent e at the end of a word (e.g., chien → chienne) makes it clearly pronounced. Doubling a final l and adding a silent e (e.g., gentil → gentille) adds a [j] sound if the l is preceded by the letter i.
• Some monosyllabic function words ending in a or e, such as je and que, drop their final vowel when placed before a word that begins with a vowel sound (thus avoiding a hiatus). The missing vowel is replaced by an apostrophe. (e.g., *je ai is instead pronounced and spelled j'ai). This gives, for example, the same pronunciation for l'homme qu'il a vu ("the man whom he saw") and l'homme qui l'a vu ("the man who saw him"). However, in Belgian French the sentences are pronounced differently; in the first sentence the syllable break is as "qu'il-a", while the second breaks as "qui-l'a". It can also be noted that, in Quebec French, the second example (l'homme qui l'a vu) has more emphasis on l'a vu.

{{Main|French alphabet|French braille}}

French is written with the 26 letters of the basic Latin script, with four diacritics appearing on vowels (circumflex accent, acute accent, grave accent, diaeresis) and the cedilla appearing in "ç".

There are two ligatures, "œ" and "æ", but they are often replaced in contemporary French with "oe" and "ae", because the ligatures do not appear on the AZERTY keyboard layout used in French-speaking countries. However this is nonstandard in formal and literary texts.

{{Main|French orthography|Reforms of French orthography}}

French spelling, like English spelling, tends to preserve obsolete pronunciation rules. This is mainly due to extreme phonetic changes since the Old French period, without a corresponding change in spelling. Moreover, some conscious changes were made to restore Latin orthography (as with some English words such as "debt"):

• Old French doit > French {{lang|fr|doigt}} "finger" (Latin digitus)
• Old French pie > French {{lang|fr|pied}} "foot" [Latin pes (stem: ped-)]

French orthography is morphophonemic. While it contains 130 graphemes that denote only 36 phonemes, many of its spelling rules are likely due to a consistency in morphemic patterns such as adding suffixes and prefixes.{{Cite journal |last=Fejzo |first=Anila |year=2016 |title=The contribution of morphological awareness to the spelling of morphemes and morphologically complex words in French |url=http://rdcu.be/uA31 |url-status=live |journal=Reading and Writing |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=207–228 |doi=10.1007/s11145-015-9586-8 |s2cid=254991244 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918104944/https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s11145-015-9586-8?shared_access_token=fj3EbiOoyzam8UKhuwMLtPe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY6fqyfpaJaRk9LHTIT6OGlsX30X2E-ygdp9IcmNMMJ-sUHcSCP8TabLegoxOiizuZUCJYNRFSat2jXB-gmvw2Aim8kDwrBN04SUgZBOarccG3rb8CWKC79DANVZ7NhL5Gw= |archive-date=18 September 2023 |access-date=2017-07-30}} Many given spellings of common morphemes usually lead to a predictable sound. In particular, a given vowel combination or diacritic generally leads to one phoneme. However, there is not a one-to-one relation of a phoneme and a single related grapheme, which can be seen in how tomber and tombé both end with the /e/ phoneme.{{Cite journal |last1=Brissaud |first1=Catherine |last2=Chevrot |first2=Jean-Pierre |year=2011 |title=The late acquisition of a major difficulty of French inflectional orthography: The homophonic /E/ verbal endings |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00785731/file/Brissaud_Chevrot_2011_.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Writing Systems Research |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=129–44 |doi=10.1093/wsr/wsr003 |s2cid=15072817 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922175316/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00785731/file/Brissaud_Chevrot_2011_.pdf |archive-date=22 September 2019 |access-date=22 September 2019}} Additionally, there are many variations in the pronunciation of consonants at the end of words, demonstrated by how the x in paix is not pronounced though at the end of Aix it is.

As a result, it can be difficult to predict the spelling of a word based on the sound. Final consonants are generally silent, except when the following word begins with a vowel (see Liaison (French)). For example, the following words end in a vowel sound: pied, aller, les, {{lang|fr|finit}}, beaux. The same words followed by a vowel, however, may sound the consonants, as they do in these examples: beaux-arts, les amis, pied-à-terre.

French writing, as with any language, is affected by the spoken language. In Old French, the plural for animal was animals. The {{IPA|/als/}} sequence was unstable{{explain|date=March 2025}} and was turned into a diphthong {{IPA|/aus/}}. This change was then reflected in the orthography: animaus. The us ending, very common in Latin, was then abbreviated by copyists (monks) to the letter x, resulting in a written form animax. As the French language further evolved, the pronunciation of au turned into {{IPA|/o/}} so that the u was reestablished in orthography for consistency, resulting in modern French animaux (pronounced first {{IPA|/animos/}} before the final {{IPA|/s/}} was dropped in contemporary French). The same is true for cheval pluralized as chevaux and many others. In addition, castel pl. castels became château pl. châteaux.

• Nasal: n and m. When n or m follows a vowel or diphthong, the n or m becomes silent and causes the preceding vowel to become nasalized (i.e., pronounced with the soft palate extended downward so as to allow part of the air to leave through the nostrils). Exceptions are when the n or m is doubled, or immediately followed by a vowel. The prefixes en- and em- are always nasalized. The rules are more complex than this but may vary between dialects.
• Digraphs: French uses not only diacritics to specify its large range of vowel sounds and diphthongs, but also specific combinations of vowels, sometimes with following consonants, to show which sound is intended.
• Gemination: Within words, double consonants are generally not pronounced as geminates in modern French (but geminates can be heard in the cinema or TV news from as recently as the 1970s, and in very refined elocution they may still occur). For example, illusion is pronounced {{IPA|[ilyzjɔ̃]}} and not {{IPA|[ilːyzjɔ̃]}}. However, gemination does occur between words; for example, une info ("a news item" or "a piece of information") is pronounced {{IPA|[ynɛ̃fo]}}, whereas une nympho ("a nymphomaniac") is pronounced {{IPA|[ynːɛ̃fo]}}.
• Accents are used sometimes for pronunciation, sometimes to distinguish similar words, and sometimes based on etymology alone.
• Accents that affect pronunciation
• The acute accent ({{lang|fr|l'accent aigu}}) é (e.g., école—school) means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/e/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}.
• The grave accent ({{lang|fr|l'accent grave}}) è (e.g., élève—pupil) means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}.
• The circumflex ({{lang|fr|l'accent circonflexe}}) ê (e.g. forêt—forest) shows that an e is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and that an ô is pronounced {{IPA|/o/}}. In standard French, it also signifies a pronunciation of {{IPA|/ɑ/}} for the letter â, but this differentiation is disappearing. In the mid-18th century, the circumflex was used in place of s after a vowel, where that letter s was not pronounced. Thus, forest became forêt, hospital became hôpital, and hostel became hôtel.
• Diaeresis or {{lang|fr|tréma}} (ë, ï, ü, ÿ): over e, i, u or y, indicates that a vowel is to be pronounced separately from the preceding one: naïve, Noël.
• ö {{clarify|reason=Description of "ö" needed, e.g. as in "alcoöl''.|date=March 2025}}
• The combination of e with diaeresis following o (Noël {{IPA|fr|ɔɛ|}}) is nasalized in the regular way if followed by n (Samoëns {{IPA|fr|wɛ̃|}})
• The combination of e with diaeresis following a is either pronounced {{IPA|fr|ɛ|}} (Raphaël, Israël {{IPA|fr|aɛ|}}) or not pronounced, leaving only the a (Staël {{IPA|fr|a|}}) and the a is nasalized in the regular way if aë is followed by n (Saint-Saëns {{IPA|fr|ɑ̃|}})
• A diaeresis on y only occurs in some proper names and in modern editions of old French texts. Some proper names in which ÿ appears include Aÿ (a commune in Marne, formerly Aÿ-Champagne), {{lang|fr|Rue des Cloÿs}} (an alley in Paris), Croÿ (family name and hotel on the Boulevard Raspail, Paris), {{ill|Château du Faÿ|fr}} (near Pontoise), Ghÿs (name of Flemish origin spelt Ghijs where ij in handwriting looked like ÿ to French clerks), L'Haÿ-les-Roses (commune near Paris), Pierre Louÿs (author), Moÿ-de-l'Aisne (commune in Aisne and a family name), and Le Blanc de Nicolaÿ (an insurance company in eastern France).
• The diaeresis on u appears in the Biblical proper names Archélaüs, Capharnaüm, Emmaüs, Ésaü, and Saül, as well as French names such as Haüy. Nevertheless, since the 1990 orthographic changes, the diaeresis in words containing guë (such as aiguë or ciguë) may be moved onto the u: aigüe, cigüe, and by analogy may be used in verbs such as j'argüe.
• In addition, words coming from German retain their umlaut (ä, ö and ü) if applicable but use often French pronunciation, such as Kärcher (trademark of a pressure washer).
• The cedilla ({{lang|fr|la cédille}}) ç (e.g., garçon—boy) means that the letter ç is pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the back vowels a, o and u (c is otherwise {{IPA|/k/}} before a back vowel). C is always pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the front vowels e, i, and y, thus ç is never found in front of front vowels. This letter is used when a front vowel after ⟨c⟩, such as in France or placer, is replaced with a back vowel. To retain the pronunciation of the ⟨c⟩, it is given a cedilla, as in français or plaçons.
• Accents with no pronunciation effect
• The circumflex does not affect the pronunciation of the letters i or u, nor, in most dialects, a. It usually indicates that an s came after it long ago, as in île (from former isle, compare with English word "isle"). The explanation is that some words share the same orthography, so the circumflex is put here to mark the difference between the two words. For example, dites (you say) / dîtes (you said), or even du (of the) / dû (past participle for the verb devoir = must, have to, owe; in this case, the circumflex disappears in the plural and the feminine).
• All other accents are used only to distinguish similar words, as in the case of distinguishing the adverbs {{lang|fr|là}} and {{lang|fr|où}} ("there", "where") from the article {{lang|fr|la}} ("the" feminine singular) and the conjunction {{lang|fr|ou}} ("or"), respectively.

Some proposals exist to simplify the existing writing system, but they still fail to gather interest.{{in lang|fr}} [http://fonetik.fr/index-en.html Fonétik.fr writing system proposal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513070255/http://fonetik.fr/index-en.html |date=13 May 2012 }}.{{in lang|fr}} [http://sites.google.com/site/ortofasil/ Ortofasil writing system proposal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414052201/http://sites.google.com/site/ortofasil/ |date=14 April 2009 }}.{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.alfograf.net/ Alfograf writing system proposal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112135144/http://www.alfograf.net/ |date=12 January 2010 }}.{{in lang|fr}} [http://ortograf.net/ Ortograf.net writing system proposal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929182843/http://www.ortograf.net/ |date=29 September 2009 }}.

In 1990, a reform accepted some changes to French orthography. At the time the proposed changes were considered to be suggestions. In 2016, schoolbooks in France began to use the newer recommended spellings, with instruction to teachers that both old and new spellings be deemed correct.{{Cite news |date=2016-02-05 |title=End of the circumflex? Changes in French spelling cause uproar |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35496893 |url-status=live |access-date=2017-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531103153/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35496893 |archive-date=31 May 2018}}

{{Main|French grammar}}

French is a moderately inflected language. Nouns and most pronouns are inflected for number (singular or plural, though in most nouns the plural is pronounced the same as the singular even if spelled differently); adjectives, for number and gender (masculine or feminine) of their nouns; personal pronouns and a few other pronouns, for person, number, gender, and case; and verbs, for tense, aspect, mood, and the person and number of their subjects. Case is primarily marked using word order and prepositions, while certain verb features are marked using auxiliary verbs. According to the French lexicogrammatical system, French has a rank-scale hierarchy with clause as the top rank, which is followed by group rank, word rank, and morpheme rank. A French clause is made up of groups, groups are made up of words, and lastly, words are made up of morphemes.{{Cite book |last1=Caffarel |first1=Alice |title=Language Typology: A Functional Perspective |last2=Martin |first2=J.R. |last3=Matthiessen |first3=Christian M.I.M |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia}}

French grammar shares several notable features with most other Romance languages, including

• the loss of Latin declensions
• the loss of the neuter gender
• the development of grammatical articles from Latin demonstratives
• the loss of certain Latin tenses and the creation of new tenses from auxiliaries.

Every French noun is either masculine or feminine. Because French nouns are not inflected for gender, a noun's form cannot specify its gender. For nouns regarding the living, their grammatical genders often correspond to that which they refer to. For example, a male teacher is an enseignant while a female teacher is an enseignante. However, plural nouns that refer to a group that includes both masculine and feminine entities are always masculine. So a group of two male teachers would be enseignants. A group of two male teachers and two female teachers would still be enseignants. However, a group of two female teachers would be enseignantes. In many situations, including in the case of enseignant, both the singular and plural form of a noun are pronounced identically. The article used for singular nouns is different from that used for plural nouns and the article provides a distinguishing factor between the two in speech. For example, the singular le professeur or la professeure (the male or female teacher, professor) can be distinguished from the plural les professeur(e)s because le /lə/, la /la/, and les /le(s)/ are all pronounced differently. With enseignant, however, for both singular forms the le/la becomes l', and so the only difference in pronunciation is that the ⟨t⟩ on the end of masculine form is silent, whereas it is pronounced in the feminine. If the word was to be followed by a word starting with a vowel, then liaison would cause the ⟨t⟩ to be pronounced in both forms, resulting in identical pronunciation. There are also some situations where both the feminine and masculine form of a noun are the same and the article provides the only difference. For example, le dentiste refers to a male dentist while la dentiste refers to a female dentist. Furthermore, a few nouns' meanings depend on their gender. For example, un livre (masculine) refers to a book, while une livre a (feminine) is a pound.

{{Main|French verbs}}

The French language consists of both finite and non-finite moods. The finite moods include the indicative mood (indicatif), the subjunctive mood (subjonctif), the imperative mood (impératif), and the conditional mood (conditionnel). The non-finite moods include the infinitive mood (infinitif), the present participle (participe présent), and the past participle (participe passé).

The indicative mood makes use of eight tense-aspect forms. These include the present ({{lang|fr|présent}}), the simple past ({{lang|fr|passé composé}} and {{lang|fr|passé simple}}), the past imperfective ({{lang|fr|imparfait}}), the pluperfect ({{lang|fr|plus-que-parfait}}), the simple future ({{lang|fr|futur simple}}), the future perfect ({{lang|fr|futur antérieur}}), and the past perfect ({{lang|fr|passé antérieur}}). Some forms are less commonly used today. In today's spoken French, the {{lang|fr|passé composé}} is used while the {{lang|fr|passé simple}} is reserved for formal situations or for literary purposes. Similarly, the {{lang|fr|plus-que-parfait}} is used for speaking rather than the older {{lang|fr|passé antérieur}} seen in literary works.

Within the indicative mood, the {{lang|fr|passé composé}}, {{lang|fr|plus-que-parfait}}, {{lang|fr|futur antérieur}}, and {{lang|fr|passé antérieur}} all use auxiliary verbs in their forms.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Indicatif

|-

!rowspan="2"|

!colspan="2"| Présent

!colspan="2"| Imparfait

!colspan="2"| Passé composé

!colspan="2"| Passé simple

|-

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

|-

! 1st person

| j'aime

| nous aimons

| j'aimais

| nous aimions

| j'ai aimé

| nous avons aimé

| j'aimai

| nous aimâmes

|-

! 2nd person

| tu aimes

| vous aimez

| tu aimais

| vous aimiez

| tu as aimé

| vous avez aimé

| tu aimas

| vous aimâtes

|-

! 3rd person

| il/elle aime

| ils/elles aiment

| il/elle aimait

| ils/elles aimaient

| il/elle a aimé

| ils/elles ont aimé

| il/elle aima

| ils/elles aimèrent

|-

| colspan="9" |

|-

!rowspan="2"|

!colspan="2"| Futur simple

!colspan="2"| Futur antérieur

!colspan="2"| Plus-que-parfait

!colspan="2"| Passé antérieur

|-

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

|-

! 1st person

| j'aimerai

| nous aimerons

| j'aurai aimé

| nous aurons aimé

| j'avais aimé

| nous avions aimé

| j'eus aimé

| nous eûmes aimé

|-

! 2nd person

| tu aimeras

| vous aimerez

| tu auras aimé

| vous aurez aimé

| tu avais aimé

| vous aviez aimé

| tu eus aimé

| vous eûtes aimé

|-

! 3rd person

| il/elle aimera

| ils/elles aimeront

| il/elle aura aimé

| ils/elles auront aimé

| il/elle avait aimé

| ils/elles avaient aimé

| il/elle eut aimé

| ils/elles eurent aimé

|}

The subjunctive mood only includes four of the tense-aspect forms found in the indicative: present (présent), simple past (passé composé), past imperfective (imparfait), and pluperfect (plus-que-parfait).

Within the subjunctive mood, the passé composé and plus-que-parfait use auxiliary verbs in their forms.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Subjonctif

|-

!rowspan="2"|

!colspan="2"| Présent

!colspan="2"| Imparfait

!colspan="2"| Passé composé

!colspan="2"| Plus-que-parfait

|-

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

|-

! 1st person

| j'aime

| nous aimions

| j'aimasse

| nous aimassions

| j'aie aimé

| nous ayons aimé

| j'eusse aimé

| nous eussions aimé

|-

! 2nd person

| tu aimes

| vous aimiez

| tu aimasses

| vous aimassiez

| tu aies aimé

| vous ayez aimé

| tu eusses aimé

| vous eussiez aimé

|-

! 3rd person

| il/elle aime

| ils/elles aiment

| il/elle aimât

| ils/elles aimassent

| il/elle ait aimé

| ils/elles aient aimé

| il/elle eût aimé

| ils/elles eussent aimé

|}

The imperative is used in the present tense (with the exception of a few instances where it is used in the perfect tense). The imperative is used to give commands to you (tu), we/us (nous), and plural you (vous).

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Imperatif

|-

!rowspan="2"|

!colspan="2"| Présent

|-

! Singular

! Plural

|-

! 1st person

|

| aimons

|-

! 2nd person

| aime

| aimez

|}

The conditional makes use of the present (présent) and the past (passé).

The passé uses auxiliary verbs in its forms.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Conditionnel

|-

!rowspan="2"|

!colspan="2"| Présent

!colspan="2"| Passé

|-

! Singular

! Plural

! Singular

! Plural

|-

! 1st person

| j'aimerais

| nous aimerions

| j'aurais aimé

| nous aurions aimé

|-

! 2nd person

| tu aimerais

| vous aimeriez

| tu aurais aimé

| vous auriez aimé

|-

! 3rd person

| il/elle aimerait

| ils/elles aimeraient

| il/elle aurait aimé

| ils/elles auraient aimé

|}

French uses both the active voice and the passive voice. The active voice is unmarked while the passive voice is formed by using a form of verb {{lang|fr|être}} ("to be") and the past participle.

Example of the active voice:

• "{{lang|fr|Elle aime le chien.}}" She loves the dog.
• "{{lang|fr|Marc a conduit la voiture.}}" Marc drove the car.

Example of the passive voice:

• "{{lang|fr|Le chien est aimé par elle.}}" The dog is loved by her.
• "{{lang|fr|La voiture a été conduite par Marc.}}" The car was driven by Marc.

However, unless the subject of the sentence is specified, generally the pronoun on "one" is used:

• "{{lang|fr|On aime le chien.}}" The dog is loved. (Literally "one loves the dog.")
• "{{lang|fr|On conduit la voiture.}}" The car is (being) driven. (Literally "one drives the car.")

Word order is subject–verb–object although a pronoun object precedes the verb. Some types of sentences allow for or require different word orders, in particular inversion of the subject and verb, as in "{{lang|fr|Parlez-vous français ?}}" when asking a question rather than "{{lang|fr|Vous parlez français ?}}" Both formulations are used, and carry a rising inflection on the last word. The literal English translations are "Do you speak French?" and "You speak French?", respectively. To avoid inversion while asking a question, "{{lang|fr|Est-ce que}}" (literally "is it that") may be placed at the beginning of the sentence. "{{lang|fr|Parlez-vous français ?}}" may become "{{lang|fr|Est-ce que vous parlez français ?}}" French also uses verb–object–subject (VOS) and object–subject–verb (OSV) word order. OSV word order is not used often and VOS is reserved for formal writings.

{{Pie chart|caption=Root languages of loanwordsWalter & Walter 1998.|label1=English|value1=25.10|color1=#69f|label2=Other Germanic languages|value2=20.65|color2=#30c|label3=Italian|value3=16.83|color3=#06f|label4=Other Romance languages|label5=Celtic|label6=Persian and Sanskrit|label7=Native American|label8=Other Asian languages|label9=Afro-Asiatic|label10=Balto-Slavic|label11=Basque|label12=Other languages|color4=#399|color5=#030|color6=#9cf|color7=#3f0|color8=#9c0|color9=#000|color10=#60f|color11=#360|color12=#fff|value4=15.26|value5=3.81|value6=2.67|value7=2.41|value8=2.12|value9=6.45|value10=1.31|value11=0.24|value12=3.43}}

The majority of French words derive from Vulgar Latin or were constructed from Latin or Greek roots. In many cases, a single etymological root appears in French in a "popular" or native form, inherited from Vulgar Latin, and a learned form, borrowed later from Classical Latin. The following pairs consist of a native noun and a learned adjective:

• brother: frère / fraternel from Latin frater / fraternalis
• finger: doigt / digital from Latin digitus / digitalis
• faith: foi / fidèle from Latin fides / fidelis
• eye: œil / oculaire from Latin oculus / ocularis

However, a historical tendency to Gallicise Latin roots can be identified, whereas English conversely leans towards a more direct incorporation of the Latin:

• rayonnement / radiation from Latin radiatio
• éteindre / extinguish from Latin exstinguere
• noyau / nucleus from Latin nucleus
• ensoleillement / insolation from Latin insolatio

There are also noun-noun and adjective-adjective pairs:

• thing/cause: chose / cause from Latin causa
• cold: froid / frigide from Latin frigidum

It can be difficult to identify the Latin source of native French words because in the evolution from Vulgar Latin, unstressed syllables were severely reduced and the remaining vowels and consonants underwent significant modifications.

More recently (1994) the linguistic policy (Toubon Law) of the French language academies of France and Quebec has been to provide French equivalents{{Cite news |date=1 October 2012 |title=French fight franglais with alternatives for English technology terms |work=Metro News |url=http://metro.co.uk/2012/10/01/french-fight-franglais-with-alternatives-for-english-technology-terms-590128/ |url-status=live |access-date=21 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517191211/http://metro.co.uk/2012/10/01/french-fight-franglais-with-alternatives-for-english-technology-terms-590128/ |archive-date=17 May 2013}} to (mainly English) imported words, either by using existing vocabulary, extending its meaning or deriving a new word according to French morphological rules. The result is often two (or more) co-existing terms for describing the same phenomenon.

• mercatique / marketing
• finance fantôme / shadow banking
• bloc-notes / notepad
• ailière / wingsuit
• tiers-lieu / coworking

It is estimated that 12% (4,200) of common French words found in a typical dictionary such as the Petit Larousse or Micro-Robert Plus (35,000 words) are of foreign origin (where Greek and Latin learned words are not seen as foreign). About 25% (1,054) of these foreign words come from English and are fairly recent borrowings. The others are some 707 words from Italian, 550 from ancient Germanic languages, 481 from other Gallo-Romance languages, 215 from Arabic, 164 from German, 160 from Celtic languages, 159 from Spanish, 153 from Dutch, 112 from Persian and Sanskrit, 101 from Native American languages, 89 from other Asian languages, 56 from other Afro-Asiatic languages, 55 from Balto-Slavic languages, 10 from Basque and 144 (about 3%) from other languages.

One study analyzing the degree of differentiation of Romance languages in comparison to Latin estimated that among the languages analyzed French has the greatest distance from Latin.{{Cite book |last=Pei |first=Mario |title=Story of Language |publisher=Lippincott |year=1949 |isbn=978-0-397-00400-3 |author-link=Mario Pei}} The French language's lexical similarity to a selection of other Romance languages is 89% with Italian, 80% with Sardinian, 78% with Rhaeto-Romance, and 75% with Romanian, Spanish and Portuguese.{{Cite journal |last=Brincat |first=Joseph M. |year=2005 |title=Maltese – an unusual formula |url=http://macmillandictionaries.com/MED-Magazine/February2005/27-LI-Maltese.htm |url-status=live |journal=MED Magazine |issue=27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050905023705/http://www.macmillandictionary.com/med-magazine/February2005/27-LI-Maltese.htm |archive-date=5 September 2005 |access-date=22 February 2008}}

The numeral system used in the majority of Francophone countries employs both decimal and vigesimal counting. After the use of unique names for the numbers 1–16, those from 17 to 69 are counted by tens, while twenty ({{lang|fr|vingt}}) is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 70 to 99. The French word for 80 is {{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}, literally "four twenties", and the word for 75 is {{lang|fr|soixante-quinze}}, literally "sixty-fifteen". The vigesimal method of counting is analogous to the archaic English use of score, as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70).

Belgian, Swiss, and Aostan FrenchJean-Pierre Martin, Description lexicale du français parlé en Vallée d'Aoste, éd. Musumeci, Quart, 1984. as well as that used in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, use different names for 70 and 90, namely {{lang|fr|septante}} and {{lang|fr|nonante}}. In Switzerland, depending on the local dialect, 80 can be {{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}} (Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) or {{lang|fr|huitante}} (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg). The Aosta Valley similarly uses {{lang|fr|huitante}} for 80. Conversely, Belgium and in its former African colonies use quatre-vingts for 80.

In Old French (during the Middle Ages), all numbers from 30 to 99 could be said in either base 10 or base 20, e.g. vint et doze (twenty and twelve) for 32, dous vinz et diz (two twenties and ten) for 50, uitante for 80, or nonante for 90.{{Cite book |last=Einhorn |first=E. |title=Old French: A Concise Handbook |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-521-09838-0 |location=Cambridge |page=110}}

The term octante was historically used in Switzerland for 80, but is now considered archaic.{{Cite web |title=Septante, octante (huitante), nonante |url=http://www.langue-fr.net/spip.php?article202 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904065004/http://www.langue-fr.net/spip.php?article202 |archive-date=4 September 2010 |access-date=19 July 2009 |website=langue-fr.net |language=fr}}. See also the English Wikipedia article on Welsh language, especially the section "Counting system" and its note on the influence of Celtic in the French counting system.

French, like most European languages, uses a space to separate thousands.{{Cite web |title=Questions de langue: Nombres (écriture, lecture, accord) |url=http://académie-française.fr/la-langue-francaise/questions-de-langue#57_strong-em-nombres-criture-lecture-accord-em-strong |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101052809/http://xn--acadmie-franaise-npb1a.fr/la-langue-francaise/questions-de-langue#57_strong-em-nombres-criture-lecture-accord-em-strong |archive-date=1 January 2015 |access-date=15 November 2015 |publisher=Académie française |language=fr}} The comma ({{langx|fr|virgule|link=no}}) is used in French numbers as a decimal point, i.e. "2,5" instead of "2.5". In the case of currencies, the currency markers are substituted for decimal point, i.e. "5$7" for "5 dollars and 7 cents".

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in French:

:{{lang|fr|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.}}{{Cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/pages/Language.aspx?LangID=frn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107194140/https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/pages/Language.aspx?LangID=frn |archive-date=7 January 2022 |access-date=7 January 2022 |website=ohchr.org}}

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:

: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.{{Cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |publisher=United Nations |access-date=7 January 2022 |archive-date=31 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731212304/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |url-status=live }}

{{Portal|France|Language}}

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{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |url=http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/projet/Rapport-OIF-2014.pdf |title=La langue française dans le monde 2014 |publisher=Nathan |year=2014 |isbn=978-2-09-882654-0 |language=fr |ref={{harvid|OIF|2014}} |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412002239/http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/projet/Rapport-OIF-2014.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2015 }}
• {{cite book |first=Eugeen |last=Roegiest |title=Vers les sources des langues romanes: Un itinéraire linguistique à travers la Romania |location=Leuven, Belgium |publisher=Acco |year=2006}}

• {{Cite book |last=Marc Fumaroli |url=https://archive.org/details/whenworldspokefr00fuma |title=When the World Spoke French |publisher=New York Review of Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-59017-375-6 |translator-last=Richard Howard |url-access=registration}}
• Nadeau, Jean-Benoît, and Julie Barlow (2006). The Story of French. (First U.S. ed.) New York: St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|0-312-34183-0}}.
• Ursula Reutner (2017). Manuel des francophonies. Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter. {{ISBN|978-3-11-034670-1}}

{{Sister project links |auto=1|wikt=Category:French language |commons=Category:French language |b=French |v=Topic:French |s=fr:Main Page |display=French language|d=Q150|iw=fr|voy=French phrasebook}}

• [http://www.fondation-alliancefr.org/ Fondation Alliance française]: an international organisation for the promotion of French language and culture {{in lang|fr}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170201102539/http://www.fle.fr/en/ Agence de promotion du FLE]: Agency for promoting French as a foreign language

• [http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/ Français interactif]: interactive French program, University of Texas at Austin
• [http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/ Tex's French Grammar], University of Texas at Austin
• [https://lingopolo.org/french/ Lingopolo French]
• [http://www.thelanguagemachine.co.uk/french-lessons-in-london/ French lessons in London], The Language machine

• Oxford Dictionaries [https://web.archive.org/web/20010516042450/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ French Dictionary]
• [http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-french Collins Online English↔French Dictionary]
• [http://www.cnrtl.fr/ Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales]: monolingual dictionaries (including the Trésor de la langue française), language corpora, etc.

{{For|other unilingual dictionaries|fr:Dictionnaire}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120206085345/http://www.verbix.com/languages/french.shtml French verb conjugation] at Verbix

• Swadesh list in English and French

• {{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Paul |title=French, Numbers |url=http://www.numberphile.com/videos/french_numbers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302235307/http://www.numberphile.com/videos/french_numbers.html |archive-date=2 March 2017 |access-date=7 April 2013 |website=Numberphile |publisher=Brady Haran}}

• {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120603081542/http://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/langue_francaise_monde_integral.pdf La langue française dans le monde 2010] (Full book freely accessible)

• "[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/francophony-1113/the-status-of-french-in-the-world/ The status of French in the world]". French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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