francophonie

Francophonie, francophonie and francophone space are syntagmatic. This expression is relevant to countries which speak French as their national language, may it be as a mother language or a secondary language.

These expressions are sometimes misunderstood or misused by English speakers. They can be synonymous but most of the time they are complementary.

• "francophonie", with a small "f", refers to populations and people who speak French for communication or/and in their daily lives.{{cite web|url=http://www.francophonie.org/-Qu-est-ce-que-la-Francophonie-.html|title=Qu'est-ce que la Francophonie ? - Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|website=francophonie.org|access-date=7 July 2016|archive-date=5 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205014158/http://www.francophonie.org/-Qu-est-ce-que-la-Francophonie-.html|url-status=dead}}
• "Francophonie", with a capital "F", can be defined as referring to the governments, governmental and non-governmental organisations or governing officials that share the use of French in their work and exchange.
• "Francophone space", "Francophone world", "Francosphere" represents not only a linguistic or geographic reality, but also a cultural entity: for example describing any individual who identifies with one of the francophone cultures, may it be Slavic, Latin, Creole, North American or Oceanian for example.{{cite web|url=http://www.francophonie.org/carto.html|title=Données et statistiques sur la langue française - Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|website=francophonie.org|access-date=7 July 2016|archive-date=23 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323225658/https://www.francophonie.org/carto.html|url-status=dead}}L'année francophone internationale, Québec, ACCT, 1994

The term francophonie was invented by Onésime Reclus in 1880: "We also put aside four large countries, Senegal, Gabon, Cochinchina and Cambodia, whose future from a "Francophone" point of view is still very doubtful, except perhaps for Senegal" (in French « Nous mettons aussi de côté quatre grands pays, le Sénégal, le Gabon, la Cochinchine, le Cambodge dont l’avenir au point de vue « francophone » est encore très douteux sauf peut-être pour le Sénégal »); and then used by geographers.{{Cite journal |last=Pinhas |first=Luc |date=2004 |title=Aux origines du discours francophone |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/colan_0336-1500_2004_num_140_1_3270 |journal=Communication & Langages |volume=140 |issue=1 |pages=69–82 |doi=10.3406/colan.2004.3270}}

During the Third Republic, the French language progressively gained importance.

The {{Lang|fr|Académie française}}, a French institution created in 1635 in charge of officially determining and unifying the rules and evolutions of the French language, participated in the promotion and the development of the French language.{{Cite web |title=La Francophonie: The History of the French Language Training School |url=https://www.languageconnections.com/blog/la-francophonie-the-history-of-the-famous-french-language-training-school/ |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=Language Connections |date=July 2022 |language=en-US}}

{{main|List of countries where French is an official language}}

The definition of the Francophone world is distinguished by countries and territories where French is an official language, those where it is the native language of the majority of the population, and those where the language is used as a working language of administration or where the language still has an important cultural impact and prestige. There are 50 countries and territories which fall into this category, although in some countries the Francosphere is limited to certain regions or states.{{cite journal|last=Vigouroux|first=Cecile|date=2013|title=Francophonie|url=https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145804|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=42|pages=379–397|doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145804}}

Being merely a member state of the OIF does not automatically make a country or territory "francophone" in the sense of the language having a major role in its society, be it as a working language or a strong cultural heritage to the French language. This is in part due to the OIF increasingly admitting new members based on loose criteria such as "significant second language learning" of French or parties interested in furthering the organisation's promotion of human rights, democracy, international cooperation, sustainable development, cultural and linguistic diversity, and education and training.Christian Rioux, "Franco... quoi?", Le Devoir, Montreal, 4 September 1999. Therefore, member states such as Romania, Egypt, and Armenia which have minimal to no connection with the French language and culture should not be considered as part of the Francophone world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.levif.be/actualite/international/la-francophonie-au-bord-de-la-cacophonie/article-normal-1037567.html|title=La Francophonie au bord de la cacophonie ?|first=Le|last=Vif|date=9 October 2018|website=Site-LeVif-FR|access-date=2 September 2019|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022094138/https://www.levif.be/actualite/international/la-francophonie-au-bord-de-la-cacophonie/article-normal-1037567.html|url-status=live}}

• List of countries and territories where French is an official language
• {{Lang|fr|Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|italic=no}}
• Agence universitaire de la Francophonie
• Francophone literature
• Institut Français
• Alliance française
• French language in Canada, Lebanon, United States, Minnesota, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
• Swiss, Belgian, and African French
• French-based creole languages
• Language geography
• Sprachraum
• Romandy

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Category:French language

Category:Country classifications

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