Surely many dreamed of starting to learn French. Its extremely melodious and gentle sound leaves no one indifferent. But for a huge number of people on the planet, he is native. So, in which countries do they speak French?
Origin
The history of this language originates about two thousand years ago. Julius Caesar promptly burst into the territory of Gaul in 52 BC and, together with the customs of the Romans, brought Latin to the occupied lands.
But the Gauls did not intend to completely change their culture, so a few centuries later there appeared a popular Latin, which was much simpler and more understandable for the locals than the language that came into their life with the Romans.
Later, new invaders, the Franks, invaded the territory of modern France. The whole country got the name from the name of this Germanic tribe. Gallo-Romans and Franks lived side by side for many years, it was thanks to this unusual neighborhood that the French language appeared, which was convenient and understandable for both sides. Today it is he who is recognized as the official language of France.
What language do the French speak?
The French Republic accommodates immigrants from dozens of other states on its territory. On the streets of the capital you can see a huge number of Arabs and Asians. Despite this, the official language in France is one - French. The government is very strict to ensure that everyone who immigrated there has the opportunity to learn and use it in everyday life. There are even holidays dedicated to francophones. And knowing which countries speak French, one can understand where these dates are celebrated with the greatest scope.
Thus, the inhabitants of France speak both their native language (it can be Arabic, German or Portuguese), as well as French. But the latter is official not only in France. In which countries French is the state language, we will learn a little later.
In all corners of the planet
The language of Victor Hugo can be heard almost anywhere in the world. More than half of those who speak French live in Africa. It is, for example, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Congo and many other states. In the list of countries where it is considered official, there are 29 states located on all five continents. Among them are Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Monaco, Vietnam, Senegal and many others. That is why it ranks sixth in terms of prevalence in the world.
The official language in Canada, oddly enough, is also French. Along with English, it was recognized as state for the country, and about 7 million people speak it.
So, we found out in which countries they speak French. But this does not mean at all that outside of them there are no people who perfectly own it. You can learn it perfectly in almost any city in the world. Many people choose it even in the school curriculum, and someone seeks to tighten up colloquial speech before a romantic trip to Paris.
People who speak French are called Francophones. There is even a holiday dedicated to them, it is called International Day of Francophonie.
French day
Since 1970, March 20, around the world celebrate Francophonie Day. In order to feel your involvement in this event, it is absolutely not necessary to know the language itself perfectly. The desire to study and support the traditions and culture of France is much more appreciated. Celebrate the holiday on a grand scale, at the state level, meetings of politicians are held to discuss issues related to linguistics.
For citizens who are interested in the official language of France to one degree or another, many different seminars and conferences are held. Seminars are conducted by leading experts who talk about the history and development of this popular way of communication. Even if before you had no great desire to start studying it, then after visiting a number of events on Francophonie Day you will definitely have it.
So, dear readers, now you know in which countries they speak French, you can go there on March 20 and discover a lot of new, interesting things, and of course, chat with native speakers, which is considered best practice.