French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is spoken by more than 200 million people living not only in Europe, but also in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Which countries use French? Where is it official and why?
Distribution in the world
French belongs to the Indo-European family and, together with Romanian, Italian, Portuguese, is part of the Romance group of languages. It comes from folk Latin, but compared to other languages of the group, it has departed much further from it in grammatical and lexical terms.
It is widely used in the world and ranks 14th in prevalence. The number of people for whom it is a native or second language is about 100 million. Another 100-150 million people know it and can easily speak it.
As a working or diplomatic language, French is used in various international organizations and entities, for example, in the European Union, Holy See, Benelux, UN, ICC, IOC, etc. It is spoken on all continents where there is permanent population. In addition to France, it has official status in 28 other states. These include:
- Benin.
- Guadeloupe.
- Gabon.
- Burkina Faso.
- Tunisia.
- Monaco.
- Niger.
- Mali.
- Burundi.
- Vanuatu.
- Madagascar.
- Comoros.
- Guiana and others.
Most modern French-speaking countries are former colonies. Since the 16th century, France has pursued an active foreign policy, seizing territories on other continents. There were two colonial periods in its history, during which its possessions included regions of South and North America, Asia, Africa, islands in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Europe
The state of France is located in the European part of the world. She did not have colonies in these territories, but there are several states in which her language is spoken. This happened thanks to numerous wars of conquest and political upheavals. So, Monaco came under its control in the 17th century, and today French is the only official language in this country. He had the same status in Belgium from 1830 to 1878.
Today, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland are only partially Francophone. They consider several languages to be state at once, each of which has an equal status. In Switzerland, French is spoken by about 23% of the population. It is especially common in the cantons of Wallis and Freiburg, and in the cantons of Vaud, Geneva, Jura and Neuchâtel it isthe only official one. In Andorra, French is not official, but it is spoken by about 8% of the population. It is taught in schools and used as a spoken and administrative language.
America
The French colonization of the American continents begins in the 16th century and continues until about the middle of the 18th century. In North America, its lands were called New France and covered the territory from Quebec and Newfoundland to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Later, these colonies went to Great Britain, and then they completely gained independence.
Today, French is spoken mainly in Canada, where it is the second state language. It is spoken by a quarter of the country's population, which is approximately 9 million people. Most of them live in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick. The largest French-speaking cities in Canada are Montreal and Quebec. Here it is spoken by about 90% of the citizens. In the US, French is the fourth most spoken language. It is spoken by 2-3 million people, mostly from Louisiana, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.
Some French colonies were located in South America and on the islands. Some of them are still among its overseas territories and communities. So, it includes the islands of Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthelemy, Guadeloupe, Martinique, as well as the largest overseas region of the country, French Guiana, located on the continent.
Africa
The largest number of French-speaking countries is in Africa. The development of the continent by Europeans began in the XV-XVI century, but progressed rather slowly. In the 19th century, it reached significant proportions and was called the “race for Africa.”
Many European empires participated in the colonization, constantly conflicting with each other. France occupied mainly the western and equatorial territories. Ivory, horns, feathers and skins of valuable animals, gold, precious stones, wood and slaves were exported from here.
Former African colonies have experienced various influences and have a very diverse population. Often they have several official languages, and at the local level their number reaches several dozen. At the administrative level, exclusively French-speaking countries are Benin, Gabon, Republic of Guinea, DRC, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Togo. In Rwanda, along with it, English and Kinyaranda are also used, in Mali and Burkina Faso - Banama, in Equatorial Guinea - Spanish and Portuguese.
In Mauritius, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Tunisia, French is an unofficial language and is often used in business and for international communication. In Morocco, it is considered as the second national after Berber. In Algeria, it is spoken and written by about 50% of the population, which is approximately 20 million people. The islands of Mayotte, Reunion are not only French-speaking, but also included in the list of overseas territories of France.
Asia and the Pacific
BIn Asia, French influence spread much less than in Africa or America. Here, its colonies began to appear only in the 19th century, spreading mainly in the Southeast and Oceania. The country owned a small area in India, the Middle East and Australia.
Officially Francophone countries today are Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Haiti, French Polynesia, located on the Pacific Islands. As a colloquial and working language, this language is used in Lebanon, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and in the Indian region of Pondicherry.
