French - Language Overview

French is my third language. I started learning it two years after I started with English as French was my second foreign language of choice at school (I started English in fifth grade and French in seventh grade).

French

Geographical Extension

French is (one of the) official language(s) in more than 30 countries all over the world. Apart from France, Belgium, Luxombourg and Switzerland in Europe and parts of Canada in northern America, it is mostly spoken in Africa due to France's history as colonial power in many African countries.

Spoken by

French is spoken by about 110 million native speakers.

Language Family and History

French is one of the Romance languages which have their roots in ancient Latin. However, many Celtic words have found their way into modern French as well as Latin only slowly became the overall language. The French way of counting is supposed to be a relict of the Celtic language as well. Early trade and Germanic soldiers in the Roman army are responsible for the first Germanic words. Starting with the Franconian victory over the Romans in the 5th century, many Franconian words have found their way into the French language. It is remarkable, however, that the Franconian conquerers blended their language with the French (Latin) language instead of imposing their language upon their new territory.

In 842, the first documents were written in French (as opposed to Latin as before). Still, Latin stayed dominant in official writing for many centuries. Over time, Paris became the political centre of France, and thus, the French dialect spoken in Paris became the main language. While England was conquered by Normans, French was influenced by the English language. From the 17th century on, French became the language of the gentry all over Europe.

Grammar Difficulty

French grammar shows many similarities to German grammar, mostly in the declension of verbs, the tenses and the use of adjectives (matching the noun in gender and number). Thus said, the French grammar is more complex than the English grammar which makes it more difficult for English natives to learn it.

Pronunciation Difficulty

French pronunciation might look strange and difficult at first but once you get to know it, it is really easy. Unlike the English language, the French language only has one pronunciation for each set of letters. That means, once you know it, you are able to read aloud texts with completely unknown words as you can easily see the pronunciation. However, some of the specific sounds are difficult for non-native speakers.

Special Facts

French is official language in many international organisations like the European Union and the United Nations, and is still considered the lanugage of diplomacy. It is the second most learned foreign language worldwide behind English.