The French Language Under Attack?

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French people like to complain that the French language is under siege by English, the dominant language in the world. They talk about it as if the survival of French was at stake. In reality, the number of French speakers is growing in the world but it is particularly true in places you would not expect.

French is with English the only language that is spoken on all continents. There are about 200 million French speakers in the world. 72 million of them are classified as partial speakers. It ranks 9th in all spoken languages in terms of usage. French is spoken as a first or second language in 51 countries.

The French language is well alive and always evolving. Adoption of new words in the official dictionaries is up to the French Academy (l’’Academie Française) an independent institution whose role it is to protect and control the evolution of the French language.

In France, even the government has stepped in to officially replace or encourage French people to use newly created French words to replace new English words that do not have an equivalent in French. Examples are ecourrier for e-mail, pourriel for spam.

Certain industries like advertising, broadcasting and certain commercial communications like billing statements and direction manuals have to be written in French. The French went so far as to amend their constitution in 1992 so that French is now the official language of the Republic.

Contrary to popular belief, the number of French speakers is more important on the African continent (10% of the population) than in Europe. The United States counts 700,000 French speakers far behind Canada with 9,200,000. Most of them (6,800,000) are located in Québec. In the European Union, French is in second position in terms of usage, tied with Italian (16%), behind German and ahead of English (15.9%).

On the internet, French is somewhat underrepresented with only 5% of all web pages in French. One could say it is better than none which is the case for 90% of all languages. German does a little better with 7% of all pages and English takes the crown with no less than 45% of all web pages. English is the most studied language in the world but French is in second place.

One reason the French are may be a little paranoid about the place of French in the world is that they have been used to its prominent place. French has always been important in diplomacy. French was the chosen language for most treaties between nations in history. It was the favorite language of the Spanish Kings and Russian Tsars. It is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the Olympics and the African Union.

Because 3 out of 4 of the French speakers are located in countries with high birth rates, one can expect that the use of the French language is only going to keep growing. Africa for example counts the largest number of French speakers in the world and its population is supposed to double from 1995 to 2025, going from 728 millions to 1.49 billion.

Teach Me French Romance

Je t'aime.
I love you.

Mon petit ami.
My boyfriend.

Ma petite amie.
My girlfriend.


Je rêve de toi.
I dream of you.
On sort ensemble.
We date.

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Teach Me French:

More romance, introductions, travel, in a restaurant, directions

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Teach Me French

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Bonjour, je m'appelle Pierre.
Hello, my name is Pierre.

Comment ça va?
How are you?


Je vais bien, merci. Et toi?
I am doing well, thank you. And you?


Très bien, merci.
Very well, thank you.


Qu'est ce que tu fais à Paris?
What are you doing in Paris?

Je suis en vacances pour huit jours.
I am on vacation for 8 days.

Je visite les musées et j'apprends le français.
I visit museums and I learn French.

Apprends moi le Français.

Teach me French.

Au revoir
Goodbye
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Teach Me French

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Teach me some French I can use when traveling in France:

Introductions: It’s always good to be able to introduce yourself. First impressions are important and showing that you make an effort in French will win you points right away. Let’s start with the basics. “Bonjour, je m’appelle....John.” Hello, my name is John. “Je suis en vacances en France pour une semaine.” I am here on vacation in France for a week. Une semaine is a week. I am sure you guessed “vacances” stands for vacations. “Je suis américain”, I am american.

Directions: When in a foreign country we tend to spend a lot of time asking for directions. In France it is not considered unmanly to ask for directions, don’t hesitate. “S’ilvousplait, je cherche la Tour Eiffel”... I am looking for the Eiffel Tower. Starting with please (s’ilvousplait) is very appropriate and a good way to get somebody’s attention. “A droite” is to the right and “à gauche” is to the left. “Tout droit” is straight forward. “Tournez a gauche”, turn to the left and “Allez tout droit” is “go straight”.

Simple actions and wants: “Je vais au Musée” is I am going to the museum. “Je veux” is “I want”. “I want to buy a train ticket” would be: “je veux acheter un billet de train”. I am sure you guessed “un billet” is a ticket. “Téléphoner” is to make a phone call. “Je voudrais téléphoner” is I would like to make a phone call. Always good to know if you find out you cell phone has no connection.

In a restaurant: “Je voudrais voir le menu” is “I would like to see the menu”. “Je voudrais un steak frites” is very handy to order a steak and fries, a common dish you will find in every French restaurant unless you are visiting an upscale establishment. “Quel est le plat du jour?” What is the special of the day? The check, please: “L’addition s’ilvousplait.” “Où sont les toilettes?” will come in handy if you can’t find the restrooms. Don’t forget that gratuity is included in France, no need to tip.

In a hotel: I made a reservation is “J’ai réservé une chambre”. “ Je veux une chambre avec un grand lit” would be: I want a room with a large bed. Good to know that beds in France are usually smaller than in the U.S. A queen size bed is usually as large as it gets. “ Je voudrais le petit déjeuner dans ma chambre” will get you breakfast in your room. “Nous sommes la pour deux (2) jours” will let your host know you are staying for 2 days. If you are visiting an older establishment in Paris, make sure you ask for a room with its own bathroom: “une chambre avec salle de bains”.

Transportation: The subway (le Métro) is the easiest and cheapest way to get around Paris. “Où est la station de Métro?” is “where is the subway station?” Taxis in France are very safe and regulated. “Je vais au Musée d’Orsay” is all the taxi needs to know to get you to the D’Orsay museum. “Au plus court, s’ilsvouplait” will let him know you want him to take the shortest way. “ Gardez la monnaie” is “keep the change”.

Time: “Quelle heure est-il?” is “what time is it?” “A quelle heure?” is “at what time?” “Je reviens dans trois (3)heures” is “I come back in 3 hours”. “L’avion part à cinq (5) heures” means the plane leaves at 5 pm. “Je me réveille à huit (8) heures” is “I wake up at 8 am”. Don’t forget that in France they use military time, which means that 5 PM would be 17:00 or “Dix-sept (17) heures”.

Getting to know someone: “Comment allez vous?” is “How are you?” and goes well with a handshake jus like “enchanté” which simply means nice to meet you. “Merci” is of course “thank you”. “De rien” or “il n’y a pas de quoi” both stand for “you are welcome.” Don’t expect to hear it too often, as it is not expected as much in France. If you do something for someone and they say “thank you”, the exchange is considered balanced and nothing needs to be added. Finally, teach me French is "Apprenez moi le Français".

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