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French

"La Francophonie c'est cet humanisme int¨¦gral, qui se tisse autour de la terre..."
L¨¦opold Sedar Senghor

La Francophonie: facts and figures

51 member states and governments and four observer countries (representing roughly 25 per cent of United Nations member states)
Nearly 600 million people (roughly 10 per cent of the world's population)
97 million Francophones (language habitually spoken, regardless of whether it is the first language or not)
Presence on five continents
18 per cent of international trade flows
12 per cent of global production
A global annual budget of approximately $150 million (CHECK)
Most populated country: Vietnam (77 million)
Least populated country: Monaco (32,000)
Highest Francophone-populated country: France (58.4 million)
Lowest Francophone-populated country: Macedonia (500) and Equatorial Guinea (500)
Largest country: Canada (9,976,000 km2)
Smallest country: Monaco (1.95 km2)
Wealthiest country: Switzerland ($37,200 (1))
Poorest country: Burundi ($140) and Democratic Republic of the Congo ($140)

Spoken form of French

In the majority of member states and countries of La Francophonie, French is not the mother tongue of most of the population. Most of these countries, such as Canada, have more than one official language as well as several other frequently-used languages. This "Francophone universe," which represents almost 600 million people, is therefore quite diverse and includes countries in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific region.

Among the many varieties of spoken form one can denote the following:

French French
The original form of spoken French. The basis of the many diversities of the language. This form is widely understood by anyone with French as their primarily language for communication. It is distinguished by its clarity and adherence to the original syntax of the language.

Canadian French
The French language spoken in Quebec and the Maritime provinces. It is the French language brought there mainly from the northern, western and eastern parts of France, keeping the old French expressions, but influenced by the nature and the British culture of Canada.

Belgian, Luxembourger and Swiss French
The form of French spoken in Belgium, Luxembourg and the French part of Switzerland is almost the same as the French spoken in France.

African French
The form of French spoken in most of West Africa (such as Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Senegal) and some parts of the Arab world (such as Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) The written French in these countries is the same as in France and follows the grammatical and orthographical rules standardised by the French government. But there are differences in dialects and pronunciation and in the usage of vocabulary.

A common language

It is important to understand that although French has many variations; there is no such thing as a standard form of spoken French. There is a common misconception that people from Africa speak a completely different form of French. It is like saying that people from Paris do not speak French but rather "Parisian French". One should be aware of stereotypes.

African French, French French, Canadian French and Belgian French are all the same language but with slight nuances due to the level of education. The main differences lie in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary.

The same principle applies for the written form of the language. There is no such thing as written Canadian French or written African French. The language learnt through education is the same for all francophones.

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