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FRENCH IS A VERY SILLY LANGUAGE, FOR FROGS, RIBBET RIBBET. FROM AMHERST REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
{{pp-move-indef|small=yes}}
{{Infobox language
|name = French
|nativename = français
|pronunciation = {{IPA|}}
|states = See ]
|year =
|ref =
|speakers = 75 million
|date = 2007
|ref = <ref>] "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007</ref>
|speakers2 = 220 million L1 and ] speakers (2010)<ref>. '']''. Retrieved 14 April 2010.</ref>
|familycolor = Indo-European
|fam2 = ]
|fam3 = ]
|fam4 = ]
|fam5 = ]
|fam6 = ]
|ancestor = ]
|ancestor2 = ]
|iso1 = fr
|iso2 = fri
|iso2b = fre
|iso2t = fra
|iso3 = fra
|lingua=51-AAA-i
|script = ] (])<br>]
|nation = {{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=]|
{{flag|Belgium}}|
{{flag|Benin}}|
{{flag|Burkina Faso}}|
{{flag|Burundi}}|
{{flag|Cameroon}}|
{{flag|Canada}}|
{{flag|Central African Republic}}|
{{flag|Chad}}|
{{flag|Comoros}}|
{{flag|Côte d'Ivoire}}|
{{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}|
{{flag|Djibouti}}|
{{flag|Equatorial Guinea}}|
{{flag|France}}|
{{flag|Gabon}}|
{{flag|Guinea}}|
{{flag|Haiti}}|
{{flag|Luxembourg}}|
{{flag|Madagascar}}|
{{flag|Mali}}|
{{flag|Monaco}}|
{{flag|Niger}}|
{{flag|Republic of the Congo}}|
{{flag|Rwanda}}|
{{flag|Senegal}}|
{{flag|Seychelles}}|
{{flag|Switzerland}}|
{{flag|Togo}}|
{{flag|Vanuatu}}|}}
<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=]|
{{flag|Algeria}}|
{{flag|Cambodia}}|
{{flag|Laos}}|
{{flag|Lebanon}}|
{{flag|Morocco}}|
{{flag|Mauritius}}|
{{flag|Mauritania}}|
{{flag|Syria}}|
{{flag|Tunisia}}|
{{flag|Vietnam}}|
}}
<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=]|
{{flag|Aosta Valley}}|
{{Flag icon|France}} ]|
{{flag|French Southern and Antarctic Lands}}|
{{flag|French Polynesia}}|
{{flag|Guernsey}}|
{{flag|Jersey}}|
{{flag|Louisiana}} ({{flag|USA}})|
{{flag|Maine}} ({{flag|USA}})|
{{flag|Mayotte}}|
{{flag|New Caledonia}}|
{{Flag icon|India}} ]|
{{flag|Saint-Barthélemy}}|
{{flag|Saint-Martin}}|
{{flag|Saint-Pierre and Miquelon}}|
{{flag|Wallis and Futuna}}|
}}<br />]
|agency = ] (French Academy)
|map=New-Map-Francophone World.PNG
|mapcaption=
{{legend|#0049a2|Regions where French is the main language}}
{{legend|#006aFF|Regions where it is an official language}}
{{legend|#8ec3ff|Regions where it is a second language}}
{{legend|#00ff00|Regions where it is a minority language}}
|notice=IPA
}}
{{French language}}
'''French''' ({{lang|fr|''le français''}} {{IPA-fr|lœ fʁ̥ɒ̃sɛ||Fr-le_français-fr-ouest.ogg}} or {{lang|fr|''la langue française''}} {{IPA-fr|la lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛz|}}) is a ] spoken as a first language in ], the ] region in ], ] and ] in ], ], the provinces of ] and ] (] region) in ], the U.S. state of ], the ] region of the U.S. state of ], and by various communities elsewhere. Other speakers of French, who often speak it as a second language,<ref name=CEFAN>{{cite web | title =L’aménagement linguistique dans le monde | work =CEFAN (Chaire pour le développement de la recherché sur la culture d’expression française en Amérique du Nord, Université Laval |language=French | publisher =Jacques Leclerc | url =http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/ | accessdate = May 19, 2013}}</ref> are distributed throughout many parts of the world, the largest numbers of whom reside in Francophone Africa.<ref name=2007_report>{{fr icon}} published by the ]. , ], 2007.</ref> In Africa, French is most commonly spoken in ] (where 80% report fluency),<ref name=2007_report /> ] (78%), ] (75%), ] and ] (70%). French is estimated as having 110 million<ref name=CEFAN/> native speakers and 190 million more second language speakers.<ref name="andaman.org"> ''Top Languages''. Retrieved 11 April 2011.</ref>

French is a descendant of the ] of the ], as are languages such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Its closest relatives are the other ]—languages historically spoken in northern France and in Belgium, which French has largely supplanted. French was also ] ] of Roman ] and by the (]) ] language of the post-Roman ] invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous ], most notably ].

French is an ] in ], most of which form ''la ]'' (in French), the community of French-speaking countries. It is an official language of all ] agencies and a ]. According to France's ], 77 million in Europe speak French natively. Outside of France, the highest numbers of French speakers are found in Canada (25% of the population, of whom the grand majority lives in Quebec), Belgium (45% of the population), Switzerland (20% of the population) and Luxembourg. In 2013, the Ministry identified French as the second most spoken language in Europe, after ] and before ].<ref>{{cite web|title=The status of French in the world|url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy-1/promoting-francophony/the-status-of-french-in-the-world/|work=France Diplomatie|publisher=Ministère des Affaires étrangères|accessdate=13 May 2013|year=2013}}</ref> Twenty percent of non-Francophone Europeans know how to speak French,{{Clarify|date=April 2013}} totaling roughly 145.6 million people in Europe alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cpfont.on.ca/nav/faq/Why%20learn%20French/default.htm |title=Why learn French |publisher=Canadian Parents For French (Ontario) |date= |accessdate=21 April 2010}}</ref> As a result of extensive colonial ambitions of ] and ] (at that time governed by a French-speaking elite), between the 17th and 20th centuries, French was introduced to colonies in the Americas, Africa, Polynesia, the Levant, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.

According to a demographic projection led by the ] and the ], French speakers will number approximately 500 million people in 2025 and 650 million people, or approximately 7% of the world's population by 2050.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ledevoir.com/non-classe/69236/agora-la-francophonie-de-demain|title=Agora: La francophonie de demain|accessdate=13 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demographie.auf.org/IMG/pdf/BULLETIN_No_22.pdf |title=Bulletin de liaison du réseau démographie|accessdate=14 June 2011}}</ref>

{{TOC limit|limit=3}}

==Geographic distribution==

=== Europe ===
French is the fourth most widely spoken mother tongue in the ].<ref>European Commission. (2012). </ref>

====Legal status in France====
{{See also|Toubon Law|Languages of France}}

According to the ], French has been the official language since 1992<ref>{{fr icon}} &nbsp;– {{lang|fr|C'est à la loi constitutionnelle du 25 juin 1992, rédigée dans le cadre de l'intégration européenne, que l'on doit la première déclaration de principe sur le français, langue de la République.}}</ref> (although previous legal texts have made it official since 1539, see ]). ] mandates the use of French in official government publications, public ] except in specific cases (though these dispositions are often ignored) and legal ]s; ]s must bear a translation of foreign words.
In addition to French, there are a variety of regional languages and dialects. France has signed the European Charter for Regional Languages, but has not ratified it since that would go against its 1958 Constitution.<ref> ''Mercator'' Retrieved 11 April 2011</ref>

====Switzerland====
{{Further|Languages of Switzerland|Swiss French|Romandie}}

French is one of the four official languages of ] (along with ], ] and ]) and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called '']'', of which ] is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions and some ] have bilingual status for example, cities such Biel/Bienne or cantons such as Valais-Fribourg-Berne. French is the native language of about 20% of the Swiss population and is spoken by 50.4%<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=abit8Yd6J-cC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=%22connaissance+du+francais+en+suisse%22#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Le français et les langues ... – Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= 1 January 2007|accessdate=10 September 2010|isbn=978-2-87747-881-6}}</ref> of the population.

Most of Swiss French is mutually compatible with the standard French spoken in France, but it is often used with small differences, such as those involving numbers after 69 and slight differences in other vocabulary terms.

====Belgium====
{{Further|Languages of Belgium|Belgian French}}

] signs in ].]]

In ], French is the official language of ] (excluding a part of the ], which are ]) and one of the two official languages—along with ]—of the ], where it is spoken by the majority of the population, though often not as their primary language.<ref name=philippevanparijs>
{{Cite journal
| title=Belgium's new linguistic challenge
| author=], Professor of economic and social ethics at the ], Visiting Professor at ] and the ]
| journal=KVS Express (supplement to newspaper ]) March–April 2006
| pages=Article from pages 34–36 republished by the Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy&nbsp;– Directorate–general Statistics Belgium
| url=http://www.statbel.fgov.be/studies/ac699_en.pdf
| format=pdf 0.7&nbsp;MB
| accessdate=5 May 2007}}&nbsp;– The linguistic situation in Belgium (and in particular various estimations of the population speaking French and Dutch in Brussels) is discussed in detail.</ref> French and German are not official languages nor recognized minority languages in the ], although along borders with the Walloon and Brussels-Capital regions, there are a dozen ] for French speakers. A mirror situation exists for the Walloon Region with respect to the Dutch and German languages. In total, native French speakers make up about 40% of the country's population, while the remaining 60% speak Dutch as a first language. Of the latter, 59% claim French as a second or third language, meaning that about three quarters of the Belgian population can speak French.<ref>{{fr icon}}
{{Cite journal
| coauthors=Victor Ginsburgh, Shlomo Weber
| title=La dynamique des langues en Belgique
| journal=Regards économiques, Publication préparée par les économistes de l']
| month=June
| year=2006
| issue=Numéro 42
| quote={{lang|fr|Les enquêtes montrent que la Flandre est bien plus multilingue, ce qui est sans doute un fait bien connu, mais la différence est
considérable&nbsp;: alors que 59&nbsp;% et 53&nbsp;% des Flamands connaissent le français ou l'anglais respectivement, seulement 19&nbsp;% et 17&nbsp;% des Wallons connaissent le néerlandais ou l'anglais. ... 95 pour cent des Bruxellois déclarent parler le français, alors que ce pourcentage
tombe à 59 pour cent pour le néerlandais. Quant à l’anglais, il est connu par une proportion importante de la population à Bruxelles (41 pour cent)}}
| url=http://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf | doi = 10.1159/000013462 | pmid= 10213829
| format=PDF
| accessdate=7 May 2007
| volume=19
| pages=282–9
| author=De Broe ME, De Weerdt DL, Ysebaert DK, Vercauteren SR, De Greef KE, De Broe LC}}</ref><ref>40%+60%*59%=75.4%</ref>

====Monaco and Andorra====
{{Further|Languages of Monaco|Languages of Andorra}}

Although ] is the national language of the ], French is the only official language, and French nationals make up some 47% of the population.

] is the only official language of ]; however, French is commonly used because of the proximity to France and the fact that France is, with the Urgell's Bishop, part of the government. French nationals make up 7% of the population.
] and candidate countries<ref>Source: , data for EU25, published before 2007 enlargement.</ref> (Note that around 40% of Belgium's population are native French speakers,<ref>Native speakers of Dutch living in Wallonia and of French in Flanders are relatively small minorities that furthermore largely balance one another, hence counting all inhabitants of each unilingual area to the area's language can cause only insignificant inaccuracies (99% can speak the language). Dutch: Flanders' 6.079&nbsp;million inhabitants and about 15% of Brussels' 1.019&nbsp;million are 6.23&nbsp;million or 59.3% of the 10.511&nbsp;million inhabitants of Belgium (2006); German: 70,400 in the German-speaking Community (which has ] for its less than 5% French-speakers) and an estimated 20,000–25,000 speakers of German in the Walloon Region outside the geographical boundaries of their official Community, or 0.9%; French: in the latter area as well as mainly in the rest of Wallonia (3.414 − 0.093 = 3.321&nbsp;million) and 85% of the Brussels inhabitants (0.866&nbsp;million) thus 4.187&nbsp;million or 39.8%; together indeed 100%.</ref> totaling 88%<ref>40%+48%=88%</ref> of the country's population.)]]

====Luxembourg====
{{Further|Languages of Luxembourg|Multilingualism in Luxembourg}}
French is one of three official languages of ], alongside ] and ], the natively spoken language of Luxembourg. French is primarily used for administrative purposes by the government, and is also the primary language used to converse with foreigners. Luxembourg's education system is trilingual: the first cycle of basic school is in Luxembourgish, before changing officially to German for most branches; while in secondary school, the language of instruction changes to French for most subjects, such as mathematics and science.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.men.public.lu/sys_edu/langues_ecole/index.html |title=Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Formation professionnelle / Luxembourg - Quelles langues apprend-on à l'école luxembourgeoise ? |publisher=Men.public.lu |date=2012-10-25 |accessdate=2013-05-25}}</ref> At the Luxembourg University courses are offered in French, German and English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwwen.uni.lu/international/multilinguisme |title=University of Luxembourg - Multilingualism |publisher=N.uni.lu |date=2003-08-12 |accessdate=2013-05-25}}</ref>

====Italy====
{{Further|Languages of Italy}}

French is also an official language in the small region of ], ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/la_tradizione/lingue_f.asp |title=Vda.it |publisher=Regione.vda.it |date= |accessdate=21 April 2010}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Though most non-Italophone people in the region speak ],<ref>http://www.fondchanoux.org/risultatisondage_1_0_555.aspx</ref> they use standard French to write, because the international recognition of Franco-Provençal as a separate language (as opposed to a dialect or patois of French) was quite recent.

====The United Kingdom and the Channel Islands====
{{Further|Languages of Jersey|Languages of Guernsey|Languages of the United Kingdom}}

French is a large minority language and immigrant ], with over 300,000 French-born people in the UK. It is also spoken by a large number of the African immigrants in the UK. It is also the most popular foreign language. According to a 2006 European Commission report, 23 percent of UK residents are able to carry on a conversation in French.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf |title=EUROPA |format=PDF |accessdate=21 April 2010}}</ref>

] and ] reflect a mixture of ] and ] lexicons after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, when a Norman-speaking aristocracy took control of a population whose mother tongue was Germanic in origin. Due to the intertwined histories of England and continental possessions of the English Crown, many formal and legal words from Modern English have French roots. Therefore words such as ''buy'' and ''sell'' are of Germanic origin, ''purchase'' and ''vend'' are from ].

French is an official language in both ] and ]. Both use French to some degree, mostly in an administrative or ceremonial capacity. ] is the standardized variety used in Jersey. However, ] (in its local forms, ] and ]) is the historical ] of the islands.

===North and South America===
{{Further|Languages of North America|Languages of South America}}
==== Canada ====
{{See also|Canadian French|French language in Canada|Spoken languages of Canada|Official bilingualism in Canada}}

] (French for "stop") are used in ] while the international ''stop,'' which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.]]

French is the second most common language in ], after ], and both are official languages at the federal level. French is the sole official language in the province of ], being the mother tongue for some 7 million people, or almost 80.1% (2006 Census) of the province. About 95.0% of the people of Quebec speak French as either their first or second language, and for some as their third language. Quebec is also home to the city of ], which is the world's second largest French speaking city, by number of first language speakers. ] and ] are the only officially bilingual provinces, though this is closer to perfect legal equality in ], where about one third of the population is francophone. French is also an official language in all of the territories (], ], and ]). Out of the three, Yukon has slightly more French speakers at just under 4%. Portions of ], ], ], ], ] and ] have sizable French minorities. Many provinces, such as ], provide service in French for their linguistic minorities. ] and surrounding spots are designated by law as a bilingual district (the unique ] was formerly widely spoken in those areas). Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces.

About 9,487,500 of Canadians speak French as their first language, or around 30% of the country,<ref name="tlfq.ulaval">{{cite web|url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/francophonie/OIF-francophones-est2005.htm |title=Qu'est-ce Que La Francophonie |publisher=Tlfq.ulaval.ca |date= |accessdate=2013-05-25}}</ref> with 2,065,300 constituting secondary speakers.<ref name="tlfq.ulaval" /> Due to the increased bilingual school programs and French immersion classes in English Canada, the portion of Canadians proficient in French has risen significantly in the past two decades, and is still rising.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

The difference between French spoken in ] and French spoken in France is similar in degree to that between American and British English.
In ], where the majority of ] live, the ] ({{lang-en|Quebec Board of the French language}}) regulates ] and ensures the ] (Bill 101 & 104) is respected.

==== Haiti ====
French is one of Haiti's two official languages. It is the principal language of writing, school instruction, and administrative use. It is spoken by all educated Haitians and is used in the business sector. It is also used in ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations and church masses. About 10–15% of the country's population have French as their first language; the rest speak it as a secondary language in varying degrees of proficiency from basic level to fluent. The second official language is the recently standardized ], which virtually the entire population of Haiti speaks. Haitian Creole is one of the ], drawing the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. Haitian Creole is closely related to Louisiana Creole and other French creoles.

====French overseas departments and territories in the Americas====
French is also the official language in France's overseas departments and territories of ], ], ], ], ] and ].

====United States====
{{main|French in the United States}}
{{see also|Cajun French|Louisiana Creole French|Acadian French|Missouri French|New England French}}
] are not included.]]
French is the third<ref>&nbsp;– Languages Spoken in the U.S.</ref><ref name="factfinder.census.gov">&nbsp;– Language Spoken at Home: 2000.</ref> most-spoken language in the United States, after ] and ], and the second most-spoken in the states of ], ], ] and ].

Louisiana is home to many distinct dialects, collectively known as ]. ] has the largest number of speakers, mostly living in ]. According to the 2000 United States Census, there are over 194,000 people in Louisiana who speak French at home, the most of any state if ] is excluded.<ref name="factfinder.census.gov"/> ], essentially a variant of ], is spoken in parts of ]. ] was historically spoken in ] and ] (formerly known as ]), but is nearly extinct today.<ref>{{cite book |title=Status and Function of Languages and Language Varieties |last= Ammon|first= Ulrich|authorlink= |coauthors= International Sociological Association|year= 1989|publisher= Walter de Gruyter|location= |isbn= 0-89925-356-3|pages= 306–308|url= http://books.google.com/?id=geh261xgI8sC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=14 November 2011}}</ref>

====Brazil====
The ] is heavily influenced by more than a millennium of perennial contact with several dialects of both Oïl (chiefly French after France became the major European power) and Occitan (chiefly Provençal around the ] apex in the Middle Ages, see ]), in lexicon (up to 15–20% in some estimates, at least 5000 word roots), phonology (chiefly among the ] and more Europeanized Brazilian dialects) and orthography.<ref>{{pt}} </ref><ref>{{pt}} </ref><ref>{{pt}} </ref> After greater and continual Portuguese immigration, and Tupi influence,<ref>{{pt}} </ref> the status of French as a language of culture in the Western world for centuries and the presence of ] (sixth largest European group to Brazil) for a consirable span of time is popularly regarded to be the main source of difference between the group of dialects spoken in ], ], ] and surrounding regions, and those elsewhere in Brazil (it was also more indirectly influenced by French due to the larger Portuguese influence there and the stronger Francophile feel in the Portuguese culture—Portuguese and French influence are often confused).<ref>{{pt}} </ref><ref>{{pt}} </ref><ref>{{pt}} </ref> The learning of French is historically the most important and has always been strong among the Lusophone high societies, and for a great span of time it was also a foreign language strong among the general populaces of both Portugal and Brazil, only surpassed in the ] ] by English, in both, and more recently by ], in the latter.<ref>{{pt}} </ref><ref>{{pt}} </ref><ref>{{pt}} </ref><ref>{{pt}} </ref>

The French language was also briefly spoken in Brazil during the colonial attempts of ] and '']'' at the 16th and 17th centuries respectively (the expulsing of early French colonists by the Portuguese culminated on the founding of the cities of ] and ] respectively). Also, as mentioned above, the language was used by several communities of immigrants and expatriates in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, chiefly Swiss, but also some ] and ].

Today the ] indigenous community (nearly 30,000 people) of ] in ] speaks a French creole, the ], possibly related to the ].

===Africa===
{{Main|African French|Maghreb French}}

]|format=PDF|accessdate=2012-08-04}}</ref> Their population is projected to reach between 710 million<ref>{{cite web|url=http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/DB02_Stock_Indicators/WPP2010_DB2_F01_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.XLS|title=World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
|author=]|format=XLS|accessdate=3 August 2011}}</ref> and 791 million<ref name=2012_data_sheet /> in 2050.}}It's also the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of official or foreign language).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ledevoir.com/non-classe/69236/agora-la-francophonie-de-demain|title=Agora: La francophonie de demain|accessdate=2011-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demographie.auf.org/IMG/pdf/BULLETIN_No_22.pdf |title=Bulletin de liaison du réseau démographie|accessdate=2011-06-14}}</ref>
{{legend|#00AAE2|Countries sometimes considered as Francophone Africa}}{{legend|#008080|Countries that are not Francophone but are Members or Observers of the ]}}]]

A majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to the 2007 report by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, an estimated 115 million African people spread across 31 Francophone African countries can speak French as either a ] or a ].<ref name=2007_report /> This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language.<ref name=2007_report /> Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20100319-french-language-growing-especially-africa |title=French language growing, especially in Africa - Francophonie - RFI |date= |accessdate=2013-05-25}}</ref>

French is mostly a second language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of ], ]<ref>{{fr icon}} by Katja Ploog, ], ], 2002.</ref> and in ], ].<ref name=CEFAN/> The classification of French as a second language in Francophone Africa is debatable because it is often the only language spoken and written in schools, administrations, radio, TV and the Internet. This prevalence of French is noticeable in popular music, in which French is often mixed with the language of the song. There is not a single ], but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous ].<ref>{{fr icon}} </ref> In fact, the term African French is a misnomer, as forms are different from country to country, and the root of the French spoken in a particular country depends on its former colonial empire. French spoken in the Benin, for example, is closer to that spoken in France than to French spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is rooted in ].

In the territories of the ], the French language is often spoken alongside French-derived creole languages, the major exception being ]. There, a Malayo-Polynesian language (]) is spoken alongside French.

] is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid demographic growth.<ref> "Furthermore, the demographic growth of Southern hemisphere countries leads us to anticipate a new increase in the overall number of French speakers."</ref> It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years.<ref>{{fr icon}} "</ref><ref>{{fr icon}} : {{lang|fr|"C'est la variété du français la plus fluctuante. Le sabir franco-africain est instable et hétérogène sous toutes ses formes. Il existe des énoncés où les mots sont français mais leur ordre reste celui de la langue africaine. En somme, autant les langues africaines sont envahies par les structures et les mots français, autant la langue française se métamorphose en Afrique, donnant naissance à plusieurs variétés."}}</ref> Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries,<ref>{{fr icon}} : {{lang|fr|Il existe une autre variété de français, beaucoup plus répandue et plus permissive : le français local. C'est un français très influencé par les langues centrafricaines, surtout par le sango. Cette variété est parlée par les classes non instruites, qui n'ont pu terminer leur scolarité. Ils utilisent ce qu'ils connaissent du français avec des emprunts massifs aux langues locales. Cette variété peut causer des problèmes de compréhension avec les francophones des autres pays, car les interférences linguistiques, d'ordre lexical et sémantique, sont très importantes.}} (''One example of a variety of African French that is difficult to understand for European French speakers'').</ref> but written forms of the language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world.

French is an official language in many African countries, most of them former French or ]:
<div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
* {{flag|Benin}}
* {{flag|Burkina Faso}}
* {{flag|Burundi}}
* {{flag|Cameroon}}
* {{flag|Central African Republic}}
* {{flag|Chad}}
* {{flag|Comoros}}
* {{flag|Congo, Republic of the}}
* {{flag|Côte d'Ivoire}}
* {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
* {{flag|Djibouti}}
* {{flag|Equatorial Guinea}} (former colony of ])
* {{flag|Gabon}}
* {{flag|Guinea}}
* {{flag|Madagascar}}
* {{flag|Mali}}
* {{flag|Mauritius}}
* {{flag|Niger}}
* {{flag|Rwanda}}
* {{flag|Senegal}}
* {{flag|Seychelles}}
* {{flag|Togo}}

</div>
In addition, French is an administrative language and widely used, though not on an official basis, in ], where approximately 78% of the population speak French. French is also spoken in the ] states:
* {{flag|Algeria}} (see also ])
* {{flag|Mauritania}} (see also ])
* {{flag|Morocco}} (see also ])
* {{flag|Tunisia}} (see also ])

====Algeria====
Most urban Algerians have some working knowledge of French, and a high (though unknown) percentage speak it fluently.(about 80 percent)
However, because of the country's colonial past, the predominance of French has long been politically problematic. Numerous reforms have been implemented in recent decades to improve the status of ] in relation to French, especially in education. For this reason, although Algeria is certainly one of the most Francophone of countries in the world outside of France, and has perhaps the largest number of French speakers, it does not participate in the Francophonie association.

====Egypt====
]
The ] in ] is ], and it is mandatory in all schools. While English is the most commonly used second language in Egypt, French is known by some Egyptians. Many Egyptians learn English and French in addition to Arabic. Private schools have either English or French as the main language of instruction. Egypt participates in the ]. There are two French-speaking universities in the country, the ] and the ].

====French overseas departments and territories in Africa====
French is also the official language of ] and ], two ] of France located in the southwest Indian Ocean.

===Asia===
{{see also|Romance-speaking Asia#French}}

====Southeast Asia====
{{see also|Vietnamese French (dialect)|Lao French|Cambodian French (linguistics)}}
French continues to be an administrative language in ] and ] although its influence has waned in recent years.<ref>, '']'', 16 October 1993: "In both Cambodia and Laos, French remains the official second language of government."</ref> In colonial ], the elites primarily spoke French, and many servants who worked in French households spoke a French creole known as "]" (now extinct). After French rule ended, ] continued to use French in administration, education and trade.<ref>{{dead link|date=May 2013}}</ref> Since the ] and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the main foreign language of choice by English. French nevertheless maintains its colonial legacy by being spoken as a second language by the elderly and elite populations and is presently being revived in higher education and continues to be a diplomatic language in Vietnam. The language was also spoken by the elite in the leased territory ] in southern ] until the territory was returned. <small>(See also: ])</small>

==== Lebanon & Syria & Israel ====
] "mille livres" (thousand-pound) bank note]]

] is the official language of ], where a special law regulates the use of French. French is considered a second language by the ] and is used on bank notes (along with Arabic) and on official buildings. French is widely used by the Lebanese, especially for administrative purposes, and is taught in many schools as a secondary language along with Arabic and English. ''See further ]''.

As in Lebanon, French was official in ] until 1943. In contrast to the situation in Lebanon, the French language is less used, but it is still spoken to some degree by educated groups, both in the élite and in the middle-class. ''See further ]''.

There are also a significant number of native and second-language French-speakers in ] who trace their origins to the francocized Jewish communities of North Africa, ''(see ])'' and Romania. Today, about 10% of Israelis speak French, taught in the numerous French schools run by the French government and Catholic orders. ''See further: ]''.

====India====
French has ] official status in the Indian ] of ] (formerly known as Pondicherry), along with the regional languages ], ] and ]. Some students of Tamil Nadu opt for French as their second or third language (usually behind ] and ]). According to the ], French is however "''very little spoken''" in Puducherry.<ref> "French is however very little spoken, Tamil and English being the dominant languages."</ref>

French is commonly taught as a third language in secondary schools in most cities of ], including ] (Bombay), as part of the preparation for secondary school (X-SSC) and higher secondary school (XII-HSC) certificate examinations. Certain high-profile schools affiliated with the ] in the ] offer French as an option as early as grade 4.

French is also taught in schools in ] (a former French colony in ]). Students also have the option of having French as an additional subject in the secondary school (WBBSE) and higher secondary school (WBCHSE) certificate examinations.

In the state of ], the State Education Board offers French as third language till High School and Second Language at the intermediate level.
{{See also|French India}}

===Oceania and Australasia===
French is an official language of the ] nation of ] where 45% of the population can speak French.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://20mars.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/FICHE_03_Nombre_de_francophones.pdf|title=Estimation du nombre de francophones dans le monde1|accessdate=3 October 2009 |author=]}}</ref> In the French special collectivity of ], 97% of the population can speak, read and write French, whereas only 1% have no knowledge of French.<ref>{{fr icon}} {{cite web| url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/ir/rpnc04/dd/excel/rpnc04_P9-1.xls| title=P9-1 – Population de 14 ans et plus selon la connaissance du français, le sexe, par commune, "zone" et par province de résidence| first=]| last=]|format=XLS| accessdate=3 October 2009}}</ref> In ], 95% of the population can speak, read and write French, whereas only 2% have no knowledge of French.<ref>{{fr icon}} {{cite web| url=http://www.ispf.pf/ISPF/EnqRep/Recensement/Recens2007/Themes/Langues.aspx|title=Recensement 2007 – Langues : Chiffres clés| author=Institut Statistique de Polynésie Française (ISPF)|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> In the French collectivity of ], 78% of the population can speak, read and write French, whereas 17% have no knowledge of French.<ref>{{fr icon}} {{cite web| url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/bases-de-donnees/irweb/rpwf08/dd/excel/rpwf08_Pop_06.xls| title=Tableau Pop_06_1 : Population selon le sexe, la connaissance du français et l'âge décennal| first=]| last=]|format=XLS| accessdate=3 October 2009}}</ref>

==Dialects==
]
{{Main|Dialects of the French language}}
<div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (North African French)
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

</div>

==History==
{{Main|History of French}}
French is a ] (meaning that it is descended primarily from ]) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France.

French was the most important language of diplomacy and international relations from the 17th century to approximately the middle of the 20th century. English has now taken over that role, since following the ], the US became the dominant global power.<ref name="andaman.org"/><ref>''Google Books'' Retrieved 27 June 2011</ref> Stanley Meisler of the '']'' said that the fact that the ] was also written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language.<ref>Meisler, Stanley. "Seduction Still Works : French--a Language in Decline." '']''. March 1, 1986. p. . Retrieved on May 18, 2013.</ref>

French remains one of the most important diplomatic languages,<ref name=CEFAN/> with the language being one of the working languages of ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], ], ], the ] the ], ] and the ]. It is also a working language in ] such as the ], ], ], or ].<ref> – </ref>

==Phonology==
{{Main|French phonology}}
{{IPA notice}}

Although there are many French regional accents, foreign learners normally study only one version of the language, which has no commonly used special name.
* There are 16 vowels in French, not all of which are used in every dialect: {{IPA|/a/, /ɑ/, /e/, /ɛ/, /ə/, /i/, /o/, /ɔ/, /y/, /u/, /œ/, /ø/,}} plus the nasalized vowels {{IPA|/ɑ̃/, /ɛ̃/, /ɔ̃/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}}. In France, the vowels {{IPA|/ɑ/}} and {{IPA|/œ̃/}} are tending to be replaced by {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ̃/}} in many people's speech.
* Voiced stops (i.e. {{IPA|/b d ɡ/}}) are typically produced fully voiced throughout.
* Voiceless stops (i.e. {{IPA|/p t k/}}) are unaspirated.
* Nasals: The velar nasal {{IPA|/ŋ/}} can occur in final position in borrowed (usually English) words: ''parking, camping, swing''. The palatal nasal {{IPA|/ɲ/}} can occur in word initial position (e.g. gnon), but it is most frequently found in intervocalic, onset position or word-finally (e.g. ''montagne'').
* Fricatives: French has three pairs of homorganic fricatives distinguished by voicing, i.e. labiodental {{IPA|/f/~/v/}}, dental {{IPA|/s/~/z/}}, and palato-alveolar {{IPA|/ʃ/~/ʒ/}}. Notice that {{IPA|/s/~/z/}} are dental, like the plosives {{IPA|/t/~/d/}}, and the nasal {{IPA|/n/}}.
* French has one rhotic whose pronunciation varies considerably among speakers and phonetic contexts. In general it is described as a ] as in {{IPA|}} ''roue'', "wheel" . Vowels are often lengthened before this segment. It can be reduced to an approximant, particularly in final position (e.g. ''fort'') or reduced to zero in some word-final positions. For other speakers, a uvular trill is also common, and an apical trill {{IPA|}} occurs in some dialects.
* Lateral and central approximants: The lateral approximant {{IPA|/l/}} is unvelarised in both onset (''lire'') and coda position (''il''). In the onset, the central approximants {{IPA|}}, {{IPA|}}, and {{IPA|}} each correspond to a high vowel, {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/y/}}, and {{IPA|/i/}} respectively. There are a few ]s where the approximant and corresponding vowel contrast, but there are also many cases where they are in free variation. Contrasts between {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/i/}} occur in final position as in {{IPA|/pɛj/}} ''paye'', "pay", vs. {{IPA|/pɛi/}} ''pays'', "country".

French pronunciation follows strict rules based on spelling, but French spelling is often based more on history than phonology. The rules for pronunciation vary between dialects, but the standard rules are:
* final consonants: Final single consonants, in particular ''s'', ''x'', ''z'', ''t'', ''d'', ''n'', ''g'' and ''m'', are normally silent. (A consonant is considered "final" when no vowel follows it even if one or more consonants follow it.) The final letters ''c'', ''f'', ''k'', ''q'' and ''l'', however, are normally pronounced. The final ''r'' is usually silent when it follows an ''e'' in a word of two or more syllables, but is pronounced in other cases. The ''t'' is pronounced when it follows a ''c''.
** When the following word begins with a vowel, however, a silent consonant ''may'' once again be pronounced, to provide a '']'' or "link" between the two words. Some liaisons are ''mandatory'', for example the ''s'' in ''les amants'' or ''vous avez''; some are ''optional'', depending on ] and ], for example the first ''s'' in ''deux cents euros'' or ''euros irlandais''; and some are ''forbidden'', for example the ''s'' in ''beaucoup d'hommes aiment''. The ''t'' of ''et'' is never pronounced and the silent final consonant of a noun is only pronounced in the plural and in ]s like ''pied-à-terre''.
** Doubling a final ''n'' and adding a silent ''e'' at the end of a word (e.g. ''chien'' → ''chienne'') makes it clearly pronounced. Doubling a final ''l'' and adding a silent ''e'' (e.g. ''gentil'' → ''gentille'') adds a sound if the ''l'' is preceded by the letter ''i''.
* ] or vowel dropping: Some monosyllabic function words ending in ''a'' or ''e'', such as ''je'' and ''que'', drop their final vowel when placed before a word that begins with a vowel sound (thus avoiding a ]). The missing vowel is replaced by an apostrophe. (e.g. ''je ai'' is instead pronounced and spelled → ''j'ai''). This gives, for example, the same pronunciation for ''l'homme qu'il a vu'' ("the man whom he saw") and ''l'homme qui l'a vu'' ("the man who saw him"). However, for Belgian French the sentences are pronounced differently; in the first sentence the syllable break is as "qu'il-a", while the second breaks as "qui-l'a". It can also be noted that, in ], the second example (''l'homme qui l'a vu'') is more emphasized on ''l'a vu''.

==Writing system==

=== Alphabet ===
{{Main|French alphabet|French braille}}

French is written with the 26 letters of the basic ], with four diacritics appearing on vowels (] accent, ], ], ]) and the ] appearing in ⟨ç⟩.

There are two ], ⟨œ⟩ and ⟨æ⟩.

===Orthography===
{{Main|French orthography}}

French spelling, like English spelling, tends to preserve obsolete pronunciation rules. This is mainly due to extreme phonetic changes since the Old French period, without a corresponding change in spelling (see ] below). Moreover, some conscious changes were made to restore Latin orthography:
* Old French ''doit'' > French ''doigt'' "finger" (Latin ''digitus'')
* Old French ''pie'' > French ''pied'' "foot" (Latin ''pes'' (stem: ''ped-''))

As a result, it can be difficult to predict the spelling of a word based on the sound. Final consonants are generally silent, except when the following word begins with a vowel. For example, all of these words end in a vowel sound: ''pied'', ''aller'', ''les'', ''{{lang|fr|finit}}'', ''beaux''. The same words followed by a vowel, however, may sound the consonants, as they do in these examples: ''beaux-arts'', ''les amis'', ''pied-à-terre''.

On the other hand, a given spelling usually leads to a predictable sound. In particular, a given vowel combination or diacritic predictably leads to one phoneme.

French writing, as with any language, is affected by the spoken language. In Old French, the plural for ''animal'' was ''animals''. The {{IPA|/als/}} sequence was unstable and was turned into a diphthong {{IPA|/aus/}}. This change was then reflected in the orthography: ''animaus''. The ''us'' ending, very common in Latin, was then abbreviated by copists monks by the letter ''x'', resulting in a written form ''animax''. As the French language further evolved, the pronunciation of ''au'' turned into {{IPA|/o/}} so that the ''u'' was reestablished in orthography for consistency, resulting in modern French ''animaux'' (pronounced first {{IPA|/animos/}} before the final {{IPA|/s/}} was dropped in contemporary French). The same is true for ''cheval'' pluralized as ''chevaux'' and many others. In addition, ''castel'' pl. ''castels'' became ''château'' pl. ''châteaux''
* ]: '']'' and ''m''. When ''n'' or ''m'' follows a vowel or diphthong, the ''n'' or ''m'' becomes silent and causes the preceding vowel to become nasalized (i.e. pronounced with the soft palate extended downward so as to allow part of the air to leave through the nostrils). Exceptions are when the ''n'' or ''m'' is doubled, or immediately followed by a vowel. The prefixes ''en-'' and ''em-'' are always nasalized. The rules are more complex than this but may vary between dialects.
* ]: French uses not only ]s to specify its large range of vowel sounds and ], but also specific combinations of vowels, sometimes with following consonants, to show which sound is intended.
* ]: Within words, double consonants are generally not pronounced as geminates in modern French (but geminates can be heard in the cinema or TV news from as recently as the 1970s, and in very refined elocution they may still occur). For example, ''illusion'' is pronounced {{IPA|}} and not {{IPA|}}. But gemination does occur between words. For example, ''une info'' ("a news item" or "a piece of information") is pronounced {{IPA|}}, whereas ''une nympho'' ("a nymphomaniac") is pronounced {{IPA|}}.
* ] are used sometimes for pronunciation, sometimes to distinguish similar words, and sometimes for etymology alone.
** Accents that affect pronunciation
*** The ] (''l'accent aigu''), ''é'' (e.g. '''''é'''cole''—school), means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/e/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}.
*** The ] (''l'accent grave''), ''è'' (e.g. ''él'''è'''ve''—pupil) means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}.
*** The ] (''l'accent circonflexe'') ''ê'' (e.g. ''for'''ê'''t''—forest) shows that an ''e'' is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and that an ''ô'' is pronounced {{IPA|/o/}}. In standard French, it also signifies a pronunciation of {{IPA|/ɑ/}} for the letter ''â'', but this differentiation is disappearing. In the late 19th century, the circumflex was used in place of ''s'' after a vowel, where that letter ''s'' was not pronounced. Thus, ''forest'' became ''forêt'' and ''hospital'' became'' hôpital''.
*** The ] (''le tréma'') (e.g. ''na'''ï'''f''—naive, ''No'''ë'''l''—Christmas) as in English, specifies that this vowel is pronounced separately from the preceding one, not combined, and is not a ].
*** The ] (''la cédille'') ''ç'' (e.g. ''gar'''ç'''on''—boy) means that the letter ''ç'' is pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the back vowels ''a'', ''o'' and ''u'' (''c'' is otherwise {{IPA|/k/}} before a back vowel). ''C'' is always pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the front vowels ''e'', ''i'', and ''y'', thus ''ç'' is never found in front of front vowels.
** Accents with no pronunciation effect
*** The circumflex does not affect the pronunciation of the letters ''i'' or ''u'', and in most dialects, ''a'' as well. It usually indicates that an ''s'' came after it long ago, as in ''île'' (''isle'', compare with English ''island'')<!-- -->. The explanation is that some words share the same orthography, and the circumflex is put here to spot the difference between the two words. For example, ''dites'' (you say) / ''dîtes'' (you said), or even ''du'' (of the) / ''dû'' (past for the verb ''devoir'' = must, have to, owe; in this case, the circumflex splits at the plural and the feminine).
*** All other accents are used only to distinguish similar words, as in the case of distinguishing the adverbs ''là'' and ''où'' ("there", "where") from the article ''la'' ("the" fem. sing.) and the conjunction ''ou'' ("or") respectively.

Some proposals exist to simplify the existing writing system, but they still fail to gather interest.<ref>{{fr icon}} .</ref><ref>{{fr icon}} .</ref><ref>{{fr icon}} .</ref><ref>{{fr icon}} .</ref>

==Grammar==
{{Main|French grammar}}

French grammar shares several notable features with most other Romance languages, including:
* the loss of Latin's ]s
* only two ]s
* the development of grammatical ] from Latin ]s
* new ] formed from auxiliaries

French declarative word order is ], although if the object is a pronoun, it precedes the verb. Some types of sentences allow for or require different word orders, in particular ] of the subject and verb like "Parlez-vous français ?" when asking a question rather than just "Vous parlez français ?" Both questions mean the same thing, however, a rising inflection is always used on both of them whenever asking a question, especially on the second one. Specifically, the first translates into, "Do you speak French?" while the second one is literally just: "You speak French?"

==Vocabulary==
The majority of French words derive from ] or were constructed from ] or ] roots. In many cases a single etymological root appears in French in a "popular" or native form, inherited from Vulgar Latin, and a learned form, borrowed later from ]. The following pairs consist of a native noun and a learned adjective:
* brother: '']'' / '']'' < from Latin ''] / ]''
* finger: '']'' / '']'' < from Latin ''] / ]''
* faith: '']'' / '']'' < from Latin ''] / ]''
* eye: '']'' / '']'' < from Latin ''] / ]''

However a historical tendency to gallicise Latin roots can be identified, whereas English conversely leans towards a more direct incorporation of the Latin:

* '']'' / ''peninsula''
* '']'' / ''extinguish''
* '']'' / ''nucleus''
* '']'' / ''superman''
* '']'' / ''insolation''

There are also noun-noun and adjective-adjective pairs:
* thing/cause: '']'' / '']'' < from Latin '']''
* cold: '']'' / '']'' < from Latin '']''

It can be difficult to identify the Latin source of native French words, because in the evolution from ], unstressed syllables were severely reduced and the remaining vowels and consonants underwent significant modifications.

It is estimated that 12% (4,200) of common French words found in a typical ] such as the '']'' or ''Micro-Robert Plus'' (35,000 words) are of foreign origin (where ] and ] learned words are not seen as foreign). About 25% (1,054) of these foreign words come from ] and are fairly recent borrowings. The others are some 707 words from ], 550 from ancient ], 481 from other ], 215 from ], 164 from ], 160 from ], 159 from ], 153 from ], 112 from ] and ], 101 from ], 89 from other ], 56 from other ], 55 from ] and ], 10 from ] and 144 (about 3%) from other languages.<ref>Walter & Walter 1998.</ref>

===Numerals===
The French counting system is partially ]: ] (''{{lang|fr|vingt}}'') is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 60 to 99. The French word for ''80'' is ''{{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}'', literally "four twenties", and the word for ''75'' is ''{{lang|fr|soixante-quinze}}'', literally "sixty-fifteen". This reform arose after the ] to unify the different counting systems (mostly vigesimal near the coast, because of Celtic (via ]) and Viking influences). This system is comparable to the archaic English use of ''score'', as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70). In Old French (during the ]), all numbers from 30 to 99 could be said in either base 10 or base 20, e.g. ''vint et doze'' (twenty and twelve) for 32, ''dous vinz et diz'' (two twenties and ten) for 50, ''uitante'' for 80, or ''nonante'' for 90.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Einhorn | first = E. | title = Old French: A Concise Handbook | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1974 | location = Cambridge, England | page = 110 | isbn = 0-521-09838-6}}</ref>

], ] and the French used in the ], ] and ] are different in this respect. In Belgium and Switzerland 70 and 90 are ''{{lang|fr|septante}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|nonante}}''. In Switzerland, depending on the local dialect, 80 can be ''{{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}'' (Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) or ''{{lang|fr|huitante}}'' (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg). ''Octante'' had been used in ] in the past, but is now considered archaic.<ref>{{fr icon}} {{cite web|url=http://www.langue-fr.net/spip.php?article202|title=Septante, octante (huitante), nonante|work=langue-fr.net}}. See also the English Misplaced Pages article on ], especially the section "Counting system" and its note on the influence of ] in the French counting system.</ref> In Belgium and in its former African colonies, however, ''quatre-vingts'' is universally used.

It should also be noted that French, like most European languages, uses a ] (also called a full stop) or a space to separate thousands where English uses a comma or (more recently) a space. The comma is used in French numbers as a decimal point: 2,5 = ''deux virgule cinq''.

Cardinal numbers in French from 1 to 20 are as follows:
* One: '']''/'']'' {{IPA|/œ̃/}} (m) ~ {{IPA|/yn/}} (f)
* Two: '']'' {{IPA|/dø/}}
* Three: '']'' {{IPA|/tʁwɑ/}}
* Four: '']'' {{IPA|/katʁ/}}
* Five: '']'' {{IPA|/sɛ̃k/}}
* Six: '']'' {{IPA|/sis/}}
* Seven: '']'' {{IPA|/sɛt/}}
* Eight: '']'' {{IPA|/ɥit/}}
* Nine: '']'' {{IPA|/nœf/}}
* Ten: '']'' {{IPA|/dis/}}
* Eleven: '']'' {{IPA|/ɔ̃z/}}
* Twelve: '']'' {{IPA|/duz/}}
* Thirteen: '']'' {{IPA|/tʁɛz/}}
* Fourteen: '']'' {{IPA|/katɔʁz/}}
* Fifteen: '']'' {{IPA|/kɛ̃z/}}
* Sixteen: '']'' {{IPA|/sɛz/}}
* Seventeen: '']'' {{IPA|/dissɛt/}}
* Eighteen: '']'' {{IPA|/diz‿ɥit/}}
* Nineteen: '']'' {{IPA|/diznœf/}}
* Twenty: '']'' {{IPA|/vɛ̃/}}

==Words==
{{Inline audio|section}}
The "Quebec" audio samples here are not necessarily from speakers of Quebec French, which has distinct regional pronunciations of certain words.<!-- These pronunciations seem to me to have been made by a non native French speaker outside of Quebec. As a Quebec French speaker some of these examples differ somewhat from what I would use. Some of the "France" pronunciations imo sound more like what is used in Quebec, the problem is that within the province there are regional differences, just like in the USA with Caramel (pronounced Car-Mel, or Ca-Ra-Mel depending on where you are). -->
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!] || French || Quebec accent || French accent
|-
| |French || ''Français'' || {{Audio-IPA|Qc-français.ogg||help=no}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|françaisF.ogg|}}
|-
| |English || ''Anglais'' || {{Audio-IPA|anglais.ogg||help=no}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|AnglaisF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Yes || ''Oui'' (''si'' when countering an assertion or a question expressed in the negative) || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Qc-oui ouais ouin.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|ouiF.ogg|}}
|-
| |No || ''Non'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|non.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|nonF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Hello! || ''Bonjour !'' (formal) or ''Salut !'' (informal) or "Allô" (Quebec French or when answering on the telephone) || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|bonjourF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Good evening! || ''Bonsoir !'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|bonsoirF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Good night! || ''Bonne nuit !'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Bonne_nuitF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Goodbye! || ''Au revoir !'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|au_revoir.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|au_revoirF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Have a nice day! || ''Bonne journée !'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|bonne_journée.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|bonne_journéeF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Please/if you please || ''S’il vous plaît'' (formal) or ''S’il te plaît'' (informal) || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Qc-s'il_vous_plaît.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|s'il_vous_plaitF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Thank you || ''Merci'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|merciF.ogg|}}
|-
| |You are welcome || ''De rien'' (informal) or ''Ce n’est rien'' (informal) ("it is nothing") or ''Je vous en prie'' (formal) or ''Je t’en prie'' (informal) or ''Bienvenue'' (Quebec) || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Fr-de rien-fr-Paris.ogg|}}
|-
| |I am sorry || ''Pardon'' or ''Désolé'' or ''Je suis désolé'' (if male) / ''Je suis désolée'' (if female) or ''Excuse-moi'' (informal) / ''Excusez-moi'' (formal) / "Je regrette" || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Qc-pardon.ogg|}} / {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Qc-désolé.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|pardonF.ogg|}} / {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Fr-désolé.ogg|}}
|-
| |Who? || ''Qui ?'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|qui.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|quiF.ogg|}}
|-
| |What? || ''Quoi ?'' (←informal; used as "What?" in English)) or ''Pardon ?'' (←formal; used the same as "Pardon ?" in English) || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|quoi.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|quoiF.ogg|}}
|-
| |When? || ''Quand ?'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|quand.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|quandF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Where? || ''Où ?'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|où.ogg|}}
|-
| |Why? || ''Pourquoi ?'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|pourquoi.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|pourquoiF.ogg|}}
|-
| |What is your name? || ''Comment vous appelez-vous ?'' (formal) or ''Comment t’appelles-tu ?'' (informal) || {{IPA|}}, {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}, {{IPA|}}
|-
| |Because || ''Parce que'' / ''Car'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|parce_que.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Fr-Parce que.ogg|}}
|-
| |Because of || ''à cause de'' || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |Therefore || ''Donc'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Fr-donc.ogg|}}
|-
| |Maybe || ''Peut-être'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Qc-peut-être.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Fr-peut-être.ogg|}}
|-
| |How? || ''Comment ?'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|commentF.ogg|}}
|-
| |How much? || ''Combien ?'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|combienF.ogg|}}
|-
| |I do not understand. || ''Je ne comprends pas.'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|je_ne_comprends_pas.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|je_ne_comprends_pasF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Yes, I understand. || ''Oui, je comprends.'' Except when responding to a negatively posed question, in which case ''Si'' is used preferentially over ''Oui'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|oui_je_comprends.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Oui,_je_comprendsF.ogg|}}
|-
| |I agree || ''Je suis d’accord.'' D’accord can be used without ''je suis.'' || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |Help! || ''Au secours ! (à l’aide !)'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|au_secours.ogg|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|au_secoursF.ogg|}}
|-
| |Can you help me please? || ''Pouvez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ?'' / ''Pourriez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ?'' (formal) or ''Peux-tu m’aider s’il te plaît ?'' / ''Pourrais-tu m’aider s’il te plaît'' (informal) || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |Where are the toilets? || ''Où sont les toilettes ?'' || {{IPA|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|où_sont_les_toilettes.ogg|}}
|-
| |Do you speak English? || ''Parlez-vous (l') anglais ? / Est-ce que vous parlez (l') anglais ?'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Est-ce que vous parlez l'anglais.oga|}} || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|parlez-vous_anglaisF.ogg|}}
|-
| |I do not speak French. || ''Je ne parle pas français.'' || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I do not know. || ''Je (ne) sais pas.'' || {{Audio-IPA|help=no|Qc-Je sais pas.ogg|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I know. || ''Je sais.'' || {{IPA|/}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I am thirsty. || ''J’ai soif.'' (literally, "I have thirst") || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I am hungry. || ''J’ai faim.'' (literally, "I have hunger") || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |How are you? / How are things going? / How is everything? || ''Comment allez-vous?'' (formal) or ''Ça va?'' / ''Comment ça va ?'' (informal) || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I am (very) well / Things are going (very) well // Everything is (very) well || ''Je vais (très) bien'' (formal) or ''Ça va (très) bien.'' / ''Tout va (très) bien'' (informal) || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I am (very) bad / Things are (very) bad / Everything is (very) bad || ''Je vais (très) mal'' (formal) or ''Ça va (très) mal'' / ''Tout va (très) mal'' (informal) || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I am all right/so-so / Everything is all right/so-so || ''Assez bien'' or ''Ça va comme ci, comme ça'' or simply ''Ça va.''. (Sometimes said: « Couci, couça. », informal: "bof") i.e. « Comme ci, comme ça. ») || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |I am fine. || ''Ça va bien.'' || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|-
| |(How) can I help you? / (Do) you need help? / We need help! || (Comment) pourrais-je vous aider? Avez-vous besoin d'aide? Nous avons besoin d'aide! || {{IPA|}} || {{IPA|}}
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|French language and French-speaking world}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links |wikt=French |commons=Category:French language |b=French |n=no |q=no |s=no |v=Topic:French |species=no |display=French language}}
{{Wiktionary cat}}
{{InterWiki|code=fr}}
{{WikisourceWiki|code=fr}}

===Organizations===
* : an international organization for the promotion of French language and culture {{fr icon}}
* : Agency for promoting French as a foreign language

===Courses and tutorials===
* : interactive French program, ]
* , ]
*
* : podcasts, vocabulary quizzes, and more
* : Free written and audio course made by the U.S. Foreign Service.

===Online dictionaries===
*
* : monolingual dictionaries (including the ]), language corpora, etc.
{{For|other unilingual dictionaries|fr:Dictionnaire}}

===Vocabulary===
* ]

====Numbers====
* {{cite web|last=Smith|first=Paul|title=French, Numbers|url=http://www.numberphile.com/videos/french_numbers.html|work=Numberphile|publisher=]}}

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Revision as of 16:10, 10 June 2013

FRENCH IS A VERY SILLY LANGUAGE, FOR FROGS, RIBBET RIBBET. FROM AMHERST REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL