Language History
France once belonged in an ancient Western Europe region known as Gaul. The Gaulish (Celtic) language was soon replaced by Vulgar Latin when the region was conquered by Romans in the 2nd & 1st centuries BC. It was during the Germanic invasions in the 4th century AD when Vulgar Latin was infused with different Germanic dialects. The region, which then had a mixture of German settlers, mixed its Germanic, Celtic and Latin languages overtime to create what is known as the French language today.
[/vc_pangea_service_desc_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1552059784468{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1573117940794{margin-top: -100px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” button_color=”#d15f45″ content_font=”Open Sans” button_popup_form=”” button_text=”Get in Touch” button_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fportal.stg-wpml.pangea.global%2Frequest-quote%2F|||”]French is the (or one of) official language of over 30 countries and it is spoken by more than 100 million people in the world. Français is spoken in 29 countries like France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec), northern New England (Vermont), the state of Louisiana.
[/vc_pangea_custom_block][vc_pangea_quote_block font=”Futura Std” quote_text=”“French is the language of love.””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1621798587606{margin-top: 50px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;background-color: #f2f1f0 !important;}” el_id=”no-max-width-container” el_class=”bg-grey”][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1573118380676{margin-top: 50px !important;margin-right: 10px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” background_color=”” content_font=”Open Sans” h_font=”” text_font=”” title=”FACT” css_custom_id=”text-near-bubble” background_image=”5847″]French is spoken as a mother language by 72,000,000 people and as a second language by another 52,000,000.[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1573118412460{margin-top: 37px !important;margin-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” background_color=”” content_font=”Open Sans” title=”Did you Know?” css_custom_id=”text-near-bubble” background_image=”5847″]French is the only language that is taught in every country in the world (other than English). That could equal to 100 million students and 2 million teachers worldwide![/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1552579692355{margin-top: -50px !important;border-top-width: -50px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1552579724621{margin-top: -50px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center”]
English words have French origin – In fact, 30% of the English language is French!
[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1591276196077{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1591276235750{margin-top: -50px !important;margin-bottom: -20px !important;}”][vc_wp_text title=” “]| • Information | • Café |
| • Attention | • Restaurant |
| • Communication | • Adorable |
| • Menu | • Visible |
| • Picnic | • Comfortable |
Top 10 French-Speaking Countries outside France
Source: www.theatlas.com – as of 2018
[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1552579630059{margin-top: -50px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1552638656168{margin-top: -50px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” content_font=”Open Sans” title=”French is a Romance Language”]In literal terms, French is indeed a romantic language but theoretically, it is one of the most popular languages originating from Romans. Other Romance Languages include Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1573118872431{margin-bottom: 50px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1573118854897{margin-top: -50px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” background_color=”” content_font=”Open Sans” css_custom_id=”text-near-bubble” title=”Learning French” background_image=”5847″]There are several variations and dialects of the French language. Parisian French is considered the ‘model’ when learning French as a second language.[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1621798598499{background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}” el_class=”bg-grey”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1549543180676{margin-top: -50px !important;margin-bottom: -50px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” content_font=”Open Sans” title=” French Dialects”]Each dialect has a different accent and some have different vocabularies, too! Canadian French is apparently so different, that European French people sometimes struggle to understand them! For example, in Canadian French the word “plein(e)” means “full of food”, but in France, it means “pregnant”![/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1621798602885{background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}” el_class=”bg-grey”][vc_column][vc_wp_text title=” “]| Dialect | Areas Spoken | Number of Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Standard French | France | 50,000,000+ |
| Canadian French/Quebec French | Canada | 6,000,000 + |
| African French | Western Africa | 120,000,000+ |
| Belgian French | Belgium | 4,000,000+ |
| English – French False Cognates | English – French True Cognates |
|---|---|
| • Coin – coin (corner) | • Fruit – fruit |
| • Attend – attendre (to wait) | • Chocolate – chocolat |
| • Journey – journée (day) | • Example – exemple |
| • Jolly – joli(e) (pretty) | • Pizza – pizza |
| • Grape – grappe (bunch) | • Dentist – dentiste |
French Speakers:
405,644,599
Internet Users:
108,014,564
Penetration:
25.4%
As of 2017. Source: www.internetworldstats.com
[/vc_pangea_tip_block][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1573118975186{margin-top: 65px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” background_color=”” content_font=”Open Sans” h_font=”” text_font=”” css_custom_id=”text-near-bubble” title=”Did you Know?” background_image=”5847″]The French language has over one million words – There are approximately 20,000 new ones created every year![/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1552579851492{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1552579879221{margin-top: -50px !important;margin-bottom: -30px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” content_font=”Open Sans” title=”French Translation Tips”]• Keep in mind that the letter ‘w’ only appears in foreign words within the language.
• Look out for false cognates – “attendre” doesn’t mean “attend”, it means “to wait”.
• Make sure you have full comprehension of the accents, genders, verb conjugation
and pronunciation of nasal sounds.
• Get used to linguistic rules such as replacing “ly” in English to “ement” in French.
• Avoid using general words like “très” or “choses”.
• Try not to use the passive voice unless it’s totally required – this is quite rare in
the French language.
[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1552579572185{background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1550239854424{margin-top: -50px !important;margin-bottom: -50px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” content_font=”Open Sans”]Are you looking for professional French translation services? Get in touch with Pangea Global! We’ll hook you up with one of our professional linguists who will provide you with accurate and reliable French localization services, copywriting, voice overs and more![/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1552579593314{background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_pangea_cta_button button_text=”Get In Touch” button_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fstg-wpml.stg-wpml.pangea.global%2Fquote%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
