French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance.
The discussion of the history of a language is typically divided into “external history”, describing the ethnic, political, social, technological, and other changes that affected the languages, and “internal history”, describing the phonological and grammatical changes undergone by the language itself.
Today, besides in France itself, French can be heard in many other European countries, widely throughout Africa, and also in various dependencies. In addition, it is the unofficial second language of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and many others.
Académie française, French Academy, is the advisory body that advises on the rules of the French language
How is the French Language is Used Today?
France is part of the European Union and the official language in 29 countries and spoken by about 110 million people, mainly by people who live in France and as a second language by a further 190 million French language speakers. French is spoken by many people in Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxemburg. In Canada, French is spoken mainly in Quebec and was introduced by the French explorers led by Jacques Cartier in 1554. French is an official language in the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey which are British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy.
French is spoken on 5 different continents. Making French one of the most useful second language for travel.
France is the second-largest tourist location in the world that attracts over 70 million visitors a year alone.
Other major destinations that speak French include the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, and parts of Africa and Asia.
French is an official language of many of the world’s organizations:
- United Nations,
- Nato,
- UNESCO
- International Red Cross Association
- Doctors Without Borders
- Numerous other international committees and organizations.
After English, French is the most learned second language in Europe and around the globe.