The French Language
With a history dating back to the Latin language of the Roman Empire, French is one of the most popular of the Romance languages. Today, more than 300 million people embrace the French language as their native tongue or second language. Originally spoken in the regions of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, the language has since spread to parts of Africa, Vietnam, and many islands nations.
The French language originated from Vulgar Latin, which is much different from the literary type of Latin. During the times of ancient Gaul, which is now known as France, the Romans conquered the land during the 1st century BC. At the time, all inhabitants spoke Gaulish (a Celtic language), which was quickly replaced by the Latin of Roman soldiers. During the 5th century, the Franks (Germanic tribes) started to infiltrate Gaul, eventually adapting the Roman language.
The French language began to slowly develop, taking several hundred words from the Celtic and Germanic language, but the basis of the vocabulary was mostly Latin. By the 9th century, the language spoken in France had diverted from Latin and was dubbed "Old French." This kind of speech lasted from the 9th to the 13th century. Between the 14th and 16th century, French was known as Middle French and continued to borrow words and expressions from the Latin, Greek, and Italian language.
There are 54 countries that possess a significant population of French-speaking residents, reaching parts of the Pacific, South America, North America, Europe, and isolated locations in Asia. Across the globe, there are 29 countries that claim French as their official language.
In regards to the French overseas territories, French Guinea, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, and Saint-Pierre highlight French as their official language. French is the official language of the Walloon Region in Belgium with the exception of the East Cantons, which is German-speaking. It is also one of two official languages (joining Dutch) of the Brussels-Capital Region. In the province of Aosta Valley in Italy, French joins Italian as the official language. Throughout the land, an assortment of Franco-Provencal dialects is spoken about the province.
In Haiti, the official language is French, which is mostly spoke by the well educated and members of the upper class. The French-based Creole language, known as Haitian Creole, is also widely spoken throughout Haiti, as well as parts of Louisiana. Joining German, Italian, and Romansh, French is one of four official languages of Switzerland. It is estimated that 20% of all Swiss claim French as their native language.
Additional French-speaking countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, and Vanuatu.
Jacob Lumbroso writes articles on history, culture, and foreign languages for the www.ultimatelanguagestore.com
French Articles:
The French Language
With a history dating back to the Latin language of the Roman Empire, French is one of the most popular of the Romance languages. Today, more than 300 million people embrace the French language as their native tongue or second language. Originally spoken in the regions of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, the language has since spread to parts of Africa, Vietnam, and many islands nations.
Removals to France Firm and French Property Agent Landmark Celebration at The France Show 2008
One of the UK's leading removals to France firms, Burke Bros Moving Group, , based in the West Midlands, and one of the UK's leading French Property Agents, Latitudes, www.latitudes.co.uk , based in Edgware, Greater London, will be celebrating 20 years of business co-operation, having jointly helped thousands of people to successfully move to their new and exciting life in France.
Culinary Traditions Of France
French cuisine is the amazingly high standard to which all other native cuisines must live up to. The country of France is home of some of the finest cuisine in the world, and it is created by some of the finest master chefs in the world. The French people take excessive pride in cooking and knowing how to prepare a good meal. Cooking is an essential part of their culture, and it adds to one's usefulness if they are capable of preparing a good meal.
French/English Translation: The Common History of Two Languages
Along with most of the other languages of Western Europe, both French and English are daughter languages of proto-Indo-European. French is a Romance language, derived from proto-Italic via Latin (like Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Catalan); English is a Teutonic language, derived from proto-Germanic via West Germanic (like Dutch, German, and Yiddish). French/English translation is made more interesting by the complicated history of English and the part French plays in this history, though the two languages are long-since separated on the Indo-European family tree. English is often described as a German language with a Romance vocabulary. Old English was an amalgam of the languages of several tribes of northern Europe - the ...
Discover France Offers Food and Wine Cycling Tours of France For Less
Discover France, the leading specialist in travel services throughout France from Paris to the countryside, features creative food and wine itineraries that offer the best of each region at the greatest possible value to the traveler.
France - Travel To A Country Steeped In History
France is a Western European country which is also made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other countries. Rising from its ashes like a phoenix, France has risen from many internal and external conflicts and wars.
Learn French Online: Great Opportunities for a Would-be Great French Speaker
Try to picture this scenario: You and your friends decided to dine in a newly opened restaurant. As you’re making your way to your reserved table, the waiter suddenly exclaimed “Accueillez la Mademoiselle/Monsieur! Cette voie s'il vous plaît.” (Welcome ma’am/sir. This way please.) Upon hearing those words come out of the waiter’s mouth, you and your friends exchange grins and just give the waiter an approving smile realizing that what you’ve just set foot on is a French restaurant.
Buying Property in South West France
What part of France are you thinking about? South of France property is hard for even the most discerning property investor to resist. You will find property for sale in southern France to be very, well, French. You will find Gascony maisons to be of classic French style or properties for sale in Gers to be antique and castle-like. In fact, many of the properties in Gers date back to the 13th Century.
Parlez-Vous Français? -- How the Internet is Helping People to Learn to Speak French Online
Many Students Find That Pronunciation is the Hardest Part of Learning French. The New Sounds, the Silent Letters, the Liaisons... They All Combine to Make Speaking French Very Tricky. French Classes with Verbalplanet.com Offer the Perfect Solution to Perfecting Your Accent and Achieving Real Fluency by Learning Online in Partnership with a Native Speaking French Tutor.
French Girls Dating Men at Free French Dating Websites
Living in this computer day, there are thousands of French girls dating men and vice versa at free French dating websites French singles online register their personal ads to find love and relationships on the Internet
French Wine Explores Announces New Customized Wine Tours To Provence and the French Riviera
French Wine Explorers is offering luxury travelers the personalization they want with a new customizable wine tour package, A Taste of Provence and the French Riviera, an exclusive 10-day custom wine, culinary and cultural tour.
The Train/The Box Tradeshow Completes Second Season in Chelsea, New York
The Train, a fashion and lifestyle trade show, and The Box, an iconic accessories show that originated in Paris, came together this past Sunday, September 20 - Tuesday, September 22 2009 in New York City. This international tradeshow was held at the historic Terminal Warehouse located in the heart of the West Chelsea gallery district alongside Rendez-Vous and D&A tradeshows. Attracting a total of 2,400 attendees this season, The Train/The Box offers a mix of fresh and exciting merchandise and is a unique experience to buyers and exhibitors alike.
Here Are 5 Guidelines On Learning And Speaking French
There is no specific formula for learning a second language Learning any language would require effort, time and much patience
Learn to Speak French Online
Learning French is the theme of our website You'll see what it's like to learn another language as an adult
Interior and Exterior French Door Options
If you are building a new home or renovating your existing home, you might want to consider interior and exterior French door options to add a touch of elegance and flair to any room in the house ' and a beautiful focal point for the outside A French door is also known as French windows and is a door made from panes of glass or glass panels, called "lites"; when choosing a French door, the door will be described by the number of lites in the door ' as an example, a 15 lite French door or 15 panel French door