Origins

The French language originates from Latin and was spoken on the borders of the Roman Empire. Its influence comes from two sources; a language spoken by the Gauls, who were a Celtic tribe, and from the Germanic language spoken by the Franks. These influences distinguish French pronunciation and spelling from Spanish and Italian.

Official Language 

Aside from Belgium, there are forty other countries, which count French as one of their official languages. These include France, Switzerland, Canada, Algeria, Luxembourg, Morocco, Niger, Monaco, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, and Martinique.

The Dominican Republic and the American states of Louisiana and Maine also claim French as one of their administrative languages as do many international organisations, including the Council of Europe, the EU, the African Union, ESA, IHO, FIA, amongst others.

Varieties

There are several regional variants on the French language. Indeed Belgian French differs somewhat to the French spoken in France in terms of some areas of vocabulary, pronunciation, and semantics. Other variants include Acadian French, African French, Cajun, Cambodian French and Canadian French. Some languages also have French roots such as Antillean Creole, Chiac, Tay Boi, Lanc-Patua, Michif, as well as many others.

Brief History

The Gauls and the Celts originally inhabited the area known today as Belgium and about 200 Celtic words still exist in the language in the present day. Most of these Celtic words relate to place and plant names and words associated with the earth and country life. Around the 3rd century AD, Germanic tribes occupied the area and added their influence to the development of the language. The Franks made the biggest impression on the formation of modern day French. Linguists estimate the number of Germanic words that continue to exist in contemporary French to range from 400 words to two percent of the entire vocabulary.

The Old French language was spoken right up to the 14th century and is synonymous with some great works of literature, romances and medieval ballads. Much of the Old French language chronicles the adventures of Charlemagne and the Holy Crusaders. In 1539, the French court replaced Latin with French as its official. The language was harmonised and became more uniform during the 1600s and 1700s and this era in the development of the language is often dubbed Classical French or even modern French.

The French language grew in importance between the 17th to the 19th Centuries as the territory occupied by the French, which included Belgium increased its power. The period of Enlightenment also helped in this process as the language became synonymous with education, literature, arts and diplomacy.

Did you know?

French is the second most spoken language in the world after English. French is one of Canada’s official languages and 5.2 percent of the world’s population who speak French originate from Canada. About 13 percent of Canada’s population only speak French, whilst 18 percent speak both French and English.

Today, over 10 million people in the Americas speak French, which was established here during the 1600s and 1700s.