English
Country |
| FRANCE |
Population:
Language
French Occitan Arabic German (Alsatian, Franconian) Portuguese | 58.7 million
Number of speakers
48.000.000 3.500.000 – 5.000.000 1.500.000 – 2.200.000 1.000.000 – 1.700.000 850.000
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Other Languages: | Italian (380.000), Spanish (350.000), Breton (200.000), Polish (190.000), Creole (175.000), Corsican (170.000), Catalan (100.000 – 150.000), Yiddish (100.000), Basque (70.000), Subian (68.000), Dutch (60.000), etc. |
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Basic information on the languages:
French
French is a Romance language, member of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-european languages. French is spoken in France, Belgium, and Switzerland; as well as in Canada (principally Quebec), and in many other countries or regions formerly or currently governed by France. It is an official language of more than 25 countries. French served as an international language in diplomacy and commerce as well as among educated people during the last few centuries. Today it still enjoys great cultural prestige and is one of the 11 official languages of the European Union and also, with English, used officially by the Council of Europe.
French is descended from Vulgar Latin, the vernacular Latin (as distinguished from literary Latin) of the Roman Empire. By the 9th century the language spoken in France was a distinct language, called Old French.
Occitan
Occitan, or the Oc language, is a Romance language. It is spoken in seven in the South of France. This area is inhabited by 15 million people. Occitan is subdivided into four main dialects: Languedocien, Provençal, Gascon and Northern Occitan. From the eleventh until the fourteenth century the Occitan language was a language of culture used by troubadours (minstrels). As from the sixteenth century Occitan was banned from official documents, but remained the main language of communication of the population until the beginning of this century. An intellectual elite continued to write Occitan. Nowadays, it is less and less spoken, particularly among young people. In the last few years two surveys have been in the regions of Montpellier and Pau regarding the attitude of the public towards Occitan. Of the total population in this area of France 55% do not know the language; 40 to 50% understand it; 25% can speak it; about 10% speak it daily or often; and 6% claim to be able to write Occitan.
German (Alsatian and Franconian)
German is the denominator used here for the Alemannic tongues of Alsace and the Franconian in part of Lorraine. Its speakers in France number about 1 to 1.7 million people. Franconian resembles Luxembourgish a great deal. Since 1994 the region and the state have co-operated in setting up a bilingual education scheme.
Breton
Breton, or Brezhoneg, is an indigenous Celtic language spoken mainly in the West of Brittany, but also practised in the main cities of the Eastern part, called Upper Brittany. Traditionally it is the language of a large part of Brittany, but over the centuries the linguistic border gradually moved to the West. At the beginning of World War I, the Breton speaking parts of Brittany counted some 900 thousand people only speaking Breton, some 400 thousand bilinguals and 50 thousand who did not speak Breton at all. Today, of a population of some 4 million about 300 thousand can speak Breton to some extent next to French. Only half of them speak Breton on a every day basis.
Corsican
Corsican is used by about 170 thousand people on the island of Corsica, and also by al large proportion of its emigrants. Linguistically Corsican resembles Italian more than French. Corsica became a part of France in the 18th century.
Catalan
Catalan is the mother tongue of some 100 to 150 thousand people in North Catalonia in southern France. This area was incorporated into France in 1659. The Catalan language is also spoken in the Spanish state, in Andorra and in Alghero, on the Island of Sardinia.
Basque
Of all 212 thousand inhabitants in Iparralde (the part of France where Basque is spoken), there are approximately 70 thousand Basque speakers or 33%. Recent surveys show that though the number of Basque speakers in Iparralde is diminishing, there is a general tendency favourable towards the promotion of the use of Basque, also in public domains.
Dutch
Dutch is spoken in the north-west of France. It is spoken alongside French, which is gradually replacing it for all purposes and in all areas of communication. It is a variety of Western Flemish.
Creole
The different varieties are based on Portuguese, English, Spanish, Dutch and French. >Creole= stems from the Spanish term >criollo= which was used in the 17th and 18th centuries to describe people of European ascendancy born in the colonies. Creole is spoken by approximately 1.5 million people throughout France=s four overseas >départements=: Guiana, Guadaloupe, Réunion and Martinique, all of which are regions outside of Europe.
Eurostat surveys showed that 30% of the inhabitants of France can take part in a conversation in English.
Websites:
French Language Sources | |
General overview of France | |
French language resources | |
Dedicated to Breton language |
