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French is an official language in 27 independent nations. French is also the second most geographically widespread language in the world after English, with about 60 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. [1]
~2% of the population speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014. Dominican Republic: 2010: Spanish: French colony from 1795 to 1808. Estonia: 2010: Estonian ~1% of the population speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014. Gambia: 2018: English: Border with Senegal, a French-speaking country. Georgia: 2004: Georgian
The French language became an international language, the second international language alongside Latin, in the Middle Ages, "from the fourteenth century onwards".It was not by virtue of the power of the Kingdom of France: '"... until the end of the fifteenth century, the French of the chancellery spread as a political and literary language because the French court was the model of chivalric ...
The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus [1] in 1880 and became important as part of the conceptual rethinking of cultures and geography in the late 20th century.
The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories [b] can speak French as either a first or a second language.
Ethnic composition of Romania. Localities with a Hungarian majority or plurality are shown in dark green. After the fall of Romania's communist government in 1989, the various minority languages have received more rights, and Romania currently has extensive laws relating to the rights of minorities to use their own language in local administration and the judicial system.
The Académie Française [a] (French pronunciation: [akademi fʁɑ̃sɛːz]), also known as the French Academy, is the principal French council for matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu , the chief minister to King Louis XIII . [ 1 ]
Map showing French colonies, protectorates and mandates (in blue) in Africa in 1930; namely French Equatorial Africa, French North Africa, French Somaliland and French West Africa. Along with former Belgian colonies (shown in yellow), these areas today make up the bulk of francophone Africa .