THE FRENCH LANGUAGE
French (Français)
belongs to the Romance Languages group (derived from Vulgar Latin). It
developed from the Gallic-Romance dialects that were spoken in northern
France following the Roman invasion by Julius Caesar (58-52
BC). The settlement of Germanic tribes during the 3rd century on had a
profound influence on the language and caused major changes in
terms of pronunciation and syntax. Two major dialects developed:
"langue d’oïl" in the north (the precursor of modern French)
and "langue d’oc" in the south. It was the Franks, from the north
of the country, who were the dominant culture and their name was
applied to both the country and the language. By the 16th century,
French had become the country's official language. Following a period of unification, regulation and purification, modern French emerged.
French ranks twelfth in the list of the world’s most spoken languages, with a total of 120 million native speakers.
French is spoken in many countries (it is the
official or co-official language in thirty countries): Algeria, Belgium,
Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African
Republic, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, France,
Guinea, Haiti, India,
Italy, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Luxembourg,
Madagascar, Mali, Martinique, Mauritius, Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, United
Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu, and
Vietnam.
Dixon Formación provides In-company French Courses, Intensive French Courses, Preparation for Official French Exams and Immersion Courses.
For further information about our French Courses and Exams, please contact Dixon Formación:
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