About the French Language

Approximately 75 million people speak French as their native language. Besides being the official language of France, French is also the official language of Haiti and Luxembourg and more than fifteen African countries. It is one of the official languages of Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, and it is considered an unofficial second language of many countries such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations. In addition, many people around the world learn French in school.

The French language as it exists today is the result of a long and complex evolution. Ancient France saw many periods of invasion by different ethnic and linguistic groups: Greeks, Romans, Celts, Franks and other Germanic tribes, and Arabs. The name, France, actually comes from the name of the Germanic tribe, the Franks, who entered France during late antiquity and gradually became the dominant people. They adopted the late form of Latin being spoken in the country at the time, but added many of their own words or changed some of the Latin forms to resemble their own more closely.

People who speak French today could not understand the early forms of French spoken before the 12th century or so without specialized study. Over the years, as different peoples entered the country, the words and grammatical structures deriving from Latin evolved to fit the needs and patterns of the developing French language. Two examples: the Latin for "farmer" was "agricola"; the French is now agriculteur. The Latin for "(they) are" was "sunt"; the conjugated French verb has become sont.

French vocabulary has contributed many words and phrases to the English language. For example, hors d'oeuvre, en route, rendezvous, and R.S.V.P. all come from French.

False Friends!

As you learn French, it is comforting to recognize some words. However, although French and English share many words and expressions, don't assume that a French vocabulary word always means what you expect it to mean in English. For example, the French word comment doesn't mean "comment." It means "how." And demander doesn't mean "to demand." It means "to ask." A person who is sympathique is not sympathetic-- he's nice.

Formal and Informal Address in French

The concept of formal and informal address may be interesting to an English speaker who is learning French. When you speak French to an older person, or someone you don't know very well, you should use the formal vous form of address. When you speak French to a child, a good friend, or a family member, use the informal tu form of address. Did you know that the French address their pets as tu? It's true! Pets are very highly regarded in France and are treated as part of the family. It's not unusual to see a French person go just about everywhere with the family dog-- even to a restaurant!

French Grammar and French Pronunciation

The conjugation of French verbs can be tricky for English speakers learning French. French verbs fall into two main categories: regular verbs and irregular verbs. Regular French verbs are usually conjugated in a consistent way. The stem is not changed and the endings are regular. Irregular French verbs have inconsistent tense formation with changes in both the stem and ending. The conjugation of each irregular French verb needs to be memorized individually.

English speakers learning French will also find many other interesting differences between the two languages. For example, a decimal is written as a comma, and vice-versa, in French numerals. So, 1,000 looks like 1.000 when written in French. And .75 becomes ,75. Also, you might notice that the French write the number seven with a line through it (to distinguish it from the number one, which they write with a top stroke that makes it look like a seven).

Although French pronunciation follows fairly consistent rules, regular practice is necessary to learn to speak French well. That's why good French software can be so important. It's easier than ever to learn French and to begin to speak French with the language resources and French language software from Transparent Language. With FrenchNow!, WordAce!, KidSpeak, PDQ, and our other language learning products, you will speak French, learn French vocabulary, conjugate French verbs, understand French grammar, and master French pronunciation quickly. Plus, our French translation software, EasyTranslator, will help you translate French to English and translate English to French. Best of luck with your French language learning!

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