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Undeniably, French is one of the most popular languages and is internationally recognized on a massive level. Not only in France, however, as lately, it’s been perceived that even people outside of France are taking a keen interest in learning French. Before we dive deep into the language, do you know how many French Dialects exist? How many varieties and accents does this language consist of? Well, several French Dialects, creole, and French accents have been spoken around the world. We will delve into them furthermore.
For now, the evidence demonstrates that there are around 300 million French speakers worldwide. It depends upon if they count as native speakers, partial speakers, or a speaker of French dialects and creoles. People residing in all five continents speak French. 29 countries consider French as their official language.
French Dialects in the World
In linguistic terms, a dialect is defined as a variety of a language spoken in a particular area. One specific language can have diverse dialects. They are distinguished as a consequence of their grammar. This could be a result of distinct pronunciation, and vocabulary and sometimes they can have their usage of slang. Dialectical differentiation primarily arises as a result of geographical and social factors. Since the French language is one of the most widely spoken languages. There are quite multiple French dialects, varieties, and accents that have arisen as time went by.
French Accents and Varieties in France
Without a doubt, it is the only language that people mostly speak in France. Yet it has multiple tongues to its territory. Depending upon which geographical location its people reside in, hence providing numerous accents and dialects.
People of France generally speak Parisian French or Metropolitan French (which is nothing but considered Standard French). People in Paris and its surroundings speak Standard French mostly. Meridional French (Francitan) is one of the French varieties. People in Marseille, Avignon and Toulouse widely use it.
In the northern half of France, the widely spoken dialects are mostly Standard French. Collectively they are known as ‘ langues d’oïl’ (a group of dialects belonging to the Gallo-Romance origin). Alternatively, in the southern part of France, Occitan dialects are widely spoken (they belong to the Romance family of languages). To conclude, the Southern French accent is softer when it comes to tones, however, the Northern French accent is a bit challenging.
African French
African French is one of the French varieties. An estimated 167 million people residing in Africa’s continent speak the French language. It’s the only continent with the most francophones (one who speaks French). They comprise 51% of the French-speaking population in the world, spread across 34 countries. In Africa, native languages highly impacted numerous French dialects.
Distribution of African French
1. West and Central Africa.
2. French varieties spoken in Eastern Africa ( consisting of Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte).
3. Northwest Africa (people speak Maghreb French widely).
4. Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
5. Réunion, Mauritius and Seychelles in the Indian Ocean by Creoles.
Aostan, Belgian and Swiss-French
Aostan French is one of the French varieties, spoken in the Aosta Valley in Italy. It differs from the standard French, on the contrary, it is a bit similar to Swiss French. In Switzerland, about 22% of the population speaks French.
In Switzerland, people speak Swiss French, and it is identical to Standard French. Romandy is the geographical area where the most people residing speak French it is one of the official languages of Switzerland.
Around 40% of the population in Belgium speak French, predominantly in the southern region of Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. As a consequence of the Dutch influence, Belgian-French differs from Standard French in pronunciation and vocabulary. About 60% of Belgians’ mother tongue is Dutch).
Canadian French (French Dialects in Canada)
Around 23% of the population in Canada speak French, making it the official language alongside English. Around 71% of the native speakers of French predominantly reside in the Quebec Province.
Standard French and Quebec French are two discrete French varieties. They differ in grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary as a consequence of the strong influence of English. Many other French varieties exist in Canada. Quebec-French is widely spoken, followed by Acadian-French and Ontario-French. Franco-Ontarians are the French Canadians from Ontario. The majority of them reside in Eastern Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Central Ontario.
Chiac dialect is the combination of Acadian-French and English, spoken in New Brunswick. During the colonial period, the vicinity of English speakers resulted in atypical usage of English in Chiac French.
Creoles in Haiti and Louisiana
Haiti has two official languages that are French and Haitian Creole. In Haiti, people speak a French variety known as Haitian French. It has a similarity to Standard French. Haitian Creole is a mixture of African and European languages. It is the most spoken French Creole language in the world.
In Louisiana, people speak a French-based language called Louisiana Creole. Don’t confuse it with Louisiana French (it is a French dialect). Less than 10,000 people speak the language in Louisiana. Moreover, with the continuous decline of speakers, the language is undergoing extinction.
French dialects in India
Indians in the southern part speak the French dialect of the former colonies. The colonies are Mahe, Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Chandernagore (a subdivision in the state of West Bengal). Moreover, regional languages like the Dravidian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and the Indo-Aryan language of Bengali have highly influenced this dialect along with English.
Platform to Learn the French Language
If you have a keen interest in learning French, you can find a lot of renowned institutions that offer courses for the same. Moreover, if you are looking for an online course then you should opt for Henry Harvin’s Online French Language Course. Pursuing this course will help you master the French language. It will assist you with in-depth knowledge and would help you crack the most popular French exams such as DILF, DELF, DALF, DCL, and TCF without any difficulty. If you want to know the scope of the French language, check this video out.
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