So, you’ve cleverly decided to learn a new language. After all, you know it’s good for you (and, if you don’t I recommend reading this article). All you need to move on is to figure out which language: well, the correct answer is always French. But why learn French you ask? I’ll give you 10 reasons right here and now.
1. It’s a popular language
French is the official language in 29 countries across 4 different continents. In Europe, of course you have France, and its neighbors Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg as well as some other tinier countries. In Africa, as there were a number of colonies, a lot of countries retained French as one of their official languages (for instance Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Sénégal, Madagascar…). In Oceania, Vanuatu has French as an official language. In America, you have Canada and Haïti.
88 member States and governments comprise the OIF, an international organisation of French-speaking countries. To refresh your memory, there are officially 197 countries on Earth, so 45% of all countries make this institution.
How many people speak French?
It is the native language of over 75 million people.
According to the OIF institution, more than 300 million people speak French making it the 5th language in the world (4th online). Approximately 46% live in Europe, 48% in Africa, 6% in America and less than 1% in Asia and Oceania.
As a reminder English is the third language in the world by number of native speakers. It is nonetheless the first language by number of speakers worldwide.
What is that compared to Spanish ? Or Chinese ?
Spanish is spoken in 20 countries, mostly in America and Spain. It is the second language spoken in the world by 500 million people as a native competence, and 100 million more as a second or foreign language.
Regarding Chinese, it is of course spoken by more than a billion people. The most common Chinese dialect is Mandarin, which is spoken by roughly 920 million people making it the first language in the world. However, compared to French, this language is only spoken in a few countries in Asia, mostly China, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore and Hong-Kong. You will find a lot of immigrants all across the world who use Chinese as well, that number is estimated around 9 million.
2. It’s an easy to learn language, taught all around the world
French is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world.
It is relatively easy to learn, and given the fact that there are teachers made available all around the globe, you will never be alone in your studies.
3. It will allow for more job opportunities
France is a major economic partner, despite its smallness in size it is the 5th biggest economy in the world. With huge French corporations in a variety of sectors (automobile, luxury goods, aeronautics…), speaking French is definitely an asset to land a corporate job in those firms anywhere in the world.
4. It’s a language for learning other languages
No wonder it’s the language of love! Spread the love, learn French and so many other languages will come naturally like Spanish, Italian, Portuguese…One could raise the argument that it’s because they are all derived from Latin, but who learns Latin now? Just learn French.
5. It’s basically English
Over half of modern-day English vocabulary is derived from French! Words you use on a daily basis come directly from le français, and sometimes mean the same thing. There are called gallicisms, in case you wanted to know.
It will not be too difficult to understand words such as “voilà”, “cuisine”, “rendez-vous”, “un petit je ne sais quoi”, “petite”, “chargé d’affaires”…
Moreover, a lot of cities in the States have French names: Baton Rouge, Fond-du-Lac, Detroit, Port anything, Des Moines!
Halfway through…Are you still asking yourself why learn French? Here are 5 more reasons…
6. It’s full of rich history
You will definitely ace any history quiz just by learning a bit about French history. French history is the birthplace for other countries’ history. We have (a) history with England and America. Great names in French history also had their role in, for instance, the civil war in the States.
When you visit France, so many ancient places filled with history are available to you, which brings us to our #7 on the list of reasons why you need to learn French.
7. It’s also oozing with culture
French names, French words are tightly related to different aspects of our culture: cinema, architecture, music, literature, cooking…
Ever dreamed of reading the original words of authors such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Baudelaire, Victor Hugo? Ever itched to sing in French “La vie en rose” like Edith Piaf, or “Alors on danse” by Stromaé? Ever had the desire to cook like Paul Bocuse or Paul Pairet? The desire to learn more about the French cinema? To draw one of those French girls like Renoir, Monet or Degas? See the places where Cézanne or Van Gogh hung out?
Also, fun fact, did you know that France is the country with the most Nobel prise winners in Literature? So I guess it’s safe to say we have a way with words, which will only be fully understood by reading the works in the original language.
Well it’s all available to you if you can learn French a little bit. It’s always better in the original version.
8. It’s a language of diplomacy
Despite the fact that French people are far from being impeccable impartial diplomats, French is one of the working languages in a number of international organisations such as the United Nations, NATO or the UNESCO.
The UNESCO, by the way, has its headquarters in Paris, France. Other entities such as the OECD, the World Organisation for Animal Health or ITER (international nuclear research) have their headquarters in France. Same goes for several European entities, namely the European Parliament for instance.
It is also used in international sports competitions like the Olympic Games.
9. It will lead to discovering a major tourist attraction
France is the world’s first tourist destination. Well, it was anyway until at a couple years ago when we could travel.
In 2018, more than 89 millions foreign people visited France. The number of tourists increases regularly, as well as the amount spent on French soil.
Paris is nice sure, but so many other places are worthy of visits. Each region has its own specialities and uniqueness, may it be local food, the history (some places have caves from the caveman ages, other castles from when all those King Louis ruled…), the views, the architecture, the weather. Some places will definitely be more enjoyable and accessible if you can speak the grumpy French native’s language.
10. It will give you the ability to curse and yet sound cultivated
This one is worth all the others. French is so soft, chic and romantic isn’t it?
The accents are not as stressed as in English. So, the first thing you will find useful is to learn a lot of swear words, and say them with a français accent. You will sound clever while cursing the hell out of everything. That’s the fun in learning a new language, that language being French. Nobody can swear better than an angry person in French.
So now I bet you only want to learn or even teach French! Bravo, quelle bonne idée!
