If you are preparing to enroll in a French language and french to english course and would like to learn more about the language of the Romantics and Poets, here are some interesting facts that are sure to pique your curiosity and increase your motivation to learn this language.

Official status of the French language
• French is the second language after English in terms of the number of countries where it is an official language – 32 countries versus 45 countries where English is the official language. In addition, the Francophonie (La Francophonie) includes 56 member countries, which currently makes it larger than the British Commonwealth of Nations (the Commonwealth), which includes 53 members.

• French is also the only language other than English taught in every country in the world, with 100 million students and 2 million teachers – 20% of whom live outside the Francophonie.

• Kinshasa (capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is the second largest French-speaking city after Paris, ahead of even cities such as Montreal and Brussels.

• The number of French-speakers has tripled since 1945, after the former French and Belgian colonies retained french to english as their official language, as well as the language of education and science, even after declaring their independence.

• Between 6 and 11 million Americans speak French, as do half of Algeria’s population and 15% of Israelis.

• French continues to be the working language of the UN, the EU and dozens of international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Labor Organization, Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières. Francophone countries make up a very influential association in the UN, the EU and the African Union, not to mention the Arab League.

• Two G8 countries (France and Canada) as well as six European countries (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Romania, Luxembourg, Monaco) are French speaking countries.