When you are learning a language, it can be fun to know some interesting information and facts about the language to understand it more. Discover 15 fun facts about the French language to help you get better in French.
Fun Facts About the French Language
Between the 17th and 19th century, French was the official international communication language but unfortunately, it was taken over by English.
New Brunswick is the only province in Canada that is officially bilingual. Quebec is totally French (even though most people in big cities speak both French and English).
It is the official language of the UN, the International Red Cross, The European Economic Community, NATO, and the International Olympic Committee.
The oldest French words ever recorded were written in 842 AD Les Serments de Strasbourg, an oath sworn by Charles the Bald and Louis the German against their brother.
English has borrowed many words from French. Approximately ⅓ to ½ of English words come from French (the word surf for example).
French is the official language in France, Haiti, Luxembourg and 15 African countries.
It means that you can visit many African countries and practice your French there!
Simple, quatorze, quinze, monstre are French words that don’t rhyme with any words. Don’t try to write a poem about monsters or these numbers!
One oeil, two yeux? This is the only French word that starts with a different letter for the singular and plural word.
But this isn’t the only weird French plural form. For example, two plural forms are accepted for “le ciel” (the sky). “Les cieux” is the most used plural form, but in poetry, you can use “ciels”. I guess we’ll never run out of fun facts about the French language.
If you speak Spanish or Italian, you’ll probably find learning French is easier since they are all Latin-based languages.
And if you don’t speak Spanish yet… Well, you can take some private Spanish courses!
The Office québécois de la langue française has to go through 50 million requested words each year which is 50 times more than in France.
20,000 new French words are created every year and the French have more than one million words. That’s a lot of words to remember!
Here are some of the newest words added to the French dictionary.
France has the most yearly visitors. About 82 million visitors per year.
You can find someone who speaks French on 6 out of 7 continents: Canada in North America, numerous West African countries in Africa, French Guiana in South America, France obviously in Europe and Vanuatu in Oceania.
During the 18th century in France, only 25% people spoke French in the country.
French is the mother-tongue of more than one million United States citizens.
Do you know any other fun facts about the French language? Check our latest article on the subject!
Sources: jadorelyon.com, lingualinx.com, normandale.edu, bbc.co.uk
