Dialects of the French Language

The standard for French is based on the dialect of Île de France (technically known as Francien) and has been the official standard language since the mid-16th century.

• Francien
  
• African French
  
• Amercian French
  
• Asian French
  
• Canadian French
  
• European Dialects
  

-- Dialects of the French Language --

Francien

Francien is the official standard for modern day French and it replaced several regional dialects of French previously spoken in Northern and Central France. These dialects were formerly referred to as the so-called Langue d'Oïl.

Regional dialects of French are nowadays mainly evident only in rural speech, although the Picard-Walloon dialect of northern France and the Norman dialect of Western France gave strong competition to Francien in medieval times, and Walloon is still spoken in Belgium.

More History of French Language

-- Dialects of the French Language --

African French

The French language was introduced by the French and Belgians during the period of colonization. As of 2006 it was estimated that there were 115 million French speakers in Africa using French either as a first or second language making it the continent with the most French speakers in the world.

African French is generally divided into 3 main categories although within that there are many variations:

All the African French varieties differ from standard French both in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary.

American French

Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French) is one of three varieties or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes.

Other Louisiana French dialects include Napoleonic French and Colonial or Plantation Society French, spoken primarily in Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, St. Charles, St. John the Baptiste, Jefferson, West Bâton-Rouge, Pointe-Coupée, Avoyelles, St. Mary, Iberia, Assumption, and St. Landry parishes.

Cajun French developed when the Acadians were forced to leave their homeland during the Grand Dérangement from 1755 - 1762 and settled in Louisanna.

The vast majority of words and structures used in Cajun French would be recognized and understood by fluent French speakers from other countries. Where Cajun French differs from the standard, it is due to a variety of influences similar to those which have caused regional variation in other languages of the world.

-- Dialects of the French Language --

Asian French

During the French colonial period in Southeast Asia, in the mid 19th century to the mid 20th century, French served as an official language in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which formed French Indo-China in 1887.

French however is still an administrative language in Laos, Cambodia, India (Mahé, Karikal and Yanam) and Syria.

Canadian French

The term Canadian French is really an umbrella for the varieties of the French language spoken in Canada of which there are four relatively distinct dialects.

Although Canadian French and the French of Europe have many similarities there are substantial differences in dialects. Some say it is easier for Canadian French speakers to understand European French than the other way round.

French is spoken by approximately 23% of the population and is mainly heard in the province of Quebec (80% are French speakers) and the province of Ontario, especially in the national capital of Ottawa.

The main French dialects in Canada are: