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Dialects of the French LanguageDialects of the French language - French is a Romance language descending from Latin. It is spoken by more than 75 million people in the world, is the official language in 18 countries and the co-official language in more than 13 countries - So it is no wonder that there are many different dialects that pepper the French language of today. 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. -- Dialects of the French Language --
Francien Francien is the official standard for mordern 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. -- 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. Nowadays though since the break up of Indo-China in the 20th century, the number of French speakers has sharply declined and it is gradually being outpaced by English. French however is still an administrative language in Laos, Cambodia, India (Mahé, Karikal and Yanam) and Syria. Canadian French French was introduced to Canada in the 7th century. The term Canadian French is really an umbrella for the several varieties of the French language spoken in Canada. Canadian French is substantially different in pronunciation and vocabulary to the French of Europe and within Canada the dialects also have substantial differences. 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:
-- Dialects of the French Language --
European Dialects Belgian French is spoken in Belgium along with other regional languages such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Gaumais. It is also spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly Belgian colonies. French was introduced to Belgium when it was unified under French rule during the French Revolution and Napoleonic rule. That along with its proximity to France, intermarriages and the standardization of French in education, as well as modern media, have all contributed in making modern Belgian French almost identical to its Gallic counterpart. Italy Luxembourg Swiss French is spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy as opposed to the Swiss German region (Deutschschweiz) in the northeast. The differences between Swiss French and Parisian French are minor and mostly lexical and neither national would have difficulty understanding each other. The Channel Islands
More information on Dialects of the French Language . -- Dialects of the French Language --
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