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Reasons to Study French
Tout le Monde Parle FrançaisFrench is spoken in over 33 countries, second only to English. French and English are the only languages spoken as a native language on 5 continents. French is the official language of France and its overseas territories as well as Bénin, Burkina Faso, Central African Repbulic, La Democratic Repbulique de Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Sénégal, and Togo in Africa. French is also spoken in Luxembourg, Belgium, Québéc, and Switerzland.
French Speaking Countries of the World
La Cuisine et La Nourriture (cooking and food)
French foods are among the very best in the world. The world’s finest chefs train in France and therefore thousands of cooking terms are in French. Here are some cooking terms that may be familiar.Bisque Crêpes Entrée Au Gratin Au Jus Bouillon Croûtons Flambé Hors d'Oeuvre Pâté Pâtisserie Baguette Bouillabaisse Brûlé Canapé Les affaires (business)
French, along with English, is the official working language of
- the United Nations
- UNESCO
- NATO
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
- the International Labor Bureau
- the International Olympic Committee
- the 31-member Council of Europe
- the European Community
- the Universal Postal Union
- the International Red Cross
- Union of International Associations (UIA)
French is the dominant working language at
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the European Court of Justice
- the European Tribunal of First Instance
- the Press Room at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium
One example of the importance of French can be seen in a recent listing of international jobs (7/3/07) distributed by the US State Department: 125 required or preferred French, 31 Spanish, 25 a UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), 10, Portuguese, 7 Arabic, 4 Russian, and 2 German.
Les Études (Studies)
Learning French when it is a different language from one’s native language will facilitate learning another language. Since most languages have learning patterns which can be seen and learned this will speed language learning and understanding
French is a Romance Language, meaning that is comes from Latin. Learning it facilitates the learning of any other Romance Language.
Learning about the English language: Many words in English have Latin and French roots. Often one can recognize a word in English because of its French root. Of course the French root comes from the Latin and students can see the patterns without having to know Latin.
The study of French culture helps students learn how other parts of the world and people live. They will learn what they have in common and what differences there are.
Pour voyager (to travel)
French is the language of many of the most popular travel destinationsParis
Quebec
French Polynesia
Saint Maarten
Provence / La Côte d'azur
Les Alpes?
Les Alpes