By Sarah Howarth and Nathalie Moire
French, a Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin, is a truly international and increasingly utilised language. It is the official language of 29 countries spanning the continents of the world, including:
According to France Diplomatie, there are around 220 million French speakers worldwide. This includes 72 million partial French speakers, making French the 6th most widely used language of the world in 2017. Around 50% of its speakers live in Africa and this percentage is set to grow as Africa’s population rises.
Along with English, French is taught in education systems across the world and is the second most commonly taught language worldwide. As well as being studied in schools, colleges and universities, France’s international cultural organisatons (Institut Français and Alliance Française) teach and promote the language worldwide. Here, at Language Services Direct, we specialise in training professionals in business French in order to conduct their work in this important business language.
Unlike in English, French nouns are either masculine or feminine, used with the articles, ‘le’ or ‘la’ (the) and ‘un’ or ‘une’ (a). The gender of the noun (which must be memorised, noun by noun) affects the form of other words that should be used around it. This is referred to as ‘agreement’ and applies also to number.
Eg:
Une entreprise (a company – feminine, singular)
Une petite entreprise (a small company – feminine singular)
Des petites et moyennes entreprises (SMEs – feminine, plural)
Un bureau (an office / a desk – masculine, singular)
Un petit bureau (a small office/desk – masculine, singular)
Des petits bureaux (small offices/desks – masculine, plural)
The verb system is complex and conjugations need to be memorised. If you compare the English verb ‘to work’ with the French ‘travailler’ in the present tense, the difference is clear:
English: I work, you work, he/she works, we work, you work, they work. (The verb ‘work’ only changes when used with he/she/it.)
French: je travaille, tu travailles, il/elle travaille, nous travaillons, vous travaillez, ils/elles travaillent. (The verb changes when used with each different pronoun.)
Whilst many French verbs follow regular patterns of conjugation, making memorisation easier, there are plenty irregular verbs, many of which are commonly used in everyday life. Conjugations of these verbs need to be learnt by heart individually: quite a challenge!
These are the little words used to infer direction and position. In English, this includes: to, for, on, in, by, etc. And in French: à, de, en, par, pour, sur, dans… . Prepositions are used differently across different languages, leading to problems in use, which can be hard to eradicate. This is because rules regarding use from learners’ native languages are hardwired and transfer into their use of other languages.
Example: je travaille en France, à Paris, dans le 16ème arrondissement, dans une grande entreprise. (I work in France, in Paris, in the 16th district, for a large company.)
Spelling is not phonetic; French words are often not pronounced as they are written.
Certain sounds in French pose difficulties for native speakers of other languages. These unfamiliar sounds can be heard to master, both in terms of distinguishing them by ear and producing them by mouth. Examples include:
Silent letters, often found at the end of words, can also be problematic for learners. Consider these words that all end in a silent letter:
Equally, learners who are cautious of silent letters may overcompensate and not pronounce letters than should in fact be heard.
As the 6th most widely spoken language of the world and 2nd most widely learnt, training in French presents opportunities for travel, education and culture. In terms of business, there are job opportunities for French speakers in key business destinations including France, Switzerland, Belgium and Canada. France is the 6th largest economy globally in GDP terms, just behind the UK, and an important international business partner.
French is a working language and official language of many key international organisations such as the European Union, United Nations, UNESCO and NATO.
France 24
TV5 Monde
This might be 2-5 new pieces of vocabulary every day. If you can attach learning to an activity you complete every day, this may help. You might, for example, review vocabulary pinned to your bathroom mirror as you brush your teeth each day.
Daily commutes are a fantastic time to focus on your French. With a plethora of effective and engaging apps and websites available for language learning, many which gamify learning, your study sessions can be fun!
Seize every opportunity to practise your French with native speakers. Call upon friends and colleagues as communication partners. For more advanced learners, enlist your line manager’s support in finding opportunities to implement your learning at work. There are also apps available that match you with native speakers for practice purposes: HelloTalk.
Travel, meet, work, read, listen and converse in French as much as possible.
References:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/worlds-biggest-economies-in-2017/
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-french-and-where-is-french-spoken
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