- Introduction
- History
- Old French
- Middle French
- Modern French
- French In India
- Importance of French
Introduction:
French (français) is one of the most beautiful and complex languages. French is a sophisticated and subtle language with different meanings and fine distinctions. It was the most spoken language in the world. French was commonly spoken by 53 countries. Approximately 220 to 300 million people in the world population where the first and second language was french.
French is one of the official languages of the UN-United Nations, NATO-North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and EU-European Union. French is also one of the most studied foreign languages. In India, it was the first choice as a second language among students. Even in some states in India, the official language is French. The person who speaks French is referred to as Francophone.
History:
The history of the French language is long and rich. The history that shaped the language that is appropriate even today. French language is evoluted from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gauls.The area of modern day France used to be associated with the larger land covered by Gauls. They spoke a type of Celtic language. Other traditional tribes and lexical groups also occupied the land. Romans baffled the Gauls in 121 BC and the land was finally captured by the Roman Empire in 52 Bc. After that Romans spoke Vulgar Latin, they forced Gauls to speak Latin. It formed the Latin mixed Celtic Words.
In the 3rd century, Western Europe go through a raid by assorted tribes from Germany, with a few groups settling in Northern France. The Franks required the Frankish language. This had a huge impact on the already modified Latin that they Spoke in the country.
French sounds so different from the Romance language because of the Frank Invasion. The arrival of the Franks had a huge impact on the evolution of today’s French language. While they preferred the use of Latin, They imposed the use of their own patterns of usage and stress patterns on the local language. Although French remained a Romance language thanks to its Latin Origins, the sound patterns were permanently changed from others in its language family.
Old French:
The starting of French in Gaul was extremely motivated by Germanic invasions that had extreme impact on the northern part of the land and on the language there. A language breakdown beyond the country. The people of the north spoke langue d’oïl and the people south spoke langue d’oc. Langue d’oïl is cultivated into Old French. The time of Old French crossed between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French has more common specification with Latin. The Old French was springing from Northern Gaul dialects. It became a distinct language with its own grammar. The Strasbourg Oaths is the earliest evidence for Old French.
Middle French:
Within Old French dialects, the Francien dialect is one that is not only endless but also developed during the Middle French Period. The 14th – 17th centuries are to be considered as the Middle French Period. The Middle French grew during the French dialects. In this era grammar and pronunciation began to be standardised. The Latin-French dictionary Robert Estienne was published in this period which had information like phonetics,etymology and grammar.
Modern French:
Early Modern French was developed during the 17th centuries. The French users put the efforts to raise the French language the same as the level of Latin for literary pursuits. This is the period when French will be the official language of the government.
The 17th-18th centuries is to be considered the era of Classical Modern French. They established the key grammar conventions leading to modern French. Due to the country’s expansion of its colonies, French is announced as an International language.
From the 19th century the period was known as contemporary Modern French. During this time the French government offered to pursue policies with the end of other minority and regional languages. In this time period the modern pronunciation of French language was fixed. They declared regularities to French as the Official language of France, Even in colonised areas like Africa and Belgium.
French In India:
The French presence in India was established during the year of 1673. It is commonly known as the French East India Company. This Company was over in India up to1962 when the French Territory was formally modified to India. Indian French (français Indien) is the accent of french spoken indians. They are former colonies of French India. Pondicherry,Mahe,Yanam,Karaikal and Chandannagar are all former colonies of French India.
Even Today Pondicherry has a community of living French people.French is also an official language of Pondicherry.There 6500 registered people in South India where 5500 people live in Pondicherry. The French speaking people gather together to form a group to promote French Culture.The French Club of Bombay is an organisation that unites French Speakers living in the town.French is quite a popular second language in TamilNadu.
Importance of French:
French is the leading language in the world. It was Taught by many top universities around the world. It was the world’s most influential language because of its deep usage. French is used in the World of journalism, education, jurisprudence and diplomacy. Businessmens in the United Kingdom think that Knowledge of French is a useful skill. In 2014 A survey shows that 50% of British Managers considered French to be a valuable Asset for their business. So French will be ranking higher for more desire even though there are many foreign languages. Albert Saiz, an economist of MIT, gave the calculation that 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in the company.
Tourism:
Learning French is useful for immigration. Canada has the point based system in immigration, in that you need to secure a minimum point for eligibility to immigration. If you know French the process will be quite easy and fast too.They prefer French speaking people.
Learn more Languages:
French is the official language in 29 countries. Roughly 300 million people around the world will speak French. If you learn French you can easily learn other Romantic Languages also. Because Latin derived languages like Spanish,Italian and Portuguese all are similar languages.
Fashion Industry:
Fashion Industry Has always been connected with the French language. Most of the vocabulary of the fashion industry comes from the French Language. Learning and speaking in French always add on values in the Fashion Industry. Paris will be 1st in terms of Haute Couture, luxury, Cosmetics and the hospitality industry even though there are international cities like NewYork or Milan. Knowing French is the secret door for career and objectives. Learning and Speaking French makes a difference in your professional career. It will boost the quality of communication with Francophones.
Food Industry:
Even the food industry is also ruled by the French language. Learning French is having Higher opportunities in the food industry. In Canada the Food processing industry is the 2nd largest industry. A French translator is essential for the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency). Because every essential information like identity,manufacturer place,processor.producer or packager on food labels must be printed in official languages. French is the one of the official languages in Canada.
Learn French as proficient boons fly across the world with your ambition….