€ French: a world language
- French is one of only two languages in the world spoken on
five continents.
- UNESCO [United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization], the International Olympic Committee, the International Labor Bureau, and the International Monetary Fund have two working languages, one of which is French.
- in 1992, French was the 11th most spoken language in the
world (122,000,000), ahead of German (118,000,000) and behind Japanese
(126,000,000).
- 26,5% of Europeans speak
French.
- Le Grand Larousse de la langue française (7 volumes) defines 75,600 words in
French.
- France enrolls more foreign students than any other country
in the world except the United States : France (136,015) ; U.S.A. (438,618).
- in 1991-1992, more U.S. students studying abroad go to
France than any other country except the United Kingdom: France (11%) ; U.K.
(23,3%).
- There are 57,000,000 foreign students of French in the
world: 20 million in francophone
Africa ; 12 million in Western Europe; 8.6 million in the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia); 5.4
million in North America; 4.7 million in Central Europe; 2.5 million in Latin
America; 2.2 million in the Middle East and Near East; 800,000 in Asia; and
700,000 in non francophone Africa.
- French as a foreign language is the second most frequently
taught foreign languagein the world after English.
€ French: the language of diplomats
- The United nations has six official languages and two
working languages. French is
both an official and a working language.
- in 1994, of the 178 speeches made in the United Nations, 85
were in English, 27 in French, 20
in Spanish, 17 in Arabic, 5 in Russian, 3 in English/French, 1 in Chinese and
20 others.
- The five principal languages in the European Community are:
German (23%); French, Italian and English
(17-18%); Spanish (11%).
Worldwide, their relative rankings change: English (400 million in 32 countries); Spanish (260 million in 21 countries); French (120 million in 33 countries);
German (100 million in 6
countries); Italian (60 million in 1 country).
-
French is the second most studied second language in the European community
(27%), behind English (35%)
and ahead of German (14%).
€ French: the language of international trade
- The French rank 6th in U.S. foreign investments. Over 1,000
French companies have subsidiaries in the U.S.
- France has the 4th largest economy in the world after the
U.S., Japan and Germany.
- France is the 2nd largest exporter of agricultural products
in the world after the U.S.
According to the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry and
the U.S. Foreign Service Institute, it takes approximately 450 to 480 hours of
study (30 to 32 semester units) to reach a level of proficiency
described as “advanced”
by the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) .
- More tourists visit France
than any other country in the world.
Since 1992, the number of tourists visiting France each year is greater
than the entire population of France.
€ French in
the United States
- There are 40,000 French
teachers in the U.S.A.
- in the Fall 1990, French
was the second most taught foreign language in U.S. institutions of higher
education (272,472), behind Spanish (533,944) and ahead of German (133,348).
- In 1990, French was the second most frequently spoken
non-English language used in U.S. homes (1,702,176), after Spanish (17,339,172) and ahead of German (1,547,099).
- In 1990, French was the
most frequently spoken second language in four states: Louisiana, Maine, New
Hampshire and Vermont.