Why Speak French?

French is spoken on 5 continents.

North America

Africa

Europe

South America

Asia

Over 20 countries in Africa have kept French as their official language

About 1/3 of Canadians speak French. In the US more than 400,000 people speak it. It is

an official language of Louisiana

It is a key language in the European Union

5

200 millionFrench is the native language of over 200 million people.

It is a second language to millions more. A list of countries where French is a national language:

BelgiumBenin

Burkina-FasoBurundi

CameroonCanada

Central African Republic

ChadComorosDemocratic Republic of CongoDjiboutiFranceGabonGuineaHaiti

Ivory CoastLuxembourgMadagascarMaliMonacoNigerRepublic of Congo

RwandaSenegalSeychellesSwitzerlandTogoVanuatu

International OrganizationsFrench is the official working language of

the United Nations,

UNESCO,

(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization),

NATO,

(North Atlantic Treaty Organization),

the International Red Cross

and

international courts

50%

50% of current English vocabulary comes from French.

It is a very good base for learning Romance Languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and

Romanian.)

abandon abdomen 

abracadabra    absent

ballet

barbecue

bazooka   

biceps

bible

cantaloup caramel

cellulite 

dimension discrimination

excellence

explosion

HIV – the virus that causes AIDS

TGV – High speed Train

Chunnel – Tunnel under the English Channel

Concorde – Supersonic Airplane

Surgical robots

Technology & Medicine

France is a world leader in technology and medicine

For example, below is a list of recent French accomplishments

Bartholdi - Statue of Liberty

Louis Braille - Braille

Nicolas Conte - Pencils

Emile Gagnan and Jacques Cousteau - Scuba Equipment

Gustave Eiffel - Eiffel Tower

Doctor Joseph Ignace Guillotin - The Guillotine

Other French Inventions..

Laennec - Stethoscope

Louis Pasteur - Pasteurization

Jacques Heim and Louis Reard - the Bikini

Fashion

Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton,

Yves Saint Laurent.

Since the 16th century, France has been the leader of high fashion

Artists

France is the birthplace of some of the most famous artists ever born.

Literature

'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'

'The Three Musketeers'

'The Count of Monte Cristo',

'The Nutcracker'

The Man in the Iron Mask

Around the World in 80 Days

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Madeline

Little Red Riding Hood Sleeping Beauty

Cinderella

French writers have been awarded more Nobel Prizes in Literature

than any other country (except writers in English)

France is the most popular tourist destination in the world

Tourism

Paris is the most visited city in the world

Le Fin…

(The End)

That means making milk products safe to eat and drink..

Scuba stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.