French today — where it is spoken
The map
| REGION | NOTES |
|---|---|
| France | Around 68 million |
| Africa | The largest French-speaking region by population — Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DR Congo, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and many more |
| Canada | Quebec, New Brunswick — around 10 million |
| Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg | Official alongside other languages |
| The Caribbean and Pacific | Haiti, Martinique, French Polynesia, New Caledonia |
Most French speakers today are African. By 2050, on current projections, the large majority will be — which is worth knowing if you are learning French for work.
Differences worth knowing
Numbers. Belgium and Switzerland use septante (70) and nonante (90) where France says soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix. The French forms are taught here because they are the standard, and they are the awkward ones.
Quebec French has a distinct accent and its own vocabulary — char for car, magasiner for to shop. Standard French is understood there without difficulty.
North African French is spoken by tens of millions in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, alongside Arabic. Code-switching between the two is completely normal, and many Arabic words have entered everyday French there.
The Arabic layer in French
French borrowed a substantial vocabulary from Arabic, some directly and some through Spanish and Italian.
| FRENCH | FROM ARABIC | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| algèbre | al-jabr | algebra |
| sucre | sukkar | sugar |
| coton | qutn | cotton |
| magasin | makhāzin | shop, store |
| chiffre | sifr | figure, digit |
| café | qahwa | coffee |
| gilet | jalīka | waistcoat |
Modern French slang has borrowed a second wave from North African Arabic — kif-kif (the same), toubib (doctor), bled (home town), maboul (crazy) — all in ordinary use in France today.