French is a major language of international communication. It is the second most widely learned language after English and the sixth most widely spoken language in the world. Perhaps no one will argue that French has the reputation of being the most romantic language in the world. Here, we are offering you the most interesting French language facts.
1. The French language is recognized as official in 29 countries of the world, including Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Monaco and Luxembourg. But, for example, “French Canadian”, which is used in the Canadian province of Quebec, is so different from traditional French that even French people are sometimes unable to understand every word.
2. French for 6 centuries was the official language of England. In 1362, The Pleading in English Act was issued – an official document obliging the British Parliament to conduct legal proceedings in English only. It is funny that this Act was also written in French. And even despite it, until 1423, parliamentarians continued to use the French language exclusively.
3. The motto of the monarch of Great Britain and the Royal Coat of Arms of this country is also written in French and sounds like “Dieu et mon droit” (“God and my right”).
4. The longest sentence in modern literature in French attribute to Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Miserables”. There are 823 words in one sentence.
5. Writer Georges Perec in the novel “La disparition” never used the letter “e”, which is the most frequently used letter in French. When translating the book into other European languages, this letter was also not used.
6. Africa is thus the continent with the most French speakers in the world. French-speaking population estimated 430 million people in Africa spread across 29 francophone countries.
7. French is still an official working language in the UN, the EU and dozens of international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the non-governmental humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders.
8. The longest usual word in French is anticonstitutionnellement (25 letters), meaning “anticonstitutionally” (in a way which is not conforming to the constitution).
9. Until the 19th century, French was communicated more in Holland and Germany than in parts of France.
10. Until the 19th century, more people spoke French in the Netherlands and Germany than in some parts of France.
11. In the 19th century, all Russian nobility spoke French, which played a poor role during The Napoleonic Wars in 1812. Then in the dark, Russian officers were sometimes confused with representatives of the enemy army because of their French speech.
