Today’s spotlight language is French. We have background and interesting facts about the language, as well as information to help you find children’s books in French. Interested in learning interesting facts about other languages? Check out our series of posts on various world languages including Hindi, Russian and Japanese!
Where is it spoken?
French is the official language of France, and it is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. There are about 300 million French speakers worldwide. It has official status in 32 countries, second only to English.
How Many People Speak French in the US?
According to the most recent US Census data, there are about 1.3 million French speakers in the US (not including French Creole, which is counted separately). There are large French speaking populations in New York, Louisiana, Washington DC, Massachusetts, Texas and California.
Interesting Facts About French
There are many food-related idioms in French. One example is “En faire tout un fromage,” which translates to “make a whole cheese of it.” This saying is used to when a person is making a bigger deal of something than it deserves. In English, its equivalent is “making a mountain out of a molehill.”
French didn’t become widely used in France until after the French Revolution in the late 1700s.
“Salut” can be used as both a casual hello or good-bye.
French Books – Bilingual Children’s Books
If the kids in your life speak French, or are learning the language, you may want suggestions on some of the best bilingual French storybooks and audio books for kids. Some popular and engaging stories with text in both English and the French language include: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and The Giant Turnip. You may also want to check out the illustrated French-English dictionary with audio for children.
Do you speak French, or are you learning the language? Comment below and share your interesting language facts!
“Eiffel Tower, Paris (France)” by Tommie Hansen via Flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/gEnCEM