Why learn French when there is such a variety of foreign Languages to choose from? While being able to speak any foreign Language has its obvious advantages like the ability to travel to more countries and communicate with more people, knowing the French Language has its own benefits. So why learn French? Here are 5 excellent reasons that should motivate you to study it.
Why learn French: number of French speakers in the world
It is not just in France and in Quebec that the French Language is used: it is the official language of 32 countries spread over all 5 continents and is also spoken as a second language in many more places. There are 70 member countries of the International Organization of La Francophonie and 200 million French speakers all over the planet. This is largely due to the fact that France has been one of the main colonizing nations throughout history and a lot of foreign nations kept French as their main language after gaining their own independence back. Examples of French speaking countries, besides the obvious ones, are Haiti, French Guyana and many African countries such as Chad, Madagascar and Niger. In addition, this language is also used as one of several languages in some European countries such as Belgium and Switzerland. Even in the U.S. Cajun French, a derivative of the French language, is still spoken in some parts of Louisiana.
Why learn French: more job opportunities
With those 200 million French speakers and many more wanting to learn the language, there are many more job opportunities that are open to people who can speak it. The tourism and travel industries need French speakers; knowing this language means you can be a French teacher, get a job as a translator or an interpreter, and given the fact that the bulk of American imports and exports are made with countries whose official language is French, being able to speak this language can help you getting promoted or hired by many multinational corporations.
Why Learn French: Official language of international organizations
While English is the main language of many international organizations, French is also used as official language of the United Nations, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the European Community, to name just a few.
Why learn French: social advantages
Not only it is the language of romance, but knowing some French undeniably has some social advantages. When people know you can speak French, they are more inclined to think of you as an intelligent person than someone who can only speak English. Knowing how to speak French is useful when traveling or meeting people from other countries as this language may be the only way to communicate between you and the other person, even if this person's first language is not French.
Why learn French: cultural advantages
Lovers of literature should be able to read the works of their favourite French authors in their original versions: it just does not make sense to have to read the English translation of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" or "Les Fables" of La Fontaine. Likewise for classic movies: why watch a dubbed version of "Belle De Jour" when you can listen to the beautiful Catherine Deneuve speak French?
There are many reasons why a person should choose to learn a language other than his or her own native language. If you are still undecided on which foreign language to study, think of how widely the language is spoken throughout the world, its cultural influence and economic relations. Then instead of asking the question: "why learn French?" maybe you should ask yourself: "why not learn French?"
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