Even years later (six to be exact…oh god has it really been that long??), I can still remember clearly a professor telling our seminar how she’d wasted time learning French. My ears still bleed and I cringe internally just thinking about it.
To give a bit of context the course was a Global Health seminar and the professor was talking about various environmental engineering projects she’d done around the world, mostly in Latin America. However, prior to that she’d studied French (and presumably engineering) during her undergrad and even spent a semester in Paris. Which apparently she considered a waste of time.
I’m sorry…WHAT? A semester in Paris…studying another language was a WASTE?
To be honest I mostly stopped listening after that, I had little interest in engineering, she was a bit of a dull speaker and she’d just insulted all linguists, Francophiles and language learning in general.
Maybe I was a bit unfair.
Maybe.
She did have a bit of a point for her specific situation, as she wanted to predominantly work on engineering jobs in Latin America, so she should’ve studied Spanish or even Portuguese. However, that’s specific to her situation and honestly all on her for not realizing sooner, and that definitely doesn’t mean studying French was a waste of time!
To be fair, I’m quite protective of the language, as it’s my second language and something I’ve devoted a lot of time to studying over the years. It’s given me some of the best memories and experiences of my life, and while it might not be as globally significant as English or Spanish or even Chinese these days, you can’t really say it’s not a useful language.
So I’m here today to examine how useful French is (spoiler I think it’s VERY useful, but recognize others…like certain engineering professors may need a bit of convincing) and make the argument that really any language is “useful” with the right reasoning.
So how should we examine “usefulness”? Well I believe in order to be useful in the way that that professor was referring to a language needs to be;
- Spoken in multiple countries, preferably multiple continents
- Widely used in business and academic contexts
- Similar to other languages to aid in the learning of MORE languages
- Used widely as a second language if you don’t speak the local language
- Enjoyable to learn and speak
So how does French measure up? Let’s take a look!
Where is French Spoken?
It is spoken widely by roughly 300 million people in countries and territories across all continents. It is used in various contexts as THE official language, an official language and a de facto or second language due to colonial history.
Key:
- *Designates a French Overseas Collectivity
- **Designates a French Overseas Department
- ***Designates an autonomous region of Italy (random I KNOW)
- +Designates minor territory of France directly under the French government
- ~Designates a British Crown dependency (didn’t see that one coming huh?)
Countries & territories where French is THE or AN official language:
Africa: Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Mayotte**, Niger, Senegal, the Seychelles, Réunion**, Rwanda, & Togo
Antarctica: Antarctica: French Southern & Antarctic Lands*
Europe: Aosta Valley***, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Monaco, & Switzerland
North America & the Caribbean: Canada, Clipperton+, Guadeloupe**, Haiti, Martinique**, Saint-Barthélemy*, Saint-Martin* & Saint-Pierre Miquelon*
South America: French Guiana**
Oceania: French Polynesia*, New Caledonia*, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna*
Countries & territories where French is a second language:
Africa: Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, & Western Sahara
Middle East: Lebanon, Syria
Countries & territories where French is a minority language:
Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Europe: Jersey~
North America: United States (Louisiana & Maine)
Where and How Is French Used?
As mentioned above, French is spoken by 300 million people, in numerous countries across every continent. But if you’re still not convinced by the sheer number of speakers, allow me to elaborate.
It is an official EU language, a procedural language of the EU, an official language of the UN and the ONLY language used for deliberations by judges in the European Court of Justice. Historically it was also the language used in diplomacy and is the academic and language of the elite in many countries where it’s an official (but not THE official) or second language.
It’s also a popular language to learn and is the sixth most popular language to learn (current estimates put us French language learners at roughly 120 million strong). If you want a global language that’s useful you could definitely do worse.
Is French Similar to Other Languages?
As a Romance language of the Indo-European family, French is very similar to Italian, Portuguese and Spanish all of which also descended from the Roman Empire’s Latin. So if you know Italian, Latin, Portuguese or Spanish you’ll find French easier than other students.
Similarly, if you learn French, it will make learning those other languages a bit easier.
If you’re a native English speaker like me, you’ll be happy to learn that we stole many words from the French language, roughly 2,000. Some examples include garage, armoire, cliché, déja vu, liaison, vis-à-vis, etc. which means you likely already know many words.
So…Just How Useful is French?
Well based on the facts I’ve presented let’s take a look at my initial list of “usefulness”:
- Spoken in multiple countries, preferably multiple continents.
Well, take a look above, and you’ll see that French is an official or second language in multiple countries across EVERY continent. CHECK.
- Widely used in business and academic contexts.
It’s an official procedural language of the EU and UN as well as every government where it’s an official language. Additionally, it’s still widely used in diplomacy and higher education institutions in many countries. CHECK.
- Similar to other languages to aid in the learning of MORE languages.
As a Latin based Romance language, mastering the vocab (which you’ll know plenty as a native English speaker), pronunciation and grammar will help you in learning Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. CHECK.
- Used commonly as a second language if you don’t speak the local language.
In addition to being an official language of many countries, it’s a second language in many more. For example if you’re in Morocco or Lebanon but don’t speak Arabic, never fear French will serve you well. CHECK.
- Enjoyable to learn and speak
Well I certainly think French is an extremely enjoyable language, and so do the millions of others learning the language around the world. Honestly, I also think this is the most important of the criteria I listed for whether or not a language is useful to YOU.
So whether it’s French or another language, if you’re motivated to learn it for travel, education, work or just want to be able to communicate with native speakers, then I think it’s useful. But if you’re looking for a widely spoken language that will serve you well, I think I’ve made a good case for my favorite language. Take that Professor-Engineer-French-Was-A-Waste-of-Time.
How about you? Have you ever tried to learn French? How useful are the languages you’ve learned?
Sources and additional reading:
- World Population Review “French Speaking Countries | Francophone Countries 2020”
- Babbel Magazine “How Many People Speak French and Where Is French Spoken?”
- USA Today “Is French the language of the future?”
- Académie Français “Le français aujourd’hui”
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