Will French Become Most Popular Language Again

Kathy Stein-Smith asks what the real story is on the French/English language dynamic in the EU

While the 2016 UK European Spousal relationship (Eu) Membership Referendum launched the current public conversation on the condition of English language in the EU, it has been—just as much, if not more than—a chat on the future of French within the EU.

In order to sympathise the significance of this conversation most language, and languages, it is necessary to begin with the significance of multilingualism as a core value of the EU, which has implemented and supported plurilingualism, often referred to equally "mother natural language plus two," equally a pragmatic educational objective.

In alignment with this core value of multilingualism, Europe accounts for more half (53.9%) of the global language-services sector, which is valued at USD 38.two billion per year, and the French Hewlett-Packard'south Application and Content Localization group (HPPACG) is the third-largest language-services provider in the world.

From the original four official languages of the European Customs, the number has grown to 24, with English, French, and German (in alphabetical society) the breezy de facto working/procedural languages, and the French government has long been an active advocate for the use of French.

But as the UK prepares to leave the EU, leaving no member nation with English registered as its official linguistic communication, the role of English within the EU has been questioned, with suggestions made that French and German should be the sole working/procedural languages.

French as a Global Language

Languages spread, grow, and increase in influence due to a variety of political, economic, and cultural factors, and the present and future role of French in Europe can be best understood if examined in the context of its status in the world.

A global linguistic communication, French is widely spoken around the world, with 274 meg native speakers, and is the fifth-most-widely speech communication in the world. Information technology is considered 1 of the almost useful languages in international business and is one of the official languages of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including the Olympic Games.

"English is losing its importance in Europe."

"L'anglais perd son influence en Europe, au profit du français."

Co-ordinate to the written report La langue française dans le monde, French is the third linguistic communication on Amazon and the fifth language on Wikipedia, with knowledge of French considered a personal and professional person advantage and a tool to access information around the world.
It is a language of global communication with international media similar TV5Monde, France24, and RFI each reaching tens of millions of viewers and listeners around the world, and information technology is the quaternary-most-widely used linguistic communication on the cyberspace. French films and books are popular effectually the globe.

The economic and political touch of France, the 5th-largest economy in the world, and the French-speaking world, the sixth-largest global geopolitical surface area, is considerable, accounting for 16% of the world's Gross domestic product and 20% of globe merchandise in goods. A report titled "The Global Economic Importance of the French Language" demonstrates the positive impact of French as a common language in trade amongst members of the global French-speaking customs. Information technology is also of import to take into business relationship the soft ability, or appeal, of French linguistic communication, civilization, and lifestyle.

Not only is French republic the almost pop destination for international visitors in the world and the third-most-popular destination for international students, but Paris has likewise long been considered the best city for students in the globe, second simply to Montreal, the 2nd-largest French-speaking city in the earth, in 2017.national students, merely Paris has also long been considered the best metropolis for students in the world, second only to Montreal, the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, in 2017.In add-on, 125 million people are learning French, and it is specially interesting to note that during the menstruum 2010–2014, the number of students learning French increased by two% in North America, 7% in the Heart East, 44% in sub-Saharan Africa, and 43% in Asia and Oceania.

With but under twoscore% of French speakers living in Europe and enrollment in French in Europe down past two% during the 2010–2014 period, the inevitable conclusion is that the future of French is increasingly global, less dependent on Europe than ever before, but—at the same fourth dimension—all the more impactful, precisely because of the interconnectedness of the globalized world.Information technology has even been predicted that, by 2050, French will become the most widely speech communication in the earth.As important as the current state of affairs may be, it is also important to call back that there was another flow in history—the 18th century—when French was the global language, as chronicled in Fumaroli's When the World Spoke French—"when the French were at home wherever they went, when Paris was every greenhorn's second homeland, and when French republic became the object of Europe's collective curiosity."In conclusion, more people are speaking and learning French today than ever earlier, and promotion of the French language is a priority for the French government.

The Promotion of FrenchThe promotion of French "is a priority for French affairs." In improver to the appeal of France, Paris, and the French language, culture, and lifestyle, the French government actively promotes French, with more than 700 professionals and a upkeep of €600 million (USD 750 million) a year. Priority areas include Africa and the Middle East, Europe, the G20 countries, international organizations, economical life, and the media and online.Efforts include the teaching of French through the Alliance Française (445), French Institutes (132), and French Cultural Services, as well equally through French international schools (486), teacher grooming programs, and the promotion of French inside specific professional areas.

The Organization internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), with its 80 members and overall population of i billion, is an example of the global reach of French, and the French government actively supports the French language through a broad range of programs around the world, including the Forum mondial de la langue française and TV5Monde.La Fédération internationale des professeurs de français (FIPF) supports the professional development of French teachers around the world.In improver to its efforts to promote French, the French regime has embraced the rise of bilingualism and heritage languages, with its "révolution bilingue," the French Heritage Language Program, the importance of multilingualism and linguistic multifariousness through its ELAN (Ecole et langues nationales en Afrique) multilingual instruction programme in a dozen African nations, and many more than.

The Future of FrenchThere are more people who speak French now than at whatever other time in history. French is predicted to become the most widely spoken mother tongue in Europe past 2025 and the most widely spoken female parent tongue in the world by 2050. In addition, there are approximately 125 million French linguistic communication learners effectually the globe, and French is actively promoted by the French government and the OIF. The future of French around the world seems assured, and in a globalized and interconnected earth, the global resurgence of French is likely to be felt within Europe and the European Spousal relationship. For those convinced that English is the global lingua franca, information technology is necessary to remember that English language is simply spoken by 25% of the globe population (British Quango).

For those who say that English is—and will ever be—the global language, the future is generally hard to predict. The utilize of English around the world has been driven by a combination of historical, political, and economic factors, heavily reliant on the former British colonial empire and the role of the U.Southward. as a global superpower. Still, in the 21st-century European context, the Uk does not have a pre-eminence of that magnitude, and it is not hard to imagine an EU functioning solely in French, as European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker made the point in a May 2017 address.

The aforementioned forces that have caused the rise of English language in the world may do and so for French, and the global rise of French may impact the status of French in Europe. But every bit English benefited from the synergy of multiple forces in the 20th century, French may benefit from the synergistic effect of a globalized francophone civilisation in the 21st century.It is interesting to note that merely 36% of native French speakers live in Europe, a powerful indication that while French is indeed a European language, its time to come is global and its status is impacted past the aforementioned global forces that accept led to the rise of English. In May 2017, Juncker chose to evangelize a speech in French rather than English, saying, "l'anglais est lentement, mais sûrement en perte de vitesse en Europe."

Final ThoughtAs the UK and the European union motility toward Brexit, it is important to note current reports of increased interest in foreign language within the Uk. Are these merely a coincidence, or a belated response to numerous reports linking foreign language skills to business organization and professional success, or are they a signal that French is on the rise? Either way, the importance of the French linguistic communication and francophone civilisation tin no longer be ignored.

References

https://world wide web.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/05/brexit-english language-is-losing-its-importance-in-europe-says-juncker

http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/europe/fifty-anglais-perd-de-son-influence-en-europe-estime-jean-claude-juncker_1905675.html

https://www.lingoking.com/en/most-us/press/the-international-language-services-market/

https://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/projet/Rapport-OIF-2014.pdf

Fumaroli, Marc. When the Globe Spoke French. Trans. Richard Howard. New York: NYRB, 2001.

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/francophony-and-the-french-language/

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/francophony-and-the-french-linguistic communication/promoting-french-around-the-world-7721/commodity/promoting-french-worldwide

https://www.francophonie.org/Federation-internationale-des-45254.html

http://www.elan-afrique.org/englishhttp://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/francophony-and-the-french-linguistic communication/the-condition-of-french-in-the-world/

https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/english-result-study-v2.pdf

http://www.lalibre.exist/actu/international/si-juncker-s-exprime-en-francais-c-est-parce-que-fifty-anglais-est-en-perte-de-vitesse-en-europe-590d9a1dcd70022542a83417

Kathy Stein-Smith, PhD, is associate university librarian and offshoot faculty in foreign languages and related areas at Fairleigh Dickinson University—Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, New Jersey. She is chair of the AATF (American Association of Teachers of French) Commission on Advocacy. She is a member of the ATA (American Translators Association) Education and Teaching Committee, the CSCTFL (Primal States Conference on the Education of Foreign Languages) Advisory Council, and the NECTFL (Northeast Conference on the Education of Strange Languages) Advisory Council.

She also serves as French language facilitator at MLOW (Many Languages, One Earth). She is the author of iii books and several articles about the foreign language arrears, has given a TEDx talk, "The U.Southward. Strange Linguistic communication Deficit—What Information technology Is, Why It Matters, and What We Can Practise about It," and maintains a blog, Language Matters.

fountainmighter42.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.languagemagazine.com/2017/08/07/future-french-europe-beyond/#:~:text=French%20is%20predicted%20to%20become,French%20government%20and%20the%20OIF.

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