German is one of the most popular languages in the world. In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records has listed the German language as one of the three languages that are learned the most by people. It is also included in the ten most spoken languages in the world. In the European Union it is the second most known foreign language.German is also one of the agreed upon official languages of the EU and is also chosen, along with English and French, as one of the three working languages used in the European Commission.

German is also considered as a pluricentric language much like English and French. With the wide scope of usage for this language, it would be quite expected to think that a person who knows German would be able to go to any part of Germany and be expected to communicate effortlessly. Unfortunately, this is quite far from the truth. In reality, the German language has many dialects that are spoken in a large part of the country (and even in other countries).

The German dialects are not mutually intelligible to each other. This means that people who only know the different German dialects and not the common German language will not be able to understand each other.

How did the dialects evolve into this? Each dialect has evolved to contain typical words that are not considered as cognates of the words used in standard German this makes it quite difficult to understand in areas where the dialect is not spoken or an area where a different dialect is used.

There is a so-called dialect continuum in countries where German is spoken. During normal situations the dialect that is used by a neighbouring region is understood quite well even if it is also distinctly different from the dialect that is used in the adjacent region.

The so called Low German dialects that are used in the Northern part of Germany are considered mutually intelligible but it still remains not understood in other parts of the country. Of the other remaining dialects, the German dialects used in Switzerland, Southern Bavaria, Austria, and the West Bank of the Rhine are notoriously known for being very hard to understand outside the regions in which these dialects are used. On the other hand, the so called Central and Eastern German dialects are seen to be more understandable in other parts of the country.

Low Germanic dialects are those dialects that were not affected by the High German consonant shift. The Low Germanic dialect is comprised of two subgroups ? Low Franconian and Low German.

The High Germanic dialects are broken down into Central German and Upper German subgroups. The Central German dialects include Ripuarian, Moselle Franconian, Hessian, Thuringian, South Franconian, Lorraine Franconian and Upper Saxon. Upper German dialects include Alemannic, Swabian, East Franconian, Alsatian and Austro-Bavarian. The Upper German dialects are also used in certain parts of the Alsace, as well as in southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and in certain parts of Switzerland and Italy where German is spoken.

The French Language

Roughly around 200 million people around the world speak French. This number includes people who speak French as a native language, as a second language and students of all ages who do not live in a francophone (French-speaking) country but have learned French. In fact French as a foreign language is the second most commonly taught language worldwide after English. It is also the only foreign language that can be useful throughout the world as well as in the United States. French comes in second after English on the list of the world’s 10 most influential languages. Proof of this is the pivotal role French holds. It is one of the official working languages in dozens of powerful international organisations such as the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Trade Organisation (WTO), and a host of other worldwide institutions.

The French language of today is a direct result of long periods of evolution. France, throughout its long history, had been invaded by different ethnic tribal groups. The most distinguished of these are the Franks. They adopted the Latin being spoken at that time. Thus, the French language is a descendant from Latin. It is also known as one of the Romance languages which include Catalan, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. They are called such because their parent tongue Latin was the language of the Romans. Over the years, the early French language has undergone changes in words and grammatical structures. It has evolved into today’s global French.

Frenchspeak – Here, There and Everywhere

The French-speaking world spans the entire globe with its language heard in all the continents. Aside from English, French is the only language spoken as a native or first language on 5 continents.

In Europe, French is the official language of France, Luxembourg, Monaco, Belgium and Switzerland. France with a population of more than 60 million is one of the most modern countries in the world. It is one of the predominant leaders in the European Union. French is a co-official language in Switzerland. This picturesque country is one of the world’s richest countries. It is the centre of many international associations. Belgium, in the half past century, has emerged as a progressive European state. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is home to the headquarters of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

In Africa, the French-speaking countries include Algeria, Burundi, Benin, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Comoros. Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Togo, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles.

In the Americas and the Caribbean, French is spoken in Canada, Haiti, French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe (these last three are French territories).

In Australia and the Pacifics, Vanuatu and the overseas French territories French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Fortuna are French-speaking.

In many other countries, French plays a significant role either as an administrative, commercial or international language. Some of these countries are Andorra, Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Egypt, Greece, India, Italy, Laos, Lebanon, Mauritania, Poland, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom (Channel Islands), United States particularly Louisiana and New England, the Vatican City and Vietnam. Clearly, the French language is spoken everywhere.

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Bonne chance! Good Luck!