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The development of French in Africa | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Haldor Triglot Senior Member France Joined 5619 days ago 103 posts - 122 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Swedish Studies: French, Spanish | Message 9 of 135 07 November 2011 at 1:28pm | IP Logged | ||
Yes, I also think that French does not have a sound position in those countries, because Arabic is the maternal language of virtually the entire population. I guess it is in sub- Sahara where French is likely to expand, because there is the possibility of it becoming a first language, like Spanish is in S America. Maybe French is 'popular' outside of Africa in places like French Polynesia, Quebec, etc.. But they don't make up for a lot of people, and the majority of Europeans learn English today. In Louisiana nobody speaks French. So I think it's Africa that will determine whether French retains its position as a world language, a contender to Spanish, or if it just becomes a language for the particularly interested.. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Rutabaga Bilingual Pentaglot Newbie Romania Joined 4931 days ago 27 posts - 46 votes Speaks: English*, Slovenian*, French, German, Russian Studies: Portuguese, Uzbek | Message 10 of 135 07 November 2011 at 5:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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I don't really see why Spanish is considered that much stronger. Outside of the Americans, almost no one speaks Spanish. Like French, it is important in one geographical region and not another.
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| lichtrausch Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5964 days ago 525 posts - 1072 votes Speaks: English*, German, Japanese Studies: Korean, Mandarin | Message 11 of 135 07 November 2011 at 6:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think French in Africa will in some ways detract from the appeal of French for some people. After all, Africa is perceived rather negatively in many parts of the world.
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| lecavaleur Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4781 days ago 146 posts - 295 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish | Message 12 of 135 08 November 2011 at 2:50am | IP Logged | ||
If it hasn't detracted from the appeal yet, I don't see a reason why it would any more in the future. It is still perceived as a prestige language because France is seen as having a very sophisticated culture. It also appears to be very pleasing aesthetically to most people's ears. Some of the francophobes in Canada like to brag that French is insignificant because most of its speakers are poor Africans, but that's a pretty racist and ignorant attitude if you ask me. If that's the best reason they can find, then it doesn't say much about them. I think that Africa is an advantage to French and vice versa. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| rivere123 Senior Member United States Joined 4834 days ago 129 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 13 of 135 08 November 2011 at 4:01am | IP Logged | ||
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Mais oui! People do speak French in Louisiana. I should be an expert on this :P We have French Emmersion classes that are quite popular, and some kids take "core" classes wholly in French.
I have seen people talking French on the streets, and a majority of my family does not only speak French, but could be considered natives of a somewhat more Anglicized version of it. It is alive and well in Louisiana, and standard French is growing pretty quickly, me being a testimony to that. Quebec does have a sizable population population and is another front for French's growth; recently there have been protests of some sort over this (I am not sure what over, although I have a good idea my translation should be taken lightly). But anyway, I am digressing. Africa is a growing continent, particularly in the business world, and will need a business language, and as parts of the Arab World use French I would predict the same. It is widely taught worldwide and many Africans understand it. For this reason, I wouldn't be surprised by French's growth in Africa. Edited by rivere123 on 08 November 2011 at 4:06am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| nway Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Vic Joined 5419 days ago 574 posts - 1707 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean | Message 14 of 135 09 November 2011 at 4:36am | IP Logged | ||
Latin America—excluding Brazil—has a GDP of just over 3 trillion dollars. The entire continent of Africa—including all the non-French speaking countries—has a GDP of just under 2 trillion dollars. Now consider that Africa's three largest economies—South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria—are all non-Francophone. So that might explain some of it. Edited by nway on 09 November 2011 at 4:43am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Haldor Triglot Senior Member France Joined 5619 days ago 103 posts - 122 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Swedish Studies: French, Spanish | Message 15 of 135 09 November 2011 at 11:46am | IP Logged | ||
You mean, outside of the entire South America (yes except Brazil)? Well, those countries have vast populations, making the Spanish language one of the most spoken languages in the world, and they speak it as a first language, giving Spanish a much stronger position in S America, than French in Africa 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ReQuest Tetraglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5036 days ago 200 posts - 228 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, German, French Studies: Spanish | Message 16 of 135 09 November 2011 at 12:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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It really enriches French I think, all these people with different cultural BGs, the accent is a bit hard though, I can finally understand "standard France bit African en Québécois are still really hard to understand.
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