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Here are some interesting facts about French that will surprise and help you when translating into and from French:
1. French is a Romance language.
2. French is the official language in 29 countries.
3. French is, along with English, taught in every country in the world with over 100 million students and 2 million teachers, of which 20% are outside French-speaking countries.
4. Approximately 30% of English words are of French origin.
5. It is one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers.
6. French is a good option as a second language for polyglots.
7. France is the most visited country in the world, with 75 million tourists every year.
8. French has more than a million words and 20,000 new ones are created every year.
9. French is the working language of the UN, EU, and dozens of international organizations.
10. French is the main language taught in the United Kingdom and remains a popular language in most English-speaking countries.
11. Five Commonwealth countries have French as one of their official languages: Canada, Cameroon, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Vanuatu.
12. Along with English, French remains an influential language in the diplomatic world.
13. Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the second-largest French-speaking city.
14. The pronunciation changes in different areas of France.
15. Counting in French has a different logic.
16. French culinary words are global.
17. Famous stories were originally written in French: Les Misérables (The Miserables), Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (The Count of Monte-Cristo), La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast), Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), Le Chat Botté (Puss in Boots), Cendrillon (Cinderella), La Barbe Bleue (Bluebeard) and La Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty).
18. The latest edition of the popular Astérix comic book has been printed in 7 million copies in French alone and translated into 23 languages.
19. There are no French words that use the letter ″w″.
20. The most used letter in French is ″E″.
21. Letter names do not sound like letter pronunciations.
22. Learning French will help you take the standardized tests.
23. French has many homophones.
If you want to find out more about the French language, check out our article on this topic: 8 interesting facts about French language.
[Photo from Pixabay]
