# French leid

| French |
| --- |
| *français* |
| Pronunciation | [fʁɑ̃sɛ] |
| Native tae | Fraunce, now worldwide (See geographical distribution below) |
| Native speakers | ~150 million (2017) An estimated 274 million total speakers (L1 plus L2) (2014) |
| Leid faimily | Indo-European
* Italic
	+ Romance
		- Western Romance
			* Gallo-Romance
				+ Oïl
					- **French**
 |
| Early forms | Old French
* Middle French
 |
| Writin seestem | Latin (French alphabet) French Braille |
| Leid codes |
| ISO 639-1 | `fr` |
| ISO 639-2 | `fre (B)` `fra (T)` |
| ISO 639-3 | `fra` |
| Linguasphere | `51-AAA-i` |
|   Regions where French is the main leid
  Regions where it is an offeecial leid
  Regions where it is a second leid
  Regions where it is a minority leid
 |

**French** is the **leid** that's spak in Fraunce, Canadae (Quebec, New Brunswick), Soothren Belgium, Luxembourg (alang wi German and Letzebuergisch) an Wastren Swisserland (La suisse Romande). It wis spreid tae Africae, Sooth Aest Asie an pairts o the New Warld throu French colonisation. French is a Romance leid, meanin that it comes frae the Laitin leid. Like maist Romance leids, its nouns haes masculine an feminine gender.

## History

In times bygane the Celtic fowk bydit in whit the day is Fraunce. In thae days the land wis cried *Gallia* or *Gaul*. Romans invadit Gallia an makkit pairts o it intae Roman provinces. Syne Romans spak the Laitin, the local fowk learnt the Laitin an stertit tae spaek it. Thair ain leid, Gaullic, wisna aften spak, altho the leids o Celtic oreegin is spak the day in some airts the like o Brittany.

### Early Influences

The muckle pairt o French vocabulair comes frae Latin. Wirds are lent tae Latin till now, if they're lackin in the common leid.

We ignor hou Gauls leid haes impregnatit French leid. Mebbe a hunderd o wirds, as char/charrue (car/pleuch), mouton (mutton/sheep), crème (cream), an som ithers that come frae Latin uise o Gallis wirds. An for its impact on pronounciation, we dinnae ken till whit it is.

The Fransick (the Germanic leid o Dauntoners o Fraunce in the Early Middle-Eige), as a superstrate, haes gi'en aloot o important wirds (gris (grey), blanc (white), blond, bleu (blou), etc.)

* The Laitin leid wis chyngin, an in medieval Fraunce it chynged intae twa leids or byleids: *langue d'oc* an *langue d'oil*, meanin "leid o *oc*" an "leid o *oil*", frae the wirds meanin "aye" in the twa leids. The northren fowk bydin aboot Paris spak *langue d'oil*, an the soothren fowk bydin aboot Toulouse spak *langue d'oc*. The French leid o the day comes frae *langue d'oil*, speceifically the accent o Touraine. *Langue d'oc*, nou cryed Occitan, is aye spak bi some fowk in soothren Fraunce.

### Contemporary an modren history

In dark blue the kintras whaur French is gey well an aften spoke, in licht blue whaur it is jast a simple cultural leid, wi ithers.
* In 1539, Villers-Cotterêts ordonancy, signit bi François Ist imposes French as official leid o the Kinrick.

Fraunce haes been the kintra wi the seicont biggest empire o the XIXt an XVIIIt centuries, jast efter England. Sae the cultural an lingueestic inheritance o French is gey important warldwide.

* French is, for example, the leid that spread maist speedy in the African continent (as official or fremmit leid). French is teachit in aloot o varsities aw aroond the warld. French is the seicont maist studied leid in European schuils. Syne Romanie an Bulgaria enterit in European Union in Januar 2007, French is mair studied than German in Europe. See, French is ane o the maist studied leids o the warld, but som fowks deplore it is lesser teachit year efter year, acaus o the pouer o globalization an "American Imperalism".

## Verb Examples

tae be: être (présent)

| Pronoun + verb |
| --- |
| Je suis |
| Tu es |
| Il est |
| Nous sommes |
| Vous êtes |
| Ils sont |

tae gang: aller (passé simple)

| Pronoun + verb |
| --- |
| J'allai |
| Tu allas |
| Il alla |
| Nous allâmes |
| Vous allâtes |
| Ils allèrent |

tae dae: faire (imparfait)

| Pronoun + verb |
| --- |
| Je faisais |
| Tu faisais |
| Il faisait |
| Nous faisions |
| Vous faisiez |
| Ils faisaient |

Manger (tae eat)

|  |
| --- |
| Je mange |
| Tu manges |
| Il mange |
| Nous mangeons |
| Vous mangez |
| Ils mangent |

Tae eat (imperfect form)

| Pronoun + verb |
| --- |
| Je mangeais |
| Tu mangeais |
| Il mangeait |
| Nous mangions |
| Vous mangiez |
| Ils mangeaient |