French (français) is a Romance language, and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world: 220 million people speak French, including 75 million native speakers. The French language originated in France, but in modern times it is spoken all over the world, it is an official language of 29 different countries, a major business, cultural or minority language in dozens of other countries and regions, and it is officially used by dozens of international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union and the International Olympic Committee.
Apart from France itself, French is spoken in many other parts of Europe, including the southern half of Belgium (Wallonia Y Brussels), Western Switzerland, Monaco, Luxembourg, most of the Channel Islands (sweater, Guernsey Y Sark but no Alderney, where the local Francophone community died sometime after WWII), and the Aosta Valley, northwest of Italy.
In the Americas, French is spoken mainly in the provinces canadians from Quebec, New brunswick, and in some parts of New Scotland. Even if Canada is an officially bilingual country and there are French-speaking enclaves in almost all the provinces, it should be noted that, outside of these three provinces, it is very rare to find someone in Canada who speaks more than a few words of French without specifically the -the-beaten-path French-speaking communities. French is also spoken in some parts of the United States, that is, parts of Louisiana and the Northern Maine, New Hampshire Y Vermont. In the Western Hemisphere, French is also the official language of Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Barthelemy, Saint Pierre Y Miquelon, the northern half of Saint Martin and French Guiana, all of which are, or used to be, French colonial possessions.
Elsewhere, French is the official language of many former colonies in Africa, the only official language of New Caledonia and French Polynesia, which remain overseas departments of France today, and is an important administrative and cultural language in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Y Lebanon. It has long been the language of international diplomacy and communication, and although largely supplanted by the English since World War II, it remains de rigueur for educated people in societies around the world to have a certain level of Basic French ability.
There are many differences between the French spoken in Quebec and that spoken in France. One of them is a state and it is the French king. The two main differences are that Québec has preserved many words from the 18th and 19th century, while the French spoken in France has incorporated many words in English. Furthermore, in addition to Europe and Québec, many Francophone regions have incorporated many local words or formed a distinctive dialect of language known as Creole.
Francophonie can help you locate Francophone regions.
Pronunciation
Like that of English, and unlike almost all other Romance languages, the French spelling is not very phonetic. The same letter that is used in two different words can make two different sounds, and many letters are not pronounced at all. In general, it is not impossible to probe into words, but suffice it to say that many experienced non-native speakers of the French language (and even some native speakers) speak words often. The good news, however, is that General French has more regular pronunciation rules than English, although it also has a large number of homophones. This means that with enough practice, you can generally pronounce written French fairly accurately, although trying to write down French language often results in spelling mistakes, even for native speakers.
One thing to keep in mind is that the final consonants of a word are often omitted: allez (to go) is pronounced ahl-AY, do not ahl-AYZ; afternoon (final) is to pronounce tar, not late. But if the next word begins with a vowel, the consonant can be pronounced, which is known as a link. A final 'e' is also generally silent if the word has more than one syllable, except in some southern parts of France, especially Toulouse.
Stress is fairly uniform in French, but stress almost always falls on the last syllable.
For many French words, it is impossible to write something that, when pronounced like English, sounds like the French word. Use transliteration as a guide for linking and French spelling to pronounce vowels.
Vowels
Vowels in French can have accents, which usually do not have a noticeable impact on pronunciation, but we often distinguish between homophones in writing (ou, or meaning, and où, meaning they are pronounced the same). The only really important one is 'é', which is always pronounced 'ay', and the meaning of the word changes.
- a, à, â
- as well as "a" in "father"
- and
- in most cases a neutral central vowel ("schwa") like "a" in "About", sometimes not stated at all, sometimes as "é" or "E"
- é, è, ê, ai, -er, -es, -ez
- é is towards the "e" in the "setting" or "ay" in the "day", and E is more nasal, like that of a "cake" in English, only without the "y" sound at the end. They are not equivalent and make very different sounds.
- i, î
- like "ee" in "see", but shorter and more tense
- o, ô, au, eau
- usually like "oa" in "boat", but never with a "w" sound at the end
- u, ù
- as a very tight, frontal "oo" sound (Puckers lips as if saying "oo" as in "soon", but they try to say "ee") - "uu" in transcripts
- ou
- like "oo" in "food," but a pure vowel
- Y
- like "ee" in "see", it is also sometimes used as a consonant, pronounced the same as in English (in "yes", for example).
- eu
- between "ew" in "dew" and "ur" in "burp", written "eu" in transcripts.
Semi vowels
- I heard
- as "we" from "on foot"
- oui
- like "we" in "week"
- ui
- like "we" in "week", but with a French post instead of the w
- œ
- a bit like "eu", but more "open". The distinction between œ and "eu" is very subtle and often irrelevant.
Consonants
Note: Most final consonants are silent, except for c, q, f, l, r, and (except for the combination "-er", which are normally found in verb infinitives). Note that the plural ending "-ent" for verbs is never pronounced, even though it is manifested in words.
- b
- like "b" in "the bed"
- c
- like "k" in "kill" (before "a", "o" and "u" or before a consonant), like "s" in "sol" (before "e", "i", and "y »)
- ç
- as «s» in «sol» (This letter can only be written before «a», «o», or «u»)
- d
- as 'd' for 'death' (but a little heavier than in English, and pronounced over the tongue)
- F
- like "f" in "fun"
Numbers
- 0
- zero
- 1
- a / joins
- 2
- deux
- 3
- trois
- 4
- quatre
- 5
- cinq
- 6
- six
- 7
- sept
- 8
- huit
- 9
- neuf
- 10
- dix
- 11
- onze
- 12
- douze
- 13
- treize
- 14
- quatorze
- 15
- fifteen
- 16
- seize
- 17
- dix-sept
- 18
- dix-huit
- 19
- dix-neuf
- 20
- vingt
- 21
- vingt-et-un
- 22
- vingt-deux
- 23
- vingt-trois
- 30
- trente
- 40
- quarante
- 50
- fifty
- 60
- soixant
- 70
- soixante-dix; septant
- 80
- quatre-vingts; huitante; octant
- 90
- quatre-vingt-dix; nonante
- 100
- cent
- 200
- deux cents
- 300
- trois cents
- 1000
- mille
- 2000
- deux mille
- 1,000,000
- one million
- 1,000,000,000
- a milliard
- 1,000,000,000,000
- one billion
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- number
- half
- demi, moitié
- less
- moins
- more
- plus
Time
- now
- maintenant
- after
- après
- before
- avant
- morning
- the matinee
- afternoon
- l'apres-midi
- night
- the night
Time Schedule
- the one in the morning; one in the morning
- une heure du matin
- Two o'clock in the morning; two in the morning
- deux heures du matin
- midday; the midnight
- midi
- One O 'Clock in the afternoon
- une heure de l'après-midi
- two pm
- deux heures de l'après-midi
- midnight; at midnight
- minute
Duration
- _____ minutes)
- _____ minute (s)
- _____ hours)
- _____ heure (s)
- _____ days)
- _____ jour (s)
- _____ weeks)
- _____ semaine (s)
- _____ months)
- _____ mois
- _____ years)
- _____ an (s), année (s)
Days
- today
- aujourd'hui
- Yesterday
- here
- morning
- demain
- this week
- cette semaine
- In the past week
- la semaine dernière
- next week
- la semaine prochaine
Monday
- lundi
- Tuesday
- mardi
- Wednesday
- mercredi
- Thursday
- jeudi
- Friday
- vendredi
- Saturday
- samedi
- Sunday
- dimanche
Months
- January
- janvier
- February
- fevrier
- March
- mars
- April
- avril
- may
- mai
- June
- juin
- July
- juillet
- August
- août
- September
- septembre
- October
- october
- November
- november
- December
- December
Colors
- black
- noir / noire
- White
- blanc / blanche
- Gray
- gray / gray
- Red
- rouge
- blue
- bleu / bleue
- yellow
- jaune
- green
- vert / see you
- Orange orange
- orange
- purple, purple, violet
- violet / violette
- brown, brown, chestnut
- brun / brune; Brown
pink, pink
- rose
Restaurant
- Une table pour une personne, je vous prie.
- A table for one person, please.
- Puis-je avoir le menu?
- You can bring me the menu.
- What is the specialty of the house?
- What is the specialty of the house?
- And a-t-il une spécialité locale?
- What is the local specialty?
- Je voudrais _____
- X. (X _____)
- Je voudrais un plat avec _____.
- I want a plate of _____
- du poulet.
- of chicken.
- du bœuf
- beef.
- du porc / cochon.
- pork
- du saumon.
- salmon.
- des fruits de mer
- seafood
- des escargots
- of snails.
- des grenouilles
- of frogs.
- des legumes.
- Made of veggies.
- des fruits.
- of fruits
- du pain
- of bread.
- Puis-je avoir un verre de _____?
- Can you get me a glass of ____?
- Puis-je avoir une tasse de _____?
- Can I have a cup of ____?
- Puis-je avoir une bouteille de _____?
- Can I have a bottle of ____?
- coffee
- coffee
- thé
- tea
- jus
- juice
- uae gazeuse
- mineral water
- uae
- Water
- bière
- beer
- vin rouge / blanc
- red / white wine
- C'était délicieux ..
- It's delicious.
hotel
- une chambre s'il vous plait
- One room, please
- La chambre a-t-elle une salle de bain?
- Does the room have a bathroom?
- Est-ce that the chambre to the WiFi?
- Does the room have WiFi?
- Combien ça coûte par nuit?
- How much cost the night?
- Le portier de l'hôtel peut-il m'accompagner dans ma chambre?
- Can the bellboy accompany me to my room?
- Pouvez-vous me fournir une carte touristique?
- Could you give me a tourist map
- Pourriez-vous appeler the maintenance?
- Could you call maintenance?
- Pouvez-vous reveal me to ...?
- Could I wake up at ...?
- Faites-moi savoir si vous me cherchez ...?
- Let me know if you are coming to pick me up ....?
- Vous êtes très aimable.
- You are very kind.
- Où est cette adresse?
- Where is this address?
Shopping
- Combien ça coûte?
- How much does it cost?
- Acceptez-vous Visa / euros?
- Do you accept visa / euros?
- Ça ne m'intéresse pas
- I'm not interested
- Je veux le voir, s'il te plait
- I want to see it, please.
- Pouvez-vous l'envoyer dans mon pays?
- Could you send it to my country?
- Vendez-vous des magazines ou des journaux in Spanish?
- Do you sell magazines or newspapers in Spanish?
- Vendez-vous des stamps-poste?
- Do you sell postage stamps?
- Avez-vous un dictionnaire français-espagnol?
- Do you have a French-Spanish dictionary?
- Dites-moi les tailles, s'il vous plaît du ...
- Tell me the size, please ...
- pants
- pants
- chemise
- shirt
- sac de robe
- dress bag
- costume
- costume
- steal
- dress
- jupe
- skirt
- chaussure
- footwear
- will I come des cravates?
- sells ties?
- Merci c'est très bel.
- Thank you it is very nice.
Problems
- I'm lost
- I'm lost
- Où sont les toilettes?
- Where is the bathroom?
- Je suis malade
- I'm sick
- J'ai besoin d'un docteur, s'il vous plait
- I need a doctor please
- Je ne comprends pas, vous parlez espagnol?
- I don't understand you, do you speak Spanish?
- Aide j'ai besoin d'un traducteur
- Help, I need a translator
- Je me suis enivré avec quelque chose
- I got intoxicated with something
- Je viens de me faire voler, la police vient s'il vous plait
- I just got robbed, police come please
- Prête-moi un téléphone s'il vous plait
- Lend me a phone please
- Excusez-moi, je me sens harcelé
- Excuse me, I feel harassed
- Appelle mon dossade, c'est mon passeport.
- Call my embassy, here's my passport.