The Role of the French Language in Modern International Relations

Abstract

The role of the French language in the world is very essential. For several centuries, it has played a key role in international communications and interaction. In many countries, it is the second official language. People communicate in French on five continents: Europe, America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It ranks 12th in terms of prevalence in the world, behind English, Spanish, Chinese, etc. languages. However, according to the popularity of studying as a second foreign language, it has firmly established itself in an honorable second place. This global trend is fully reflected in the Russian education system. In all cities and large settlements of the Russian Federation there are a number of schools specializing in the in-depth study of the French language. To study French as a second foreign language, several series of UMCS have been developed, designed for full-fledged teaching of this subject, starting from 5th or 7th grade. At our school, we study French according to the UMK of N.A. Selivanova and A.Yu. Shashurina "Blue Bird", one of the best textbooks aimed at teaching French in high school based on the first foreign language — English. French is one of the 6 official languages of the UN. French is used at numerous international scientific congresses and symposiums on philosophy, psychology, law and medicine. It is the official working language of almost all international organizations, such as the UN, UNESCO, ILO, WHO, UPU, EU, NATO, Council of Europe, etc. And in the Universal Postal Union it is the only working language. French is also the official language of major non-governmental organizations, in particular, the Olympic Games and FIFA. French is one of the official languages of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Canada and Belgium. However, only two countries speak only French — in France and in Monaco. It is also spoken by residents of the following states: Democratic Republic of the Congo (42% of the population), Mali (52%), Niger (15%), Senegal (62.5%), Burkina Faso (10%), Côte d'Ivoire (80%), Guinea (10%), Togo (40 %), Benin (31%), Gabon (80.5%), Canada (Quebec — 91%), Belgium (39%), Switzerland (19%), Luxembourg (98%). In many African countries, French is the second official language. For example, in Tunisia, 95% of the population speaks Arabic, but education in schools in all major subjects is conducted in French. Tunisia has compulsory state primary and secondary education, so almost the entire population of the country can be safely called bilinguals, people who speak 2 languages. The situation is approximately the same in Cameroon, Djibouti, Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon, Algeria, Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea. French is the official language on the islands: Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius. French plays an important role in Laos and Vietnam, in the Dominican Republic. This spread of the French language in the world is explained by the fact that in the 17th and 19th centuries France waged wars of conquest, as a result of which it became one of the largest colonial powers along with Great Britain, Spain and Portugal. The spread of the French language in Africa is a legacy of the colonial past. For a long time, French culture, lifestyle, religious views, and value system were planted in them. Even after gaining independence, these states did not abandon the use of the language of the metropolis and retained the closest political, economic and cultural ties with Paris.

Keywords: language, foreign language, French

JEL Classification: K-1