Reasons to learn French

French is one of the rare languages that combine musicality and practicality. Its melodic qualities are well-known and the reader will excuse us if we eschew unnecessarily poetic descriptions. It is also a remarkably useful language to learn. Let's look at some facts:

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Status

French enjoys an international prestige that approaches that of the English language (and can perhaps only be surpassed by the latter). For centuries the language of diplomacy, nowadays French, alongside English, is one of the two working language of the U.N. It is also, of course, one of the six official languages used at this organization.

Cultural Heritage

French is a language of education, science, and culture. It belongs to an exclusive club of what can be called the six “superstar” languages of publishing. As incredible as it sounds, for all the variety of languages that exist in the world, a full two thirds of the world’s books are printed in just six languages (in this order): English, Russian, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. Add to this French’s amazing literary heritage and you have a language whose cultural and scientific resources are virtually infinite. Those who master French will never be left with nothing good to read!

Global Reach

French is a true world language, spoken on three continents. Most of the world’s French speakers live in metropolitan France, Algeria, Canada, Morocco, Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Cameroon, Congo and Switzerland, but many other countries, particularly in Africa, list French as their official or co-official language. Imagine traveling the world armed not only with English (spoken widely, but not always well), but with another language whose “footprint” in the world is almost as extensive.

Economic Power

French is also a language of business. France is the world’s fifth economy. Considering that several other economically developed countries use French (Belgium, Quebec/Canada, Switzerland), the language of Molière is a sure bet for those who want to become a player on the global economic scene. Note that French's main linguistic competitor, Spanish, despite having a much higher number of native speakers, doesn't carry as much economic and geopolitical weight as French.

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Learning French will open your mind to the French way of thinking and reasoning, will make you aware of all the contributions this beautiful language has made to the global culture, clarify the meaning of many culinary terms, and quite simply give you the bragging rights that will be hard to match!