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The French Language
French is the official language of many International Organizations such as NATO, EU and UN. It is spoken by 71 million people in France and other 24 countries. Outside France, the biggest Phrancophone population is found in Canada (6 million people) and Belgium (4 million people).Dialects
In the past, many dialects of French have developed in the various important countries where the language is spoken.One of these varieties is Belgian French, which differs from the standard language only for some words, like number: to say "seventy", use "soixante-dix" in French and "septante" in Belgium. In the American State of Loisiana they speak a variety called Cajun French, which is quite more different from standard Dutch.
In the Canadian state of Quebec the majority of the population speaks a variety of French and another important dialect is the French which is spoken in Swiss.
History of French
French is at the same time a Celtic, a Germanic and a Roman language, even if the latter has had the greatest influence on the language.Indeed, Latin has been spoken for a long time in France, this is why nowadays the language is considered a sort of modern latin. This influence is clearly visible in the articulated French grammar, which includes many verb tenses and exceptions as for nouns and adjectives. Latin was used in French administration and court proceedings until 1539, when, with a document issued by King Francis I, it was replaced by a primitive form of French (called Middle French).
In 1634 Richelieu, with the aim of defining the canons of the pure form of French, created the Académie Française. The work of the Académie contributed a lot to the task of unifying and regulating the language.
The following centuries were ones of strict control of the language, until the Official french language was born. Today it still exist a great variety as for regional accents and words.
L'argot
French has a quite live slang which is the protagonist of informal situations and contributes to creating a more friendly linguistic environment. Verlan is surely the funniest form of slang, as it is a real game which can scare learners who hear it for first time. Indeed, Verlan derives from French words which have been separated into syllabes and rearranged with a different order, so that the final product is something completly different from the French you have studied in your grammar book.Verlain at the beginning was a code which was used to communicate secret words in front of authorities, but its popularity has grown so much with time that nowadays it is the distinctive features of youngsters in some parts of France.
The best way to understand the origins of the word "Verlain" is try to play the game: start with "l'envers", which in French means "The reverse", split it into two syllables, which are "l'en" and "vers", invert them and put them together in a single word...you will obtain versl'en, which with a little adjustment of the spelling becomes verlain...cushy, no?