Spanish and Portuguese are found mainly in the Americas today, but French is spread out
You might already know that Spanish and Portuguese both have far more native speakers than French. With 250 million native speakers, Portuguese is the fifth-most-spoken language in the world by this measure. And, with 480 million native speakers, Spanish is the second-most-spoken language in the world by this measure. (Only Mandarin Chinese has more.) Both of them attained this status by aggressive colonization in past centuries. Obviously, both of them originated in Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula – which includes both Spain and Portugal. But, outside of Europe, Spanish and Portuguese are each spoken mainly in the Americas. Portuguese has a strong presence in South America through Brazil. Spanish has a strong presence in North America through Mexico. And Spanish is, of course, spoken in Central America and South America as well – not to mention the Caribbean. With the exception of some Portuguese colonies in Africa, both are fairly rare on other non-European continents.
One group of King’s Daughters arrives at Quebec – French Canada, 1667
Like Spanish and Portuguese (its sister languages), French originated in Europe
By contrast, the French language is now spoken on five different continents. Like its sister languages of Spanish and Portuguese, French originated back in Europe, and came from Latin. French is today spoken in a number of European countries, France being the most important of them. But French is also spoken in Africa, Asia, North America, and even South America. That is, French is spoken on every continent but Australia and Antarctica. The phrase “lingua franca” (originally meaning “French language”) has since come to mean a language that is used for business among numerous non-native speakers in a particular region. In other words, it’s the language that you “have to know” in that particular region. That status once belonged exclusively to French. This might seem ironic, because French only makes it into the top 25 world languages by the number of native speakers. But, when non-native speakers are included, French actually makes it into the top ten, and it would surpass even Portuguese (although it’s still beaten by Spanish). How did French come to be so successful? Why is French spoken on so many continents today? And how far back in the past does the French colonization really go? These are the questions that this post will try to answer.
La Salle’s Expedition to what later became “French Louisiana,” 1684
France colonizes Canada and Louisiana in North America, but both change hands
To some extent, French colonialism may go back as far as the Norman conquest of 1066. But the term “French Empire” today connotes an empire that began in the sixteenth century. Specifically, in 1534, Jacques Cartier claimed Gaspé Bay, in what is today Canada. This began the French conquest of what we today call Canada. This explains why French is still one of the two official languages of Canada today. More than 20% of the current population of Canada are native speakers of French. Naturally, most of the rest are English speakers. The colony changed hands in the eighteenth century, during the Seven Years’ War. Specifically, it became a British colony. But the province of Quebec still has French as its official language. Surprisingly to many Americans, in Canada’s English-speaking provinces, French is a significant minority language today. Even in English Canada, it can thus be helpful to know some French, to do business with this market segment. Conversely, it can also be helpful in French Canada to know some English. Back in 1682, the French also began to colonize a territory called “Louisiana.” This is actually much bigger than the modern American state of Louisiana. When France lost the aforementioned “Seven Years’ War,” this was divided between Britain and Spain in 1762. But Spain sold its own portion of “Louisiana” back to Napoleon’s France around 1800. Napoleon’s France, in turn, sold it to the United States in 1803 – the now-famous “Louisiana Purchase,” arranged by President Thomas Jefferson. The United States still owns this region today.
The Battle of Martinique between British and French fleets – The Caribbean, 1779
France colonizes parts of the Caribbean, South America, and even the distant Pacific
France also did much colonization in the Caribbean. Along with Spanish and English, it is one of the major languages of the Caribbean. There are a few other important languages there, like Dutch and Papiamento. And, in Haiti, the French-based Haitian Creole has a major presence. But, in Haiti, French still has co-official status with its daughter language of Haitian Creole. In the Caribbean, France also colonized the French West Indies. This includes what is today Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélemy (among others). There is also one French possession in South America, which is French Guiana. It borders Dutch-speaking Suriname, which borders English-speaking Guyana in its turn. They are the only parts of South America with neither a Spanish nor a Portuguese majority. France also established some colonies in the distant Pacific, mainly in the South Pacific. These included French Polynesia, New Caledonia, the New Hebrides (modern-day Vanautu), and Wallis and Futuna. Some of them are still controlled by France to this day.
The railway section of the Tiger Camp – French Guiana, South America (1905)
France briefly colonizes India, Indochina, and many parts of Africa (including Algeria)
France sent voyages to India as early as the sixteenth century. The French East India Company was temporarily formed in 1642, but was soon disbanded. It was revived in 1664. At this point, the French began to truly colonize India. The capital of French India was at Pondichéry. It lasted until the twentieth century. But much of it was instead lost in the eighteenth century – another casualty of the Seven Years’ War. Specifically, the French East India Company took a beating in the 1757 Battle of Plassey. This is why the French were never a major power in India. Back in the seventeenth century, France began to colonize Africa. Thus, French is widely spoken in many African countries today. There are so many of these countries, that it would be unwieldy to list them here. (See more details about that part here.) Most prominently, France began to colonize Algeria in 1830. In South America, Europe’s French-speaking Belgians began to colonize Guatemala. This colony actually lasted until 1854. (As a footnote, much of Belgium instead speaks a language called “Flemish” – not to be confused with “phlegm.”) And, in Asia, France began to colonize Indochina in 1887. But the French colonization of Indochina ended in 1954. Incidentally, this is the same year that the French colonization of India completely ended. And the French were kicked out of Algeria by 1962.
Captured French soldiers from Dien Bien Phu, 1954 – Part of the French war in Indochina
Comments on French-speaking Belgian Empire, and the prominence of French in Africa
Back in 1908, the aforementioned Belgians had established an empire of their own. Again, much of this empire was French-speaking. The Belgian Empire was mostly in Africa, but there was also the Belgian concession of Tianjin in China. The Belgian Empire lasted until 1962. Of the former colonies of France that gained independence, the last to do so was Vanautu. Specifically, Vanautu became independent in 1980. Thus, some would date the end of the “French colonial empire” to 1980. But some of these places still remain under the control of France today. Many others still choose to speak the French language. And French has even more speakers in Africa than English does. Its number of African speakers is surpassed only by Arabic. Some even estimate that 70% of the contemporary world’s French speakers are in Africa. This may be an overestimate, or not. But, most likely, Africans are an actual majority of the world’s French speakers.
Barricades in French Algiers, during the Algerian War of Independence – Algeria, 1960
Conclusion: The dispersion of the world’s French speakers is a product of the history
Thus, the geographic scattering of the world’s current French speakers is a product of the history. It comes mostly from the scattered nature of colonies by France – and, to a lesser extent, of colonies by (largely) French-speaking Belgium. You can certainly see the legacy of all of this, in the geography (and total numbers) of the contemporary French-speaking world. The French seem to have spread their language very enthusiastically, with important results for the rest of the world. Only the English language was comparable in the degree that it spread to such geographically-scattered portions of the modern globe. And the French Empire certainly left its mark upon history.
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