TRANSLATE FROM / TO FRENCH

Services of translation from / into French in our translation agency are performed by certified professional translators of French language.

We provide translation from / into French for both enterprises, including state organizations, and for private individuals as well. Our services involve all types of written / oral translation from / into French, including simultaneous interpretation.

SOME FACTS

French language, member of the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. It is spoken as a first language by more than 70 million people, chiefly in France (55 million speakers), Belgium (3 million), Switzerland (1.5 million), former French and Belgian colonies in Africa (5 million), and Canada (6.5 million). French probably ranks next after English as a second tongue. Having served as an international language in diplomacy and commerce as well as among educated people during the last few centuries, it still enjoys great prestige culturally and is one of the languages used officially by the United Nations.

History of French

French is descended from Vulgar Latin, the vernacular Latin (as distinguished from literary Latin) of the Roman Empire. When ancient Gaul (now modern France) was conquered by the Romans in the 2d and 1st cent. B.C., its inhabitants spoke Gaulish, a Celtic language, which was rapidly supplanted by the Latin of the Roman overlords. In the 5th cent. A.D. the Franks, a group of Germanic tribes, began their invasion of Gaul, but they too were Romanized. Although modern French thus inherited several hundred words of Celtic origin and several hundred more from Germanic, it owes its structure and the greater part of its vocabulary to Latin.

By the 9th cent. the language spoken in what is now France was sufficiently different from Latin to be a distinct language. It is called Old French and was current from the 9th to the 13th cent. The earliest extant text in Old French is the Oaths of Strasbourg, dated 842. Of the various dialects of Old French, Francien (the north-central dialect spoken in Paris and the region around it) in time became the standard form of the language because of the increasing political and cultural importance of Paris. French from the 14th through the 16th cent. is known as Middle French. During this period many words and expressions were borrowed from Latin, Greek, and Italian, and a group of French poets, the Pleiade (see under Pleiad), encouraged the French to develop and improve their language and literature.

The modern period of French began in the 17th cent. In 1635 the French Academy was founded by Cardinal Richelieu to maintain the purity of the language and its literature and to serve as the ultimate judge of approved usage. While the vocabulary and style of Modern French have been influenced by movements such as romanticism and realism, structurally French has changed comparatively little since the Middle French period. Standardization of the French language has been aided in modern times by more widespread education and by the mass media.

FRENCH: a language of France
SIL code: FRN
ISO 639-1: fr
ISO 639-2(B): fre
ISO 639-2(T): fra

Population 51,000,000 first language speakers in France. Population total all countries 77,000,000 first language speakers (1999 WA), 128,000,000 including second language speakers (1999 WA).
Region Also spoken in 53 other countries including Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, CAR, Chad, Comoros Islands, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC, Djibouti, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon.
Alternate names FRANCAIS
Dialects STANDARD FRENCH, NORMAN (NORMAND), PICARD (ROUCHI, CHTIMI), WALLON (WALLOON), ANGEVIN, BERRICHON, BOURBONNAIS, BOURGUIGNON, FRANC-COMTOIS, GALLO, LORRAINE, POITEVIN, SANTONGEAIS.
Classification Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oil, French.
Comments 89% lexical similarity with Italian, 80% with Sardinian, 78% with Rheto-Romance, 75% with Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish, 29% with German, 27% with English. Investigation needed: intelligibility with Walloon, Picard Jerrais. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. SVO. Deciduous forest. Intensive agriculturalists, industry, business. 80 meters. Christian. Bible 1530-1995.

Also spoken in:
Algeria Language name FRENCH
Population 110,600 in Algeria (1993).
Comments 20% of the population can read and write French, and more can speak it. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Andorra Language name FRENCH
Population 2,400 in Andorra, 6% of the population (1986).
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Belgium Language name FRENCH
Population 4,000,000 in Belgium (M. Harris in B. Comrie 1988), 33% of the population (1990 WA).
Alternate names FRANCAIS
Dialects WALLOON (WALLON), PICARD.
Comments The eastern subdialect of Walloon is considered to be more difficult to understand within Belgium. The following municipalities have minority rights for Dutch-speaking persons: Comines-Warneton, Mouscron, Enghien, Floubecques; and for German-speaking persons: Malmedy, Weismes, Welkenraedt. Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Benin Language name FRENCH
Population 16,700 in Benin (1993 Johnstone).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Burkina Faso Language name FRENCH
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Burundi Language name FRENCH
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Cameroon Language name FRENCH
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Canada Language name FRENCH
Population 6,700,000 mother tongue speakers in Canada, or less than 24% (1998 Statistics Canada). Mother tongue of over 80% of Quebec's population (1997 DiverCite Langues). 300,000 speak Acadien, 500,000 speak Franco-Ontariens.
Alternate names FRANCAIS
Dialects QUEBEICOIS, FRANCO-ONTARIEN, ACADIAN (ACADIEN).
Comments Difficult intelligibility between speakers of Quebecois and Acadian for speakers not fluent in Standard French. National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Central African Republic Language name FRENCH
Population 9,000 in CAR (1996).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Chad Language name FRENCH
Population 3,000 in Chad (1993).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Comoros Islands Language name FRENCH
Population 1,700 in Comoros Islands (1993).
Comments Language of all formal education except Koranic. Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Congo Language name FRENCH
Population 28,000 in Congo (1993).
Comments Sole language of formal education. Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Cote d’Ivoire Language name FRENCH
Population 17,470 in Cote d'Ivoire (1988 census).
Comments Official language. Grammar. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Democratic Republic of Congo Language name FRENCH
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Djibouti Language name FRENCH
Population 15,440 in Djibouti, 2.84% of the population (1988).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


French Guiana Language name FRENCH
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


French Polynesia Language name FRENCH
Population 15,338 first language speakers in French Polynesia, foreign born (1977). 50,215 attending French schools, second language users (1978).
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Gabon Language name FRENCH
Population 37,500 in Gabon (1993 Johnstone).
Comments The only language of formal education. Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Guadeloupe Language name FRENCH
Comments There is a variety on the northwest end of St. Barthelemy, west of but not including Gustavia, similar to Cajun French of the USA, which may or may not be a French dialect (Julianne Maher 1997). National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Guinea Language name FRENCH
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Haiti Language name FRENCH
Population Second language speakers in Haiti: 400,000.
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Italy Language name FRENCH
Population 100,000 in Italy (M. Harris in B. Comrie 1987).
Alternate names FRANCAIS
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Lebanon Language name FRENCH
Comments An estimated 20% of the population speak French in their daily lives, and up to 65% of the population can read and converse in French. A number of government and private universities teach in French. Official language. The language of instruction in most schools. Newspapers, magazines. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Luxembourg Language name FRENCH
Population 13,100 or more (1993 Johnstone).
Comments Used mainly by intellectuals, professionals, authorities. Taught in school as a third language. Used for streets, shops, travel tickets, hotel registries, menus. National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Madagascar Language name FRENCH
Population 18,000 in Madagascar (1993 Johnstone).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Mali Language name FRENCH
Population 9,000 in Mali (1993 Johnstone).
Comments Official language for instruction in schools. Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Martinique Language name FRENCH
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Mauritius Language name FRENCH
Population 37,000.
Comments Used in stores. Widely used by young people as second language. The elderly tend to use creole. Newspapers, radio programs, TV. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Mayotte Language name FRENCH
Population 2,450 in Mayotte (1993 Johnstone).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Monaco Language name FRENCH
Population 17,400 in Monaco, 58% of the population (1988).
Alternate names FRANCAIS
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


New Caledonia Language name FRENCH
Population 53,400 first language speakers in New Caledonia (1987), 35.6% of the population.
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Niger Language name FRENCH
Population 6,000 in Niger (1993 Johnstone).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Reunion Language name FRENCH
Population 2,400 in Reunion (1993 Johnstone). Including second language speakers: 160,500 in Reunion, 30% of the population (1986).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Rwanda Language name FRENCH
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Senegal Language name FRENCH
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Seychelles Language name FRENCH
Population 977 in Seychelles (1971 census).
Comments Spoken by the French settler families, 'grands blancs.' Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


St. Pierre and Miquelon Language name FRENCH
Population 5,114 out of 5,235 population in St. Pierre and Miquelon (1967 census).
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Switzerland Language name FRENCH
Population 1,272,000 in Switzerland, 19.2% of the population (1990 census).
Alternate names FRANCAIS
Dialects FRANCHE-COMTOIS (JURASSIEN, FRIBOURGOIS).
Comments 33% of the population of Switzerland speak French every day (1990 census). Official language. Used for education in French-speaking areas. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Togo Language name FRENCH
Population 3,000 in Togo (1993).
Comments Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Tunisia Language name FRENCH
Population 11,000 in Tunisia (1993).
Comments Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


United Kingdom Language name FRENCH
Population 14,000 in England (1976 Stephens).
Dialects JERRIAIS, DGERNESIAIS.
Comments French is only spoken by about 11% of the population of Channel Islands, mainly older people. Official language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Vanuatu Language name FRENCH
Population 6,300 in Vanuatu (1995), 3.8% of the population.
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986. See main entry under France.


Wallis and Futuna Language name FRENCH
Population 120 in Wallis and Futuna (1993 Johnstone).
Comments National language. Bible 1530-1986.