LANGUAGES

Students at Damascus College are fortunate to be able to choose between two languages, French and Indonesian, as both are regional languages of significance to Australia, historically being the respective lingua franca among our Pacific and Far East Asian neighbours.

Over the next two newsletters, I will include a piece about each language. In this edition, the reasons for learning French are explored. This will be followed by a piece in the next edition that is focussed on Indonesian. We are also thinking especially about our graduating Year 12 French and Indonesian students who at the moment are facing their final Oral followed by Written VCE exams. We wish them all the best in these exams.

So, here are five reasons to learn French, and to keep learning it…

1. Spoken in many, many countries

French and English are the only two languages in the world that are spoken in several countries on all continents. In total, approximately 115 million people speak French either as their mother tongue or as an official language. In Europe, people speak French as a mother tongue in the following nations: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland. In Africa, French is an official language in 20 countries. It is at the same time the second language and the teaching language in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia). On the North American continent, French is mainly spoken in the West Indies and Quebec, Canada. In Asia and Oceania, approximately two million French speakers live in Vietnam, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and the Comoros. According to the international organisation La Francophonie, an estimated 90 million people study French in the world. In most European countries, and even in the world, French is the second foreign language to be taught after English.

2. The international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, dance and architecture.

A knowledge of French offers access to great works of literature, as well as films and songs, in their original French version. French also used to be the international language of diplomacy and international relations until the middle of the twentieth century. Today, French is still one of the key languages of international organisations, such as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, the World Trade Organisation, the Red Cross, the International Olympic Committee or FIFA.

3. France is the world’s leading tourist destination.

Annually, more than 70 million people visit France. A little French makes it so much more enjoyable to visit Paris and all the regions of France (from the mild climate of the Côte d’Azur to the snow-capped peaks of the Alps via the rugged coastline of Brittany) and offers insights into French culture, mentality and way of life. French also comes in handy when travelling to Africa, Belgium, Canada, Monaco, Switzerland, the Seychelles and other places.

4. An ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market.

A knowledge of French opens the doors of French companies in France and other French-speaking parts of the world. It also opens doors in non French-speaking countries: as the world’s fifth biggest economy and number-three destination for foreign investment, France is a key economic partner of many countries.

5. Nearly half of the English vocabulary results from French and from Latin.

You already know many French words : parfum, sport, musique, parlement, théâtre, information, collection, université, littérature, restaurant, danse, couleur, liberté, etc. If you learn French, you will be able to learn other languages more easily. Languages such as Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or Romanian will be easier to learn, as these languages are all derived from Latin. Finally, many foreigners think that French is a beautiful language! It is often said that French is the language of romance and of love, and Paris isn’t called Paris la Romantique for nothing!

Finn Augustin

Source: Alliance Française (2023)