Why French?
Originating from France, the French language is now spoken as the first language by over 90 million people. Add to it another 190 million people who speak French as a second language. Further, about 200 million more people speak French as they have learnt the language as a second language. The majority of French speakers live in 54 countries. The native French speakers are not only in France where the language originated, but also in Canada, Francophone Africa, Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco. The source of French, just like Italian, Romanian, Portuguese and Spanish, is Latin. Both Celtic languages and later Germanic language influenced the development of the French language. The official language in 29 countries includes French. The United Nations and a number of international organizations have adopted French as one of their official languages. French is ranked as the third most spoken language in the European Union after English and German.
In ancient times the modern-day France was occupied by Celtic people, who were also called Gauls, before the Roman conquest. Germanic tribes conquered Western Europe since the third century. In 1539 that King Francis I declared French as the official language replacing Latin. The period of 17th century to 18th century was the period of the emergence of Classical French and later till the 20th century the Modern French emerged. It was during the 17th and 18th centuries that France emerged as a major colonial power. They established themselves in the Americas. French became a dominant language then but soon lost its position to English during the 20th century. Yet French is the second most sought after foreign language after English in the world.
A language can be learnt in many ways when your aim is to converse with the native speakers. The main focus in learning the language is to communicate. Formal courses are offered for learning various languages. But this requires that the learner keep aside free the time as required by the course. If this is possible, then one can sign up and join these courses. Alternatively there are courses that are offered which you can learn at your own pace and time. Such high quality courses are offered for learning such languages as Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German and French. One of the languages most sought after is French. You can also check the Rocket French review for details of the Rocket French course. There are also other similar French courses such as the Michel Thomas course, Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur.
It is exciting to learn a new language. It is fun to learn a language by living amongst the people who speak that language. It is also the best way. You not only learn the language but also get to know a people.