the French spoken by people in West and Central Africa – spoken altogether by about 97 million people in 2018, as either a first or second language. the French variety spoken by Maghrebis and Berbers in Northwest Africa (see Maghreb French), which has about 33 million first and second language speakers in 2018.
Do they speak French in West Africa?
One of the most stable countries in western Africa, Gabon has a population of 1.5 million people whose official language is French. Other Bantu group languages are also spoken here.
What is the French speaking country in West Africa?
Like many African nations, Mali is a multilingual country. The official language is French, Bambara is the lingua franca, the national language, and the most widely spoken language. English and French are de facto official languages. However, the most widely spoken language is the French-based Mauritian Creole.
How widely spoken is French in Africa?
There are 300 million French speakers worldwide today, up almost 10% since 2014, and a recent survey showed that 44% of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2050, a full 85% of French speakers could live on the continent, according to an estimate by an organisation that monitors statistics on who speaks the language.
How many countries speak French in Africa?
More than 20 of the countries in Africa speak French, largely due to France’s vast colonization on the continent. These include countries such as Algeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia.
Is French still relevant?
Because it’s the most useful language to have nowadays by far. Nonetheless, French is still a favourite as a second language with roughly 153 million L2 speakers , despite the fact that it’s not even one of the most spoken languages in the world. … The rich, the nobles in Europe would speak French, not the commoners.
How many countries speak English in West Africa?
Because English is one of the languages spoken there, six West African countries have been classified as anglophone – The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria and part of Cameroon –, while the remaining eleven countries – Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad …
Is French growing in Africa?
French is now the fifth most spoken world language and growing—thanks to Africans. … The number of people speaking French has shown a steady increase: up nearly 9.6% since 2014. Measuring from 2010 to today, 22.7 million more people speak French: 68% of these are sub-Saharan Africa, while 22% live in North Africa.
How many countries are Spanish speaking?
There are many Spanish speaking countries in the world, as Spanish is the official language of the following 20 countries, as well as Puerto Rico: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, …
What is the most spoken language in Africa?
The most spoken language in Africa is Swahili which is said to have between 100 and 150 million speakers. Known as a ‘Bantu’ language, Swahili apparently originated from other languages like Arabic.
Is French dying?
It’s not that French is dead or even dying on the global stage. French is still one of the official languages of the UN, Nato, the International Olympic Committee and Eurovision. But the days of its global pomp, when it was the language of international diplomacy and spoken by much of the global elite, are long gone.
Which country has the most French speakers?
Unsurprisingly, France boasts the highest number of native French speakers, although its not the most populous country to have French as an official language: The Democratic Republic of Congo has a population of 77 million, compared to 62 million in France.
What is the fastest growing language in Africa?
French is spoken in many countries in Africa, which currently have some of the largest rates of population growth, and it’s this that makes French one of the fastest-growing languages in the world.
Which language is spoken most in world?
English is the largest language in the world, if you count both native and non-native speakers. If you count only native speakers, Mandarin Chinese is the largest. Mandarin Chinese is the largest language in the world when counting only first language (native) speakers.
What country in Africa speaks French?
Only official language
Burkina Faso. Congo. DR Congo, the most populated French-speaking country in the world. Ivory Coast.
Is French useful in Africa?
French is official language in most West African countries and it is spoken at national and functions as well as in the media. Each country may have its own way of pronouncing of some french words but on the whole French serve as a unifying factor among all these Francophone countries.