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| Welcome! |
| French is spoken in 44 different countries and regions
of the world. In Europe, France is very active in international
politics and is a member of the European Union. French is
the official second language of the European Union, which
created the eurodollar in 1999 in order to better compete
on the world market. |
| In the Western Hemisphere, two "versions" of
French exist in Canada and the United States. François
I, king of France in the 16th century, sent the first French
settlers to "New France". With little contact
with the mother tongue, French Canadian developped along
its own path. It is spoken largely in the province of Quebec
in Canada and has its own literature. French is the official
second language of all of Canada. The state of Maine has
a small community of Francophones whose origins are from
those days of New France. |
| The other "version" of Canadian French is Cajun
French in Louisiana, whose origins date from the "Grand
Dérangement", the English/French conflict over
possession of New France. The official second language of
Louisiana is French, since 1968. |
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