If you’re somewhat familiar with the French language, you know that The French-speaking world is called la francophonie, and people who speak French are des francophones. So, everywhere you go in la francophonie, you can speak French and have a good time, right? Well, it’s true in a sense. If you’re familiar with the differences between American English and British English, then you’ll understand the differences in French around the world. One of the most obvious is the way French is pronunced. The French of the Midi or Quebec does not sound like the French of Paris. In the Midi, for example, the mute ‘e’ at the end of many French words is sounded, giving the language an Italian sound, for example, une petite bouteille. The Canadian pronunciation of cheval is joual, which has given its name to the language: parler joual.

Pronunciation is not the only thing, though. You will also find differences in words in phrases. For example, when counting in tens after sixty, the Belgians use septante, octante, and nonante, which are not standard French. When asking you to repeat something, a French person may say pardon? or comment? But a Belgian will say s’il vous plait? If a French person pushes past you, they will say pardon or vous permettez? But a Swiss will say j’ose? There are many such differences that you will note if you travel around different regions and countries where French is spoken. In North America, quebecois is a major language, spoken by some 6.5 million people. This blog cannot begin to explain the diversity of the French language, but they give a flavor of that variety.

The extent of French language influence can also be seen from the worldwide range of newspapers in the language. There are, of course, many francophone newspapers in Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, and North Africa, but there are also papers in Togo, Benin, Madagascar, Mauritius, Burundi, Lebanon, Burkina-Fasso, Gabon, and so on.

You may feel that you’ve got quite enough on your plate coming to terms with the varieties and regionalisms of French, but the one thing you’ll need to be aware of is the Street French. Things like baratiner (to hit on), faire une scène (create a scene), les tablettes de chocolat (six-pack abs), Tu parles! (so what!), c’est vache! (that sucks!) and tons more.

If you’re looking at this as “Oh great, I have to learn all these varieties and nuances of the language??”, no, I’m not saying that (unless you plan to travel extensively throughout la francophonie for all your life). It’s safe to say that everyone understands and can speak standard French until you can pick up on the local regionalisms. In the meantime, have fun with French!