français

Franç͏ais, or French, is a Romance language in the Gallo-Romance branch descended from Vulgar Latin. It emerged in northern France among the langues d’oïl and became the dominant form of the language in the medieval and early modern periods. The standard written form is known as French, with Parisian French serving as a common reference.

It is an official language in France and in many other countries, and it is one of the world's most taught languages. Globally, French is spoken by roughly 300 million people as a native or second language, with about 80 million native speakers. It is an official language in 29 countries and is a working language of many international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union, and the Francophonie.

Historically, French evolved from Old French (9th–14th centuries) to Middle French and Modern French. The Académie française, founded in 1635, seeks to regulate the language and standardize usage, though actual usage remains diverse across regions and communities. French subsequently spread through colonization and trade, giving rise to widely diverse Francophone varieties.

Linguistically, French features grammatical gender, noun–adjective agreement, definite and indefinite articles, and a complex verb system with multiple tenses and moods. Spelling relies on diacritics (acute é, grave è, circumflex ê, diaeresis ï, cedilla ç) and a Latin script. Phonologically, French makes use of nasal vowels and a range of consonant sounds that vary by dialect. Major varieties include Metropolitan French, Quebec French, Belgian French, Swiss French, and numerous African and Caribbean varieties.