Why learn French?

Why learn French

Historically France and the French language have had an enormous influence over American society. France was the United States' first ally. French thought played a dominant role among the founders of the United States in the 18th century, and it continues to shape America today through the influence of such intellectual currents as post-structuralism and post-modernism. In the humanities and the social sciences, many of the most important writings have come from France. Students and researchers who know French have access to these works for several years before they are translated into English. Many significant works are never translated and remain accessible only to those who know the language. In addition, most graduate schools require knowledge of at least one foreign language, and French remains the most commonly used language after English. 

French, along with English, is the official working language of 

1. the United Nations
2. UNESCO
3. NATO
4. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
5. the International Labor Bureau
6. the International Olympic Committee
7. the 31-member Council of Europe
8. the European Community
9. the Universal Postal Union
10. the International Red Cross
11. Union of International Associations (UIA)
12. French is the dominant working language at 
13. the European Court of Justice
14. the European Tribunal of First Instance
15. the Press Room at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium
16. One example of the importance of French can be seen in a recent listing of international jobs (7/3/07) distributed by the US State Department: 125 required or preferred French, 31 Spanish, 25 a UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), 10, Portuguese, 7 Arabic, 4 Russian, and 2 German. 

There are more than 75 good reasons to study French 

• It is not limited to one or two continents. 
• French is spoken in two of the G7 countries. 
• France is the world's major tourist destination (75 million tourists a year). 
• France is Europe's foremost investor abroad. 
• France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have the lowest rates of inflation in the European Union. 
• (This is an indicator of the health of these countries.) 
• France is in 4th position in terms of world power and it does not have the debt problems facing many 
• other major industrialised nations. (A positive sign for joint projects, business and scientific co-operation.) 
• France is renowned for the quality of its high tech. (The TGV is the fastest train in the world - 515 kph) 
• French is the official language of the International Red Cross. 
• France is one of the two official languages at the Olympic Games. 
• French-speaking Africa represents an area larger than the USA. 
• French is the most widely taught second language after English. 
• French is one of the official languages of the United Nations. 
• French is a major language of high tech and business in the world. 
• Over 20,000 English words have their origins in French. 
• In terms of number of words, French is the second largest language after English. 
• France offers a range of generous scholarships to our graduate students.> 
• Paris had 1,100 congresses in 1993 (including 400 international congresses) - a world record. 
• France has the world's greatest number of Nobel Prize winners in literature (12). 
• Montréal is the second largest French speaking city in the world. 
• Le Courrier Australien, founded in 1892, is the oldest ethnic newspaper in Australia. 
• PARIS is considered the capital of the world in terms of quality of life (Healey and Baker 1991.) 
• TRADE with AUSTRALIA in 1995 totalled the following: 
• IMPORTS 6,366,000,000 francs (the highest level recorded) 
• EXPORTS 4,393,000,000 francs (1 Australian dollar = 3.5 French francs) 
• (Figures obtained from the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry)   

The French government has done an excellent job explaining all that France has to offer economically and debunking some of the myths about France. In 2002, France attracted more foreign investment than the US and was on a par with China. Whatever some in the United States think of France, the world invests its money in France. 

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Hi, Its me Misha.French language Teacher, A webdesigner and blogspot developer. I'am business speaker, marketer, Blogger and French language Translator.

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