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Worldwide, there are 128, 000, 000 french language speakers. The majority of speakers reside in France where 51, 000, 000 speak French as their native language. However, France is not the only country that recognizes French as their official or native language. The French language is also spoken in fifty-three other countries, and is the 10th most spoken language in the world. Below is the world distribution. |
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with permission from: www.orbilat.com
Knowledge of French in Canada French, along with English is the official language of Canada. Among the 29,639,030 people who live in Canada, 3.9 million report knowledge of French only and a further 5.2 million report knowledge of French and English in the 2001 census. The majority of the French population resides in Québec, where 6,739,050 people report knowledge of French. In British Columbia, the total population is 3,868,870. Only 271,180 report knowledge of French. A majority of these people reside in the Lower Mainland. Every student in B.C. participates in a basic French language program from grades 5 to 8. Here students learn about basic phonology, vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. Students have the option to continue their French language education up to Grade 12. Many students may also learn French in the Early French immersion or Late French immersion programs offered in the school system. Students in these programs learn Science, Math, Français-langue seconde, and Social Studies in French. By graduation, these students should be able to speak French, approaching the fluency of a native speaker. French-Canadians are also found in other regions of Canada. Outside Québec,
the greatest number of French-speakers can be found in Ontario, New-Brunswick,
and Manitoba. The following is a breakdown of French-speakers in Canada's provinces and teritories:
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