French language
"Francophone" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Francophonie. French français Pronunciation [fʁɑ̃sɛ] Native to France Region Francophonie (French-speaking world) (geographical distribution below) Native speakers 76 million speakers (2012) [1] An estimated 274 million French speakers (L1 plus L2; 2014) [1] [2] Language family Indo-European Italic Romance Western Romance Gallo-Romance Oïl French Early forms Old French Middle French Dialects Tourangeau Writing system Latin (French alphabet) French Braille Signed forms Signed French (français signé) Official status Official language in 29 countries Belgium Benin Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Equatorial Guinea France Gabon Guinea Haiti Ivory Coast Luxembourg Madagascar Mali Monaco Niger Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Switzerland Togo Vanuatu Administrative/cultural Algeri...