W H Y L E A R N F R E N C H ?
A widely spoken language
Spoken in 43 countries spread over five continents, it's the native language
of 200 million people, the second language of millions more, and it's taught
all over the world. French is also one of the three most widely-used
languages on the Internet.
Historical links between the English-speaking world and France
At different times over the past two millennia, the English and French have
alternately ruled over, courted, fought and supported each other, traded
ideas, styles, inventions, designs and philosophies. Their explorers
circumnavigated the globe and added to the sum of human knowledge. All of
these activities have permeated both the English and French languages: you
will learn as much about Western civilisation (including the history of
European expansion overseas) from a study of French as you will from a study
of your own culture.
It will help you understand your own language better
Learning any foreign language helps you to have a better understanding of
the structures and the subtleties of your own. Moreover, French is by far
the largest donor of foreign words to English: learning French will greatly
increase the number of English words you know.
A language of art and culture
French is the language of influential, religious, and intellectual
movements. Jean Calvin helped define Protestantism; Enlightenment writers
like Voltaire and Rousseau championed human rights; Simone de Beauvoir was a
prominent feminist, and Michel Foucault was a founder of postmodernism.
France also has the world's greatest number of Nobel Prize winners in
literature.
A language of tourism and cuisine
With the variety of its regions and its rich history, France is the most
visited destination in the world. French cuisine is revered worldwide and
travellers through France can sample many tasty regional variations of some
of the world's best-known wines.
A language of science, technology and medicine
Dr. Luc Montagnier discovered the human immune-deficiency virus. French
doctors pioneered many surgical procedures, are at the forefront of cancer
and genetic research and created the world's foremost medical emergency
organisation, Médecins sans Frontières. The Millau viaduct, the TGV high
speed trains, Airbus planes, satellites, telecommunications, Ariane rockets,
oceanic research, nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, fusion power (with the
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor soon to be built in
Southern France), are only a few examples of recent French technological
advances.
A language of business
French is a key language in the European Union, the world's largest economic
entity. With a population of 450 million and a gross national product larger
than that of the United States, the European Union is an economic
super-power. Many French companies are present in New Zealand (L'Oréal, Axa,
BNP-Paribas, Accor, Danone, Pernod-Ricard, Alsthom and the car-makers
Renault, Peugeot and Citroën to name but a few). And with New Caledonia and
French Polynesia at our doorstep, French is the other language of business
in the Pacific.
