Spoken by about 77 million native speakers around the globe known as Francophones, French is the planet's 11th most popular language and one of its most important. In addition, some 130 million speak it as a second language. It is a global lingua franca employed by numerous international communities and organizations including the United Nations and the European Union to name just two.
French is widely spoken in Africa, the Caribbean, and is widely used in Canada, where it is the official language of Quebec. It is, of course, the mother tongue of France where there is considerable debate concerning its future in the face of the creeping influence and mixing of English (called "franglais") - something particularly prevalent in international business, the sciences, and popular culture. Laws have been enacted requiring that all printed ads and billboards utilizing foreign expressions must include a French translation. Other laws have called for quotas for songs on the radio.
L'Académie française, established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu during the reign of Louis XIII, is considered the preeminent body in matters pertaining to the language.
Our experience with French dates to 2003 when it was among the first languages we offered as a service provider and one in which we have an extraordinary depth of expertise.