Semaine de la langue française et de la francophonie 2018

Bonjour! Salut! Coucou! Et bienvenue à mon blog - this week is francophonie week (17 - 25 March 2018), a week that celebrates the French language and international francophonie community centered around March 20th, International Francophonie Day, which marks the founding of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, a body that works to protect and promote the French language and various francophonie cultures as well as promote values largely promoted by France. It's important to note that this doesn't mean a week of celebrating all things France, but of all French speakers and all French speaking culture internationally; 29 countries list French as an official language and it is the 10th most-spoken language in the world.

To kick us off, here's a quick look at some key facts about the French language:
Country of origin: France
Number of native speakers: 76 million
Number of proficient users ('can speak French'): 229 million
Official language: 29 countries 
French in the EU: 4th biggest native language, 2nd most popular second-language
Wordlwide: 10th most spoken language, 2nd most popular taught language 

So, what does one do during this week?
Many countries, governments, regional governments, schools, etc organise a week, a day, or an evening of activities centred around celebrating the French language and its associated culture - a vaguely similar purpose to that of the Eisteddfod in Wales for the Welsh language - with particular emphasis on public talks, music, literature and film. For many, this is an opportunity to look at the French language from a different perspective, for example, many events held in France will often look to how the French language is used in Africa and how culture there differs to the culture of France and how the two can learn from each other. Another popular topic is that of French in the modern world which looks at the ever-present threat of the domination of the English language and the potential risks and opportunities of using French in the online, social age. For me, this is truly fascinating given my studies and work in the Welsh language, although I think the giant French language has mch less to worry about that the tiny Welsh language! 

IEFE
As many of you will know, I am currently studying French as a foreigner in a local university in the IEFE depertmant. This department has arranged for a series of events to celebrate this week, all of which are to take place this Thursday and includes things such as film and discussion, games, shared experiences session and even karaoke. This is a fantastic way to help foreigners feel integrated and to boolster the motivation to learn French so it's really, really good to see that IEFE have organised these events specifically for foreign students.

Fête de l'IEFE pour la semaine de la francophonie

Ultimately, francophonie week doesn't compare to the Welsh tradition of Eisteddfodau which I think is far more deeply ingrained in Welsh people than fracophonie week/day is for the French and others but that doesn't take anything away from its importance. It's so easy to dismiss other languages if you speak only English, and people often joke that it would be easier if everyone did speak English but it's celebrations like these that make you think - if the English language does become too big and seriously weakens other native languages, such as French, you're not just losing a language you don't understand or a class you never liked at school, you're losing an identity and a culture that cannot be replaced and we would all be so much poorer if English does completely take over.

An actual photo of me speaking French