101-495: The Canadian Press ( CP ; French : La Presse canadienne , PC ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto , Ontario . Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a private , not-for-profit cooperative owned and operated by its member newspapers for most of its history. In mid-2010, however, it announced plans to become
202-572: A de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share the official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and
303-482: A for-profit business owned by three media companies once certain conditions were met. Over the years, The Canadian Press and its affiliates have adapted to reflect changes in the media industry , including technological changes and the growing demand for rapid news updates . It currently offers a wide variety of text, audio, photographic, video, and graphic content to websites, radio, television, and commercial clients in addition to newspapers and its longstanding ally,
404-568: A $ 2-million budget by 1971. By the time of his retirement, Edwards felt that he brought peace between print news and broadcast news, and that they realized one complimented the other in reporting breaking news. While working for the Canadian National Railway in Jasper , Edwards met his future wife, Marjoree Ash from Vancouver. Wedding plans were delayed when Edwards lost his job, but revived once he relocated to Vancouver. When
505-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
606-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
707-485: A distribution network, its first editorial staff came on board during World War I to report on the efforts of Canadian soldiers overseas. In 1940, the Canadian government suspended the broadcast licenses of British United Press and Transradio Press Service both of whom, unlike Canadian Press , sold commercial sponsorships for its news bulletins in violation of government policy. Transport minister C.D. Howe , who
808-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
909-426: A new for-profit entity, Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., to take over the operations of The Canadian Press. The change in the ownership structure from a non-profit co-operative to a for-profit private business allowed the company to cover its pension needs and take advantage of future business opportunities, Phillip Crawley, publisher of The Globe and Mail , said in an interview, November 26, 2010. The Canadian Press had
1010-648: A new subsidiary, Broadcast News (BN). The venture operated in co-operation with private broadcasters, and supplied news reports to privately owned radio and television stations in Canada . Edwards was named the first manager and secretary of BN. In 1956, Edwards established the first national voice news wire service for broadcasters in Canada. He transitioned the service into BN Voice in 1961, which then served 34 radio stations with national and international news. Edwards travelled across Canada to improve broadcast journalism, and instituted annual regional meetings to raise
1111-652: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
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#17327661858831212-439: A plan to enforce the ban on commercial news broadcasts by editing dispatches by the wire services before they were distributed to radio stations. In 1941, CP created a subsidiary , Press News Limited with Sam. G. Ross as manager, to provide wire copy to radio stations to compete with American-owned Transradio Press Service and British United Press, the Canadian subsidiary of United Press. CP and then Press News sold news copy to
1313-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
1414-683: A result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including the United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ,
1515-586: A serious pension shortfall, which was, in 2010, valued at $ 34.4 million. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance ,
1616-507: A single brand: The Canadian Press. The change marked the end of the familiar (CP) service logo. The Canadian Press also operates the largest online editorial archive of news pictures shot by photojournalists . It was the first in Canada to develop this online archive in 1996 and now it is home to over two million digital images with hundreds of images added each day. These photos appear in newspapers, books and magazines, and online. In addition to news and information, The Canadian Press publishes
1717-781: A staff of more than 180 journalists in its bureaus across Canada, as well as a correspondent in Washington, DC . It had also operated a bureau in London, England, until 2004, has had reporters covering the Canadian mission in Afghanistan since 2002, and delivers news coverage to the West Indies . With its alliance through the Associated Press, there is now a worldwide exchange of news. Canadian Press Enterprises Inc.
1818-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
1919-457: A working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As
2020-457: A writer in the publicity department of Canadian National Railway , driving a taxi, selling vacuums, and selling parimutuel betting tickets at a horse racing track in Winnipeg. In Winnipeg at the horse racing track, Edwards met an editor from The Canadian Press (CP) which led to a six-week assignment in Toronto to report on curling . He was later assigned to Vancouver and covered
2121-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
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#17327661858832222-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
2323-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
2424-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
2525-563: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
2626-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
2727-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
2828-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
2929-578: Is published by most major Canadian news websites. The Canadian Press launched breaking news video in 2007, with clips produced specifically for websites and wireless services. On June 30, 2007, CanWest left The Canadian Press cooperative. In September 2007, The Canadian Press launched a rebranding campaign in an effort to stay competitive, notably in the wake of the pullout by The CanWest Global's newspaper, television and online news outlets (see below). All of its services, including radio networks Broadcast News and Nouvelles télé-radio , were rolled into
3030-639: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
3131-529: Is the entity that was to "take over the operations of the Canadian Press ", according to a November 2010 article in the Toronto Star . The new board met for the first time on November 29, 2010 to review the operations of The Canadian Press. As of January 2020, Torstar, The Globe and Mail and Montreal's La Presse continued to be the owners of The Canadian Press. Playing an essential role in
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3232-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
3333-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
3434-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
3535-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
3636-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
3737-545: The Associated Press (AP), a global news service based in the United States . Initially, Canada had only region-based news associations, lacking a national wire service. The Canadian Press was created by an act of Parliament as a news co-operative , with an annual government grant from 1917 to 1924, for the purpose of helping newspapers cover and distribute news across the country. Initially operating as
3838-609: The Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco; the Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to
3939-625: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation while TPS and BUP sold their copy exclusively to privately-owned commercial broadcasters. In 1944, Press News served 35 of 90 radio stations in Canada , had a five-person staff in Toronto, and an annual budget of CA$ 90,000. In 1945, CP established a French-language radio news service, the first such wire service for French broadcasters in North America. CP Picture Service
4040-563: The Canadian Championships of tennis in 1933. Subsequent CP posts for Edwards were Calgary , Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto. During World War II, he relayed a CP report on the torpedoing of SS Athenia without comment, even though his father was aboard the ship at the time. After the report, Edwards learned of his father's rescue. Edwards also reported on the first passenger fatality by Trans-Canada Air Lines . He travelled 20 miles (32 km) east from Armstrong , to
4141-609: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
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4242-517: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only a second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and
4343-533: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
4444-559: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
4545-399: The French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as
4646-877: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
4747-626: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
4848-499: The Stylebook and Caps and Spelling book, which are considered the chief style guides for Canadian journalists, public relations professionals, editors, and writers of all disciplines. Through a longstanding partnership, The Canadian Press is the exclusive distributor of the Associated Press (AP) and Associated Press Television News (APTN) material in Canada. The AP is likewise the exclusive distributor of The Canadian Press in
4949-775: The World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
5050-506: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
5151-773: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
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#17327661858835252-647: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
5353-854: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
5454-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
5555-416: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
5656-410: The Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as
5757-441: The Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to
5858-402: The OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as a second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
5959-434: The RTNDA renamed its annual award for spot news reporting to the Charlie Edwards Award in his honour. He was made an honorary life member of multiple broadcasting associations, was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame in 1972, and posthumously inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1985. Charles Brailsford Edwards was born in Winnipeg , Manitoba, on August 10, 1906. He grew up and
6060-470: The United States and worldwide. On March 11, 2009, Sun Media announced that it would also be pulling out of the cooperative. In July 2010, a tentative deal was struck between The Canadian Press' three largest stakeholders, CTVglobemedia , Torstar , and Gesca , to transform the newswire from a co-operative into a for-profit entity. On November 26, 2010, Torstar, The Globe and Mail , and Square Victoria Communications Group announced they have invested in
6161-484: The building in 1957. He enjoyed playing cribbage and took a game board with him when he travelled. He died from a stroke in Delta, British Columbia , on June 23, 1983. Fellow broadcasters and journalists knew Edwards as "Uncle Charlie". The Province described him as "one of the most influential figures in broadcast journalism in Canada". BN president Bob Lockhart felt that, "Edwards's high standards of executive ability were matched only by his friendship for
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#17327661858836262-562: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Charles Edwards (journalist) Charles Brailsford Edwards (August 10, 1906 – June 23, 1983) was a Canadian journalist and news agency executive. He began in journalism as a sportswriter for the Regina Evening Post , The Leader , and the Winnipeg Free Press , before reporting for The Canadian Press (CP). He served as manager of CP's subsidiary Press News from 1944 to 1954, where he established
6363-548: The crash scene at Wagaming, by the only available transportation—an open-air railway handcar during −50 °C (−58 °F) temperature. On March 27, 1944, Edwards was appointed manager of Press News Limited, the radio news subsidiary of CP. At the time, Press News served 35 of 90 radio stations in Canada , had a five-person staff in Toronto, and an annual budget of CA$ 90,000. When Edwards became manager of Press News, radio broadcasters and newspapers in Canada distrusted each other in competition for advertising money, and he
6464-493: The credit for uniting two groups who at the time were adversaries, and when the situation looked hopeless." Edwards was made an honorary life member of the RTNDA, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), and the Western Association of Broadcasters. In 1967, the RTNDA renamed its annual award for spot news reporting to the Charlie Edwards Award. The CAB gave him a citation in 1968, for his work in broadcast news quality and professional standards among newsmen. In 1970, he
6565-404: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
6666-523: The development of Canadian identity , The Canadian Press is wholly dependent on leased telegraphic lines in order to send stories back and forth across the country to their vast number of readers . In addition to providing news to newspapers , radio , and television , The Canadian Press provides online news and photos. Now, almost every daily newspaper in Canada relies on the service brought forth by The Canadian Press. It introduced this online breaking news service in 1996 and now its multimedia content
6767-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
6868-489: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
6969-460: The finals of the 1933 Canadian Championships of tennis were delayed one day due to rain, they married on the Sunday morning before he reported on the finals. He borrowed $ 25 from an editor in Vancouver to cover wedding expenses, and his bride's train fare to Calgary where they honeymooned in advance of his next assignment. Edwards and his wife had two sons. He was a member of Yorkminster United Church in Toronto , and helped organize construction of
7070-539: The first French-language wire service for radio news broadcasters in North America, and established CP Picture Service to wire photographs to newspapers and television stations. He became the first manager of CP's subsidiary Broadcast News (BN) in 1954, then established the first national voice news wire service for broadcasters in Canada, which he transitioned into BN Voice. By the time he retired as manager in 1971, BN had grown to serve 298 radio and television stations in Canada. The Province described Edwards as "one of
7171-406: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
7272-915: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
7373-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
7474-466: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
7575-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
7676-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
7777-479: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
7878-458: The most influential figures in broadcast journalism in Canada". He negotiated peace and co-operation between radio broadcasters and newspapers in Canada, when they distrusted each other in competition for advertising. He was the driving force behind formation of the Radio and Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA) in 1962, to give equal access to all types of news sources. In 1967,
7979-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
8080-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
8181-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
8282-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
8383-530: The standards for broadcast news directors. He was the driving force behind formation of the Radio and Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA) in 1962, to seek equal access to all types of news sources at a time when government agencies banned broadcast reporters from press conferences. Edwards was appointed general manager and secretary of BN in 1966, and retired from both positions on August 10, 1971. BN had grown to serve 298 radio and television stations in Canada, and increased to 45 staff and
8484-466: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
8585-679: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
8686-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
8787-485: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
8888-454: The working newsman", and referred to him as "one of the giants of broadcast journalism". CP president I. Norman Smith credited Edwards for moulding BN "in the face of opposition from some broadcasters and some newspaperman", into a $ 2-million-per-year business. "When Broadcast News was started in 1954, everybody said it wouldn't work—but Charlie made it work. His industry, his integrity, in fact his stubbornness put it over. To Charlie belongs
8989-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
9090-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
9191-445: Was a frequent peacekeeper while convincing them to co-operate for their best interests. In 1945, Edwards established a French-language radio news service, the first such wire service for French broadcasters in North America. He established CP Picture Service in 1948, to wire photographs to newspapers and television stations instead of the images being mailed via the postal service. On January 1, 1954, CP replaced Press News with
9292-819: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
9393-699: Was educated in the Saskatchewan cities, Moose Jaw and Regina . As a youth, he played rugby football , ice hockey, baseball, basketball, tennis and golf. He began in journalism during the late-1920s as a sports reporter for the Regina Evening Post and The Leader . When his family moved back to Winnipeg in 1928, he covered sports for the Winnipeg Free Press until the Great Depression . He subsequently worked as
9494-670: Was established in 1948, to wire photographs to television stations and newspapers in Canada , instead of the images being mailed via the postal service. The Canadian Press operates in both English and French, the latter service being established in 1951 as La Presse Canadienne . With the arrival of radio and television , The Canadian Press created Broadcast News (BN) in 1954, a subsidiary to deliver text specifically written for broadcasters. On January 1, 1954, BN replaced Press News. The venture operated in co-operation with private broadcasters, and supplied news reports to privately owned radio and television stations in Canada . Charles Edwards
9595-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
9696-708: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
9797-817: Was named broadcaster-of-the-year by the Central Canada Broadcasters' Association. When Edwards retired in 1971, he was recognized by the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery for "outstanding contribution" to the news broadcasting, and received the RTNDA International Distinguished Service Award for his leadership in strengthening freedoms of broadcast journalism. He was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame during National Press Week in 1972, and
9898-618: Was named the first manager and secretary of BN. In 1956, BN established the first national voice news wire service for broadcasters in Canada, which became BN Voice in 1961, which then served 34 radio stations with national and international news. When Edwards retired in 1971, BN had grown to serve 298 radio and television stations in Canada, and increased to 45 staff and a $ 2-million budget by 1971. In 1979, CP added network newscasts for subscribing stations. In 1985, Canadian Press purchased long-time rival British United Press, by then known as United Press Canada, from Sun Media . The news agency has
9999-583: Was responsible for broadcasting policy, announced that the two wire services must “show their news source is accurate” in order to retain their licenses. After complaints by Transradio that the move was an attempt by “selfish publishing and monopolistic interests … to destroy independent news services throughout the Dominion”, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , which at the time was also responsible for regulating private radio broadcasters, agreed to reinstate Transradio's and BUP's licenses while also announcing
10100-594: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
10201-570: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
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