105-527: Saint-Gilles ( French , pronounced [sɛ̃ ʒil] ) or Sint-Gillis ( Dutch , pronounced [sɪntˈxɪlɪs] ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region , Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels , Anderlecht , Forest and Ixelles . In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it
210-572: 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
315-426: A Kot-à-projet (kap) is a kot whose inhabitants have similar interests and who organise activities for the general student population, they are similar to Fraternity and sorority houses , but smaller in size with only the committee living in the kot. Being small several Kots can be situated in the same, university owned, apartment building. One of them is "le kap contes", a kot promoting the art of storytelling. Another
420-744: 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
525-431: 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,
630-555: 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
735-826: A full merger aborted by an insufficient vote by the general assembly of the FUNDP in December 2010. The result was a merger between the University of Louvain and the FUCaM in Mons , effective from 15 September 2011. The Mons campus is denoted UCLouvain FUCaM Mons. The three universities still collaborate in consortium, the Académie Louvain . Within this group, member universities have coordinated their masters programmes in
840-560: A large part of Belgium's elite and is still considered, with its Dutch-speaking sister, as a centre of excellence in many fields. In 2006, it was ranked 76th in the world universities ranking established by the Times Higher Education supplement (24th in Europe). In the 2011 QS World University Rankings the University of Louvain was ranked 125th overall in the world, moving up one place from its position of joint 126th in
945-652: 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
1050-494: 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
1155-683: 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 ,
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#17327824834801260-547: 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
1365-457: 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
1470-437: 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
1575-472: 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
1680-489: 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
1785-830: Is called "Kap Délices" which suggests varied activities such as theme buffets, cooking lessons, and material renting. The AGL (General Assembly of Louvain students) is the UCLouvain's Students' union . The body comprises an executive Committee, and a legislative Council. The Committee consists of ex-officio members: President, Vice-Presidents for Education & Welfare, VP for the Medicine faculty (situated in UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe ), General Secretary, Activities Officer, Communications Officer, Operations Officer, Foreign student's Officer, Cultural Officer, Editor-in-Chief & Deputy Editor-in-Chief as well as
1890-652: 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
1995-778: Is frequently, but controversially, identified as a continuation of the older institution. In 1968 the Catholic University of Leuven split into the Dutch-language Katholieke Universiteit Leuven , which stayed in Leuven, and the French-language Université catholique de Louvain , which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve in Wallonia , 30 km southeast of Brussels. Since the 15th century, Leuven/Louvain , as it
2100-563: 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
2205-664: Is in UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe , Woluwe-Saint-Lambert , Brussels , where the faculty of medicine is installed. The UCLouvain hosts Belgium's largest university museum in Louvain-la-Neuve; the Musée L . It exhibits part of the university's 32,000 piece wide collection of art and scientific objects including works of Dürer , Van Dyck , Goya , Rodin , Picasso , Magritte or Alechinski , sculptures , archaeological and ethnographic objects or specimens of natural history . The UCLouvain FUCaM Mons campus also owns
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#17327824834802310-419: Is in no way an obligation to be baptized in order to be a part of a Cercle or to frequent them. The calotte is a Belgian student cap worn by students attending Catholic universities. They are emblems of student folklore dating back to the late 19th century. Nowadays, most calottes are passed by way of a ceremony known as the coronae. How they are passed and what must be known or done to deserve it depends on
2415-404: 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
2520-518: Is legally bilingual (French–Dutch), but predominantly French-speaking nowadays. Saint-Gilles has a multicultural identity stemming from its diverse population. The housing stock varies from semi-derelict tenements near Brussels-South railway station in the north, to elegant bourgeois houses on the southern borders with Uccle and Ixelles , to tourist hotels at the inner end of the Chaussée de Charleroi/Charleroisesteenweg . The first houses of
2625-523: Is located in Louvain-la-Neuve , which was expressly built to house the university, and Brussels , Charleroi , Mons , Tournai and Namur . Since September 2018, the university uses the branding UCLouvain, replacing the acronym UCL, following a merger with Saint-Louis University, Brussels . The original University of Louvain ( Universitas Lovaniensis ) was founded at the centre of the historic town of Leuven (or Louvain ) in 1425, making it
2730-469: 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
2835-828: 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
2940-631: Is still often called, has been a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology. The Catholic University of Leuven , based in Leuven (" Louvain " in French), 30 km east of Brussels , provided lectures in French from its founding in 1834, and in Dutch from 1930. In 1968, the Dutch-language section became the independent Katholieke Universiteit Leuven , which remained in Leuven, while
3045-639: 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 ,
3150-553: 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
3255-483: 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
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3360-492: 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
3465-424: 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
3570-764: 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
3675-534: 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
3780-609: 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
3885-517: 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
3990-533: 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
4095-559: 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,
4200-399: 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
4305-877: 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
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4410-626: 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
4515-702: The University of Louvain (UCLouvain) is established in Saint-Gilles. Saint-Gilles's dense population is well served by public transport. Brussels-South railway station with its international high speed connections sits at the northern tip of the municipal territory, and the underground premetro (underground tram) line passes southwards through it. By 2025, the line should have been converted into heavy metro line 3, running from Albert northwards to Gare du Nord/Noordstation (Brussels-North Station), later to be extended to Bordet . Inhabitants have access to
4620-775: 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
4725-720: The first university in Belgium and the Low Countries , and abolished by law in 1797. This university was the centre of Baianism , Jansenism and Febronianism in Europe. A new university, the State University of Louvain, was founded in 1817 and abolished by the law in 1835. A new catholic university was founded in Mechlin in 1834, the Catholic University of Mechlin and moved to Leuven in 1835 that
4830-464: The tram lines 3, 4, 8, 51, 81 and 97, as well as bus lines 48 to Stalle, 134 to St-Job, 136/137 to Alsemberg, 365a to Charleroi and W to Waterloo . There are 5 pods of Cambio shared cars, at Dumont, Horta, Janson, Parvis / Voorplein and Porte de Hal / Hallepoort . Saint-Gilles has a football club called Royal Union Saint Gilloise , which had his prime years in the 1930s. On 13 March 2021, after defeating local rivals R.W.D. Molenbeek , Union
4935-455: 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;
5040-463: The 2009 THE–QS World University Rankings (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings). An overview of the THE-QS Rankings: QS World University Rankings Cercles are Student Societies or Fraternities based around each faculty. The Cercles, along with the Régionales (which are based around their respective regions of origin) coordinate and manage most of
5145-474: 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
5250-510: The Alps during the Winter Break). Every Cercle and Régionale has its own customs and traditions, but some are practiced by all: The Baptême ( French : baptism ) is a hazing ceremony used by most to induct new members, who then participate in a number of trials and activities involving eggs and other foodstuff, paint, demeaning chants etc. Baptized members (les Baptisés) are among the most common type of members, and some Cercles and Régionales try to only accept new members this way, although it
5355-510: 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
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#17327824834805460-614: 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,
5565-454: The Cercle or Régionale. One thing that is universally known, is that there is a lot of singing involved. Cercles are notorious for their generally high output of alcohol (especially beer) and low level of cleanliness. Students tend to wear old clothes that they don't mind damaging or dirtying as a consequence, and the overall ambiance is more akin to a rave or a frat-party than a nightclub or sports bar. Student accommodation in Belgium comes in
5670-408: 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
5775-402: The French-speaking part of the university at a campus in Brussels or Wallonia were quietly discussed from the early 1960s, but it was not anticipated that the French-speaking section would become an entirely independent university and lose all of its buildings and infrastructure in Leuven . The first stone of the new campus at Louvain-la-Neuve was laid in 1971, and the transfer of faculties to
5880-402: The French-speaking university was expelled to a greenfield campus and town, Louvain-la-Neuve , 30 km south-east of Brussels, in a part of the country where French is the official language. This separation also entailed dividing existing library holdings between the two new universities. With the democratization of university education already stretching existing structures, plans to expand
5985-416: 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
6090-410: 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
6195-441: 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
6300-402: 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
6405-416: The State of Belgium in Louvain. The same year, shortly after the suppression of the State University, the Catholic University of Belgium moved to Louvain. It took advantage of the reputation of the city as an ancient university centre and adopted a new name: Catholic University of Louvain (Université catholique de Louvain). In a Catholic spirit inspired by Pope Gregory XVI , the promoter and first rector of
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#17327824834806510-538: The University of Louvain, including the FUCaM in Mons that integrated the UCL in 2011, Saint-Louis University, Brussels that formally integrated the university in 2023. The faculties of Philosophy, Arts and Human Sciences, Economic, Social, Political and Communication Sciences (ESPB), Law (DRTB), the Institute for European Studies (IEEB) and the Marie-Haps Faculty of Translating and Interpreting of autonomous UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles campus are not attached to their corresponding counterparts of UCLouvain. While
6615-401: The capital of newly founded Belgium. As a result, the rural village of Saint-Gilles, known for centuries for its cabbage cultivation, went through an unprecedented construction spree. The population increased from 2,500 around 1800 to more than 33,000 in 1880 to a peak of 60,000 in 1910. The street pattern was completely remodelled in the 1860s by the architect and urbanist Victor Besme. It
6720-442: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Universit%C3%A9 catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain , officially in English the University of Louvain ) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally established in 1425). It
6825-404: 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
6930-448: 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
7035-489: 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
7140-460: The extended collection of the Convent of the Black Sisters in the city-center of Mons , where the university has placed its Ateliers des FUCaM campus. UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels also owns a classical and modern art collection, primarily paintings recovered from its original campus in Mechelen . The University of Louvain educates around 27,261 students from 127 nationalities in all areas of studies at its different campuses. It has educated
7245-407: The fields of economics, management, political sciences and sciences as well as the doctoral programmes in all disciplines. In September 2018, the University of Louvain (or UCL until then) and Saint-Louis University, Brussels de facto merged, founding the UCLouvain , a denomination they currently share. In 1425, Dukes of Brabant created the University of Louvain (Université de Louvain), which
7350-406: 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
7455-556: The following century to give way to several important toll roads and urban development. The name of the Barrière de Saint-Gilles / Bareel van Sint-Gillis neighbourhood (literally "Barrier of Saint Gilles") still commemorates those tolls to this day. During the French regime , on 31 August 1795, the village, by now called Saint-Gilles after its patron saint and main church, merged with neighbouring villages to form Uccle . Four years later, it gained its independence again, with its own mayor and municipal council. In 1830, Brussels became
7560-426: The form of a " kot ", a term having Belgian Dutch origin. A "kot" can be translated as den or hut. The French way to form the plural of "kot" is "kots" (in Dutch, the plural of "kot" is "koten"). In the bilingual region of Brussels, where there are both Dutch- and French-speaking universities and their students, it is common that "for rent" signs are in French only, with the French plural of "kot". Unique to UCLouvain
7665-915: 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 ,
7770-829: 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
7875-532: The hamlet of Obbrussel (Old Dutch: Obbrusselsche , meaning "Upper Brussels") were built, between the 7th and the 11th centuries, close to the Altitude Cent / Hoogte Honderd , one of the points of highest elevation in Brussels , now part of Forest . In 1216, following strong demographic growth in the area, Forest Abbey allowed Obbrussel to become an independent parish . This independence, however,
7980-519: 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
8085-479: 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
8190-612: 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 ,
8295-479: 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
8400-1177: The main campus of the University of Louvain is based in Louvain-la-Neuve , it also comprises a campus in Brussels, UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe , in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert , which until recently was called "Louvain-en-Woluwe" hosting the university's sector of medical science and primary academic hospital (8000 students), a campus in Mons called UCLouvain FUCaM Mons (2300 students), a minor installation in Charleroi with 133 students (as of 2011) at UCLouvain Charleroi , an architectural school in Tournai , UCLouvain Tournai, with 540 students (as of 2011), and an architectural school in Brussels , UCLouvain Bruxelles Saint-Gilles, with 570 students (as of 2011). With
8505-663: The merger with Saint-Louis University, it also comprises an independent campus specialized in education and research of social and human sciences in the center of the City of Brussels , UCLouvain Saint-Louis - Bruxelles and the Marie-Haps Faculty of Translating and Interpreting in Ixelles ' European quarter , next to the European Parliament (4150 students). UCLouvain's main medical implementation
8610-420: 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
8715-622: The new site was completed in 1979. According to a 2007 agreement, the University of Louvain was to absorb three smaller French-speaking catholic colleges: the Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix ( FUNDP ) located in Namur , the Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis ( FUSL ) located in Brussels (later called Saint-Louis University, Brussels) and the Catholic university of Mons ( FUCaM ) located in Mons and Charleroi . The negotiations for
8820-534: 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
8925-471: 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
9030-658: The president of the council. Quinzaine a university produced newsletter, La Savate produced by the AGL and the monthly l'étincelle by the Kot-à-projet KAP Etincelle. Cercles also produce publications. The 24 Hour Cycle (24h Vélo) is, nominally, a bicycle endurance road race held in October, organised by CSE Animations (Centre Sportif Etudiant). While there is an elite race with teams of two, Student groups enter novelty themed multi-bike vehicles, in
9135-479: The province of Walloon Brabant , and one Dutch speaking, which remained in the same location. In 1970, these two universities were established by law as the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven and Université catholique de Louvain . In 1971, the first foundation stone was laid in Louvain-la-Neuve, a new city constructed for the French-speaking university. Evolution of the number of students at
9240-471: 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
9345-736: The students' animation and nightlife. Most Cercles run small bars to fund their activities, and also jointly operate a larger nightclub, "La Casa". Cercles and Régionales are run exclusively by member students known as the committee. These members are elected every year, usually by voting from all members (active or otherwise) wishing to participate, although some Cercles restrict the number of possible voters in some cases. Aside from promoting student folklore and coordinating student animation, Cercles also offer academic aid to students in their respective faculties and organize more cultural activities, such as visits to museums and/or other cities, conferences, and low-cost trips for students (for example skiing in
9450-466: 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
9555-679: 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
9660-468: The university, Monseigneur de Ram, wanted to create a shield that would repulse religion's enemies and block every doctrine weakening the base of Catholic society. The pharmacy school was founded in 1845 and the engineering school in 1865. In 1884 the Catholic University of Louvain celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. In 1968, as a result of linguistic issues, the university was divided into two different universities: one French speaking, which moved to
9765-568: 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
9870-485: 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
9975-536: 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
10080-402: 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
10185-710: Was around that time that the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan , Brussels-South railway station , and the new Church of St. Gilles were built, to be followed soon after by the new prison and Municipal Hall . Nowadays, Saint-Gilles is one of the densest municipalities of the Brussels agglomeration. The local council usually has a socialist majority, and the current mayor is Jean Spinette. The municipality has 13 nursery and primary schools (10 French-speaking and 3 Dutch-speaking) and 7 secondary schools (6 French-speaking and 1 Dutch-speaking). The Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning of
10290-819: 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
10395-400: 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
10500-708: 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
10605-644: Was promoted back to the Belgian First Division A , marking its first appearance in top-flight football in 48 years. 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 ,
10710-594: 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
10815-789: Was suppressed under Joseph II , reopened in 1790, and was finally closed under the French Republic in 1797. In 1817, the State University of Louvain ( Université de l'Etat de Louvain ) was founded, which closed 15 August 1835. In 1834, the Catholic bishops of Belgium created the Catholic University of Belgium (Université catholique de Belgique) in Mechlin , also known as the Catholic University of Malines (Université catholique de Malines). A law passed on 27 September 1835 stated that there would be only one university funded by
10920-570: 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 ,
11025-576: Was to last only eighty years, after which the administration of the village was given to Brussels. By the 16th century, Obbrussel had grown to 41 houses. In 1670, following orders from the Spanish government , the Count of Monterey built a fort in Obbrussel as part of the fortifications of Brussels to protect the City of Brussels against possible attacks. Erected in 1675, this fort was dismantled in
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