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{{French language}}
'''French''' (''français'', {{IPA-fr|fʁɑ̃sɛ|lang}}, or {{lang|fr|langue française}}, {{IPA-fr|lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz|lang}}, or by some speakers, {{IPA-fr|lɑ̃ŋ fʁɑ̃sɛ|lang}}) is a [[Romance languages|Romance language]] of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European family]]. It descended from the [[Vulgar Latin]] of the [[Roman Empire]], as did all Romance languages. French evolved from [[Gallo-Romance]], 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 [[substratum (linguistics)|influenced]] by native [[Celtic languages]] of Northern Roman Gaul like [[Gallia Belgica]] and by the ([[Germanic languages|Germanic]]) [[Frankish language]] of the post-Roman [[Franks|Frankish]] invaders. Today, owing to 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'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> in both English and French.
French is an [[official language]] in [[List of countries where French is an official language|27 countries]] and is spoken across all continents.<ref>{{Cite news |title=In which countries of the world is this language spoken... |url=http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm |url-status=live |access-date=21 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116092852/http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm |archive-date=16 November 2017}}</ref> French is also [[List of official languages|one of the most geographically widespread languages]] in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a ''[[de jure]]'' or ''[[de facto]]'' official, administrative, or cultural language.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/04/23/the-worlds-languages-in-7-maps-and-charts/|title=The world's languages, in 7 maps and charts|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=18 April 2022|access-date=19 April 2022|archive-date=16 August 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150816064811/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/04/23/the-worlds-languages-in-7-maps-and-charts/|url-status=live}}</ref> Most of these countries are members of the {{lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]]}} (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share the official use or teaching of French. French is also one of six official languages used in the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-18 |title=Official Languages |url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/official-languages/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017035124/http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/official-languages/ |archive-date=17 October 2015 |access-date=2020-04-19 |website=www.un.org |language=en}}</ref> It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provinces]] of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ([[Wallonia]] and the [[Brussels|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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-02 |title=Census in Brief: English, French and official language minorities in Canada |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016011/98-200-x2016011-eng.cfm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311010917/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016011/98-200-x2016011-eng.cfm |archive-date=11 March 2018 |access-date=2018-03-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |language=en}}</ref>
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