French Language Course From Wikibooks , the open-content textbooks collection Contents 004 - Lessons • 005 - Introductory lessons • 039 - Level one lessons • 081 - Level two lessons • 129 - Level three lessons • 170 - Grammar • 209 - Appendices • 244 - About this Wikibooks • 245 - Authors • 246 - GNU Free Documentation License • Third Edition Published: May 05, 2006 PDF created by Hagindaz Logo de La Francophonie The current version of this book can be found at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/French LESSONS Vue de Paris depuis la terrasse de la Samaritaine French Introductory Lessons Bonjour! - Introductory French Logo officiel du gouvernement français Welcome to the course dedicated to teaching you the best and most beautiful language in the world*! * The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily state or reflect those of Wikibooks as a whole or any of its affiliates. Introductory Level Contents 0.01 Leçon 01 : L'introduction History of the French Language 007 Lesson 01 : Introduction Extent of the French Language 0.02 Leçon 02 : Apprendre le français Reasons To Learn French, Book Organization 009 Lesson 02 : Learning French Advice on Studying French 0.03 Leçon 03 : L'alphabet Letters 011 Lesson 03 : The Alphabet Punctuation 0.04 Leçon 04 : Les accents Acute Accent, Grave Accent 015 Lesson 04 : Accents Tonic Accent, Stress 0.05 Leçon 05 : Les salutations Greetings 017 Lesson 05 : Greetings Good-byes, Names 0.06 Leçon 06 : Le discours formel Vous vs. tu, Courtesy 019 Lesson 06 : Formal Speech Titles, Asking For One's Name 0.07 Leçon 07 : Ça va? Asking How One Is Doing 021 Lesson 07 : How are you? 0.08 Leçon 08 : Les numéros Cardinal Numbers 024 Lesson 08 : Numbers Ordinal Numbers 0.09 Leçon 09 : Les dates Numbers 01-31, Seasons 027 Lesson 09 : Dates Days of the week, Months of the Year 0.10 Leçon 10 : L'heure Numbers 30-60, Times of Day 029 Lesson 10 : Telling Time Asking for the time Aiguilles d'Arves, France Introductory Lessons Lesson 0.01 • Introduction live version Introduction discussion exercises See also: French language edit lesson comment French is a Romance language, descended from Latin and closely related to report an error Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Romanian. It is the native tongue of over 87 million people and has an additional 68 million non-native speakers. ask a question History Further information: History of the French language In medieval times and until the 19th century, it was often the language used in diplomacy, culture, administration, royal courts across Europe and also in trade, thus appropriately becoming the lingua franca of its time. French-speaking people have made incursions upon the British Isles many times in the past, most noticeably in the Norman Invasion of 1066. For this reason, although English is a Germanic language, at least a third of the English lexicon is derived from French. Extent of the Language French is spoken all around the world. Main article: La Francophonie Main article: French colonial empires In modern terms, it is still significantly used as a diplomatic language, being an official language of the United Nations, the Olympic Games, and the European Union. It is the official language of 29 countries and is spoken in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Haiti, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, the Congo, Algeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Gabon, the Seychelles, Burundi, Chad, Rwanda, Djibouti, Cameroon, Mauritius, and Canada (mostly in the province of Québec, where it is the primary language, but it is also used in other parts of the country - notably New Brunswick, which is the only bilingual province. All consumer product packages in Canada are required by law to have both English and French labels). Allons-y! Bonne chance! congratulations on completing Lesson 0.01 • Introduction live version • discussion • exercises • edit lesson • comment • report an error • ask a question Introductory Lessons Lesson 0.02 • Learning French live version Reasons To Learn French discussion exercises As mentioned earlier, French is significantly used as a diplomatic language. You edit lesson are bound to find speakers almost everywhere in the world. In addition to societal comment reasons, there exist dozens of famous French novels and nonfiction works in a report an error variety of subjects. Because much can be lost in translation, the best way to go about reading these works is in the native language. ask a question Advice on Studying French Main article: How to learn a language French tends to have a bad reputation amongst English speakers as hard to learn. While it is true that it poses certain difficulties to native English-speakers, it may be noted that English is also considered to be 'difficult', and yet we learnt it without the benefit of already knowing a language. In fact, the French language can be learned in only ten months. Learning any new language requires some commitment, generally long-term. Remember that, like any skill, it requires a certain amount of effort. And if you do not practice your French regularly, it is highly likely that you will begin to forget it. Try to make it a part of your schedule; even if it's not daily, at least make it regular. Remember that you are learning a new skill. Try to master the simple stuff before moving on to the more complex. We all have to add and subtract before we can do calculus. French is a complete language. While this course can teach you to read and write in French, this is only half of the skills that make up fluency. A written document cannot teach much about listening to and speaking French. You must train all of these skills, and they will reinforce one another. For listening and speaking, finding a native speaker to help you once you have some skill will help you with these skills. The very best way to learn French is to get amnesia in France or another French-speaking country. This allows you to start with a clean slate, as babies do. However, most of us are unwilling to take that step. The next best thing is immersion. If you are serious about learning French, a period of immersion (where you go to live in a Francophone culture) is a good idea once you are moderately studied. Most countries are in the relative vicinity of a French-speaking country. If you can't travel to a French-speaking country, then try listening to French-language programs on the radio, TV, or the Internet. Rent or buy French-language movies. Pay attention to pronunciation. Grab a French speaker you meet and talk to him or her in French. Listen, speak, and practice. Read French newspapers and magazines. Again, an excellent source is Google's news page, which links to French-language news stories, which will enrich your vocabulary.