Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Why Study French?

  • French is the only language that can be useful throughout the world as well as in the United States.
  • The International Organization of Francophonie has 56 member states and governments, 26 of which have French as an official language.
  • French is the only other language other than English spoken on five continents.
  • French, along with English, is the official working language of the United Nations, UNESCO, NATO, OECD, the International Labor Bureau, the International Olympic Committee, the 31 member Council of Europe, the European Community, the Universal Postal Union, the International Red Cross, and UIA; French is also the dominant working language of the European Court of Justice, the European Tribunal of First Instance, and the Press Room at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.
  • More international jobs in the US State Department require or prefer French than any other language.
  • Among the world’s 200 largest companies, 35 are French, 34 are German, and 30 are British.
  • France is the world’s leader in the production of luxury goods.
  • 1.8 million Americans speak French in the home.
  • More tourists visit France than any other country in the world.
  • France has contributed many significant works in the humanities and social sciences, many of which are never translated from their original language.
  • After 9/11, President Bush allocated substantial funding to the study of foreign languages, study abroad programs,
    and the training of foreign language teachers.
  • In a listing of international jobs distributed by the U.S. State Department on August 25, 2008: 78 required or preferred French, 27 a UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), 17 Spanish, 10 Arabic, 5 Russian, 3 German, and 1 Chinese.
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