For those who want to learn French language, it is useful to understand some of the history and efforts to preserve the language. For information on how to learn French, see the conclusion of this article.

French is classified as a Romance language, in that it derived from Latin. It evolved from various dialects spoken in northern France. In terms of a detailed history, there is not enough space in this article, so I will focus on modern French history, from about 1700 onwards.

French was once one of the most universal languages in the world, although it has been replaced by English in areas like science, business, and pop culture. But it wasn’t until 1539 that French became the official language of France in terms of government administration and legal proceedings. Previously these had been conducted exclusively through Latin.

French is one of the most controlled languages in the world. The French Academy, a body of 40 members established in 1634, is an official organization charged with preserving French and maintaining its purity (controlling the introduction of new words for example).

From the 17th to 20th centuries, many European monarchs could speak and write French, and it could be described as the language of the educated and influential people of Europe.

Through the French Academy, a unified version of French has been crafted. However, before that effort was successful, there were many dialects spoken in different parts of France, and among those French colonists who established themselves in various parts of the world, including the Americas.

French lost much of its international importance to English in the 20th century and in particular after the second world war. Indeed, many multi-national organization with offices in Paris, conduct business there through English, a fact not always well-appreciated by the French. It remains the second most studied language in the world (after English)

French still thrives in eastern Canada, helped in Quebec by some education regulations designed to keep the language alive.

In France, there are many regulations which attempt to preserve French. Individuals are permitted to choose any language in publications, but French is required in many areas of commerce, and in workforce regulations. There have been many examples of fines for employers where their communications, manuals, or instructions were distributed in another language (usually English).

There are also French government efforts to promote French as a language of the European Union. The French really do perceive the popularity of English over French in European Union dealings as a threat to French in their own country.

France has tried to position itself as a large country seeking cultural diversity. This is their argument against the use of English as the predominant international language. They also position France as having one well-controlled language.

However, they have been forced by their own citizens to recognize regional dialects and even different languages in certain regions, and it is not unusual when traveling through certain parts of France, particularly Brittany) to see road signs in two languages (French and a local language or dialect).

And finally media controls are being relaxed, with some Breton speaking radio stations being permitted. It is hard for the rest of the world to understand and comprehend that these relaxed rules only came about in 1982.

Much of learning has to do with methodology, which is the way one is taught. Online learning is especially helpful for those who learn best visually or by interacting with their world. Those those who learn best through auditory processing, however, many of the programs come with speech components where it becomes easier, after a few tries, to identify the unique pronunciations which makes each language unique.

Reviews of online programs are a great way to begin. Not only are the components of each course provided, but reactions from actual users as well. When you want to find out if something really works, having the opportunity to listen to a person who has used it can really set one’s mind at ease. It is important to find out, as well, costs involved and if it was worth it and this is a good place to find out.

Everyone learns in their own way so one of the difficult tasks will be finding a program that is geared to the individual learning style. What works great for one, will not necessarily be perfect for the other. One way to identify what one is looking for is to determine how one learns best. For instance, do you have to see someone else do it in order to understand it yourself or do you need to write it down? These types of questions help identify individual learning style so the right program can be selected for the individual learner.

Programs vary greatly in price and content and some even provide lessons on the basics free. Sometimes it’s easier to try something out first to determine how well it works in the individual case than it is to purchase something that must be returned. A search of the web is a great place to begin as many choices are now available. Whether one selects hassle-free downloaded software, works with free lessons until they desire more, or is simply interested in testing out various methodologies, to learn French online, or any other language, has never been easier.