Languages in France

In France , different languages, some of which have long roots in the region, are spoken depending on the region. However, French is the only official language in the republic . The regions in which there is (at least) one other language in addition to French (allophone regions) are mainly located in southern France , largely congruent with Occitania (named after its language) , and in the peripheral areas, the fringes and border areas of the hexagon , for example in Alsace on the German and Swiss border, Brittany jutting out into the Atlantic or the island of Corsica . In the overseas departments (DOM) and overseas territories (formerly TOM, currently ROM) belonging to France , other languages are spoken in addition to French, for example Creole languages with a French base. The Republic of France pursues an active language policy that promotes the French language nationally and internationally ( Francophonie ), restricts all other languages - whether traditionally present or through historically recent migration - mainly to the private sector and (to a limited extent) the education system (cf. .: French language policy ).

In school education is English (almost 100 percent of the students learn in their school career) taught, followed by the Spanish (44.2 per cent) and Germans (15.3 percent).

The French state does not collect any data on the use of regional languages or their distribution as a first language (mother tongue).

France and its DOM / ROM

structure

Language map of the French-speaking area in Europe: green (incl. Light olive) and bordeaux: Langues d'oïl, reddish: Langues d'oc, blue: Arpitan, violet, blackish and beige: others

Indo-European languages

Romance languages

Gallo-Romanic group
- Langues d'oïl
  - Champenois
  - French
  - Picardy
  - Walloon
  - Norman
  - Gallo
  - Lorraine (Lorrain)
- Franco-Provençal / Arpitan
- Occitan
  - North Occitan
  - South Occitan
Ibero-Romanic group
- Catalan
Italo-Romanic group
- Corsican

Germanic languages

Standard German
- Alsatian dialects
- Lorraine dialects
- Luxembourgish
- Jenisch
- South Franconian

Lower Franconian
- West Flemish

Yiddish
- West Yiddish

Celtic languages

Breton
- KLT dialect group:
  - Kerneveg (French Cornouaillais)
  - Leoneg (French Léonard)
  - Tregerieg (French Trégorrois)
  - Goueloù (French Goélo)
- Gw dialect group:
  - Gwenedeg (French: Vannetais)