French is an official language in 29 independent countries across the globe, spanning Europe, Africa, North America, the Caribbean, and Oceania. It is spoken by 200 million persons in more than 70 countries across 5 continents.
French language is rich and complex, spanning over 2,000 years. It evolved from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, into one of the world’s most widely spoken languages today.
The roots of French can be traced back to the Latin spoken by the Romans who conquered Gaul (modern-day France) in 50 BCE. This Latin, called Vulgar Latin, was a spoken form of the classical Latin used in literature.