La Francophonie: The History of the Famous French Language Training School

French is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, with 29 countries having it as their official language and focus of language training. These countries form what is known as la Francophonie, a word invented in 1880 by Onésime Reclus to describe the global, French-speaking community. France is also fiercely protective of its language and has created numerous organizations over the years to accomplish this purpose, one of which is the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Roots of French Language Training

The International Organization of La Francophonie has its roots in the Académie française. This organization was created in 1635 in order to officially determine the vocabulary and grammatical conventions of the French language. Although the Académie française somewhat fell by the wayside during the tumultuous era of the French Revolution, starting with the Third Republic during the 1880s, the French language began to take on greater importance in the eyes of the state. Yet this language revival came at the cost of other minority languages in France. For instance, French leaders actively stifled language training in other languages such as Breton and forced non-French speakers to translate documents into standard French. This persecution of non-French languages persists today in France, as many companies are forced to pay a fine if they fail to seek global translation services from language service companies in order to translate official government documents into French.

The Organization Today

The International Organization of La Francophonie was created in 1970. 88 states make up the organization, which is run by the Secretary General. The Secretary General serves as the representative of the organization before other international bodies, such as the United Nations, and works to ensure cooperation between different member states of La Francophonie. In order to discuss its priorities, the organization hosts a summit every two years attended by all member states, often requiring conference interpreting. The last summit was held in Armenia in October of 2018. The organization is also comprised of five critical sub-agencies that accomplish different tasks. For example, the Association of Francophone Universities (AUF) deals with French language issues within higher education, with particular emphasis on scientific fields. La Francophonie also oversees French media, as it’s in charge of TV5Monde, one of the largest international French TV outlets in the world.

Controversy

Despite its good intentions, La Francophonie and other French language institutions have been met with opposition over the course of their history. For instance, government translation services have caused friction in Brittany due to the fact that many road signs feature directions in the French and Breton languages, angering Bretons who perceive this as an attack on their culture. The International Organization of La Francophonie has also been charged with failing to stand up to the human rights abuses of many of its African members, including Rwanda and Togo. Overall however, the International Organization of La Francophonie provides a valuable service for the international community by promoting the French language and culture worldwide.