Why bother learning to speak French?
It’s a dying language.” This was the test question my examiner asked of me for my finals after studying French language and culture at the University of Paris for a whole year. It seemed like too easy a question for a final exam – but I’ve often noted that examiners love to give students questions including just enough rope to hang themselves. Because this coming week (until March 24th’08) is ‘French language’ week, I thought it might be helpful to talk about the benefits of studying French for any readers who are considering ‘Junior Year Abroad’ programs in France, or if you find yourself at a crossroads in life and you’re thinking about spending a few months in France to study the language. My answer to the examiner was simple. French, along with English was the official language of the United Nations (at the time of the exam). The history of the French and English languages is inextricably interwoven ever since William the Conqueror crossed the Channel from Normandy to England in 10
