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Dialects of French
French is one of the most important Romance languages, after Spanish and Portuguese. In 1999 French was the 11th most spoken language in the world being spoken by about 77 million people (called Francophones) as a mother tongue, and by 128 million altogether including second language speakers. It is an official or administrative language in various communities and organizations (such as the European Union, IOC, United Nations and Universal Postal Union).
There are a number of languages of France, although the French language is by far the most widely spoken and the only official language of the country. However, several historical regional languages are still spoken, to some extent. The real importance of local languages remains subject to debate. Several other languages are spoken by a substantial percentage of the population due to immigration.
African French
French in Africa is present and spoken by many people. A great number of states in the continent of Africa speak the French language with local specificities. French arrived in Africa with colonization from France and Belgium. Africans are now an important part of the world Francophonie.
Belgian French
Belgian French is the variety of French spoken by the french speakers of Belgium. Belgian French and the French of France are almost identical and hence mutually intelligible, but there are differences in vocabulary. One notable difference between Belgian and Standard French (and shared by Swiss French), is the use of the word septante for seventy, as opposed to soixante-dix (literally 'sixty-ten'); and nonante for ninety, as opposed to quatre-vingt-dix (literally 'four score and ten').
There are also differences in pronunciation, but they are not much bigger than, say, the differences between the pronunciations heard in Marseille and Paris. The most significant difference is that the letter 'w' is almost always pronounced the same way as in English, while French people say 'v'.
Cajun French
Cajun French is a dialect of the French language, spoken primarily in the American state of Louisiana. It is derived from another French dialect, Acadian, which is spoken in the state of Maine and in Canada's Maritime Provinces. The term Cajun is derived from the English pronunciation of the French word Acadien. Some cajuns call themselmes cadiens, which doesn't derive from the Anglo-Saxon pronunciation.
Quebec French
Quebec French or Québécois French is a dialect of French spoken natively by the great majority (82.8%, census 2001) of people in Quebec, Canada. As of 2004, about 6,700,000 Canadians speak French as a first language,
Swiss French
Swiss French is the name used for the different dialects of French spoken in the Francophone part of Switzerland known.
The differences between Swiss French and French French are mostly difference in vocabulary and both languages are almost entirely mutually intelligible: a Swiss French speaker would have no trouble understanding a French speaker, while a French speaker would encounter only a few words unknown to him while listening to a Swiss French speaker.
Vietnamese French
Vietnamese French is an extinct French pidgin spoken in Vietnam. This dialect originates from the French rule of Vietnam in 1884. The language was influenced by Vietnamese, French, English, Javanese, Cantonese dialect of Chinese, and Portuguese. It was used as a lingua franca between French and Vietnamese in many aspects of life until the French were driven from Vietnam in 1954. Today, standard French is used in some schools as a second language.