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The adjective francophone (alternately Francophone) means French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person.

In a narrower sense, the notion of "francophone" reaches beyond the dictionary definition of "French language speaker". The term specifically refers to people whose cultural background is primarily associated with French language, regardless of ethnic and geographical differences.






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The adjective francophone (alternately Francophone) means French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person.

In a narrower sense, the notion of "francophone" reaches beyond the dictionary definition of "French language speaker". The term specifically refers to people whose cultural background is primarily associated with French language, regardless of ethnic and geographical differences. The francophone culture beyond Europe is the legacy of the French colonial empire and that of Belgium
Belgian colonial empire

The Belgian colonial empire consisted of three colonialism possessed by Belgium between 1901 to 1962. This empire was unlike those of the major European imperial powers since roughly 98% of it was just one colony ? the Belgian Congo ? and that had originated as the private property of the country's king, L?opold II of Belgium, rather than b...
 (Congo
Belgian Congo

The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II of Belgium formal relinquishment of personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and the dawn of Congo Crisis on 30 June 1960....
, Burundi
Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west....
 and Rwanda
Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania....
).

Mainly or partially francophone countries include France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 (Wallonia
Wallonia

Wallonia is the Francophone southern part of Belgium. This region makes up about 31% of the Belgian population.Since 1970, Wallonia has approximately coincided with the territory of the Walloon Region, which is a federated component of the Belgian state and provides a government and a parliament to both Wallonia and the smaller German-s...
 is almost entirely francophone, and there is a large French-speaking community in the Brussels-Capital Region and a few bordering municipalities), Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 (the province of Quebec
Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
 is mostly francophone, and there are large French-speaking communities in Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only Constitution of Canada bilingual province in the federation. The provincial capital is Fredericton....
 and other Canadian provinces), Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, Haiti
Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Haitian Creole language- and French language-speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago....
, Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
 and the French West Indies
French West Indies

The term French West Indies refers to the four territories presently under French sovereignty in the Caribbean: the two overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, plus the two overseas collectivities of Saint Martin and Saint-Barth?lemy ....
, several countries in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
 that are former French or Belgian colonies, and Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
 in the South Pacific
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
. These countries are members of the Francophonie organization.

See also

  • Acadiana
    Acadiana

    Acadiana is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 List of parishes in Louisiana that comprise Louisiana, 22 parishes, or about one-third of the total, make up Acadiana....
     region, Louisiana
    Louisiana

    The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
  • Anglophone
    Anglophone

    An Anglophone is someone who speaks the English language. As an adjective, it refers to belonging to an English-speaking population especially in a country where two or more languages are spoken....
  • Cajun
    Cajun

    Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other ethnicities with whom the Acadians eventually intermarried on the semitropical frontier....
  • Francophile
    Francophile

    A Francophile is a person who has a strong interest in, or admiration for Culture of France. This could include France itself and its History of France, the French language, French cuisine, French literature, etc....
  • Francophobia
    Francophobia

    Francophobia, or Gallophobia, as well as Francophobe, are terms that refer to a dislike toward the Government of France, Culture of France, History of France, or Demographics of France of France or the Francophonie....
  • Francophonie
  • French Canadian
    French Canadian

    French Canadian refers to a nation or ethnic group of French people Kinship and Descent that originated in Canada, New France during the period of French colonization of the Americas beginning in the 17th century....
  • French language: Geographic distribution
    French language

    French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
  • List of countries where French is an official language
    List of countries where French is an official language

    The following is a list of the 29 countries where French language is an official language.Note that in most of these countries, French is not the only language, and therefore the population does not indicate the number of French-speakers....
  • Lusophone
    Lusophone

    A Lusophone is someone who speaks the Portuguese language natively or by adoption. As an adjective, it means "Portuguese-speaking". The word itself is derived from the name of the ancient Ancient Rome Roman province of Lusitania, which covered an area that is today Portugal....
    , Hispanophone
    Hispanophone

    The term Hispanophone denotes Spanish language speakers and relation to the Spanish-speaking world. The word originates with the Latin language political name of the Iberian Peninsula, Hispania, which comprised basically the territory of the modern states of Spain and Portugal....
    , Russophone
    Russophone

    A Russophone is literally a speaker of the Russian language either natively or by preference. At the same time the term is used in a more specialized meaning to describe the category of people whose cultural background is associated with Russian language regardless of ethnic and territorial distinctions....
  • Spoken languages of Canada