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 (Congo, Burundi and Rwanda).
Mainly or partially francophone countries include France, Belgium (Wallonia is almost entirely francophone, and there is a large French-speaking community in the Brussels-Capital Region and a few bordering municipalities), Canada (the province of Quebec is mostly francophone, and there are large French-speaking communities in Ontario, New Brunswick and other Canadian provinces), Switzerland, Haiti, Lebanon and the French West Indies, several countries in Africa that are former French or Belgian colonies, and Tahiti in the South Pacific. These countries are members of the Francophonie organization.
See also
- Acadiana region, Louisiana
- Anglophone
- Anglosphere
- Cajun
- Francophonie
- Francophile
- Francophobia
- French Canadian
- French language: Geographic distribution
- List of countries where French is an official language
- Spoken languages of Canada
- Lusophone, Hispanophone, Russophone
Footnotes
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Last updated on Friday October 10, 2008 at 11:31:53 PDT (GMT -0700)
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