Are There Different French dialects?
Ouiet vive la diffrence! All spoken languages develop regional variations, or dialects; and the French language is no exception. Dialects, creole, patois and other verbal variations abound. However, written French is considerably more standardized than many other languages because of France’s long history of linguistic purism. Today, “standard” French, of which “Parisian” is considered mainly a dialect, is very well understood throughout the French-speaking world, although some linguists believe that its purity lessens because of so many assimilated foreign words in its lexicon; those of English in particular. The French translator’s challenge is to render culturally neutral and universally understood text for its target audience. However, in some cases, a translation client may ask to reach a specific market or audience, a process called “localization”. Example: In France and Monaco, the number “ninety” (“quatre-vingt-dix” in standard French) translates much like our arcane English ph
Ouiet vive la différence! All spoken languages develop regional variations, or dialects; and the French language is no exception. Dialects, creole, patois and other verbal variations abound. However, written French is considerably more standardized than many other languages because of France’s long history of linguistic purism. Today, “standard” French, of which “Parisian” is considered mainly a dialect, is very well understood throughout the French-speaking world, although some linguists believe that its purity lessens because of so many assimilated foreign words in its lexicon; those of English in particular. The French translator’s challenge is to render culturally neutral and universally understood text for its target audience. However, in some cases, a translation client may ask to reach a specific market or audience, a process called “localization”. Example: In France and Monaco, the number “ninety” (“quatre-vingt-dix” in standard French) translates much like our arcane English p
