French
French is documented on Dialect Atlas across 11 dialects, including Acadian French, Belgian French, Cajun French.
Dialects of French
- Acadian FrenchThe French of the Maritime provinces, especially New Brunswick. Preserves several 17th-century features lost in both Quebec and Metropolitan French.
- Belgian FrenchFrançais de BelgiqueThe French of Wallonia and Brussels. Maintains a number of vocabulary and number forms (septante, nonante) that the Paris standard has dropped.
- Cajun FrenchLouisiana French · Français cadienThe French of the Cajun communities of southern Louisiana, descended from 18th-century Acadian settlers expelled from the Maritimes. Endangered, with active revitalisation through CODOFIL and the Louisiana French immersion programme.
- Franco-OntarianOntario French · Français ontarienThe French of the historic Francophone communities of Ontario, especially around Sudbury, Ottawa, and the Northern shore. Closely related to Quebec French but with stronger English contact features.
- Maghrebi FrenchThe French of North Africa, used as a second language across Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Marked by code-switching with Maghrebi Arabic and Berber.
- Meridional FrenchSouthern French · Français méridionalThe southern French of Marseille, Toulouse, and the broader Occitan-speaking belt. Marked by realisation of mute vowels and a distinct intonation contour.
- Métis FrenchMitchif Français · Prairie FrenchThe French variety of the Métis Nation of the Canadian Prairies. Distinct from Quebec and Acadian French; not to be confused with Michif, the mixed Cree-French language of the same communities.
- Metropolitan FrenchParisian French · Standard FrenchThe Paris-area standard of European French. Carried nationally by education and broadcasting; the reference point for most French taught abroad.
- Quebec FrenchQuébécois · JoualThe dominant French variety of Canada. Strongly distinct from European French in vowel realisation, lexicon, and the colloquial Joual register.
- Swiss FrenchRomand French · Suisse romandThe French of western Switzerland. Like Belgian French, retains older numerals (septante, huitante, nonante) and shows long contact with German-Swiss varieties.
- West African FrenchThe French of Francophone West Africa — used in administration, education, and media. Strong contact features from Wolof, Bambara, and other regional languages.
Common comparisons
All comparisons →