Francophone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Francophone is a person who is able to speak the French language. Geopolitically, it is used to refer to a person that speaks French as a first language or who self-identifies with this language group. As an adjective, it means French-speaking, whether referring to individuals, groups or places.
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 the Belgian colonial empire (Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda).
Francophone countries include France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Haiti and the French West Indies, and several countries in Africa that are former French colonies or Belgian colonies. These countries are members of the La Francophonie organization.
