Learn French Phrases in Just a WeekFrench is a Romance language originating in France but spoken in many other parts of the world: in Europe in Southern Belgium and Western Switzerland; in North America in Quebec, New Brunswick, other parts of Canada, and parts of Louisiana; in the former French colonies in North Africa and West Africa; in Haiti and Martinique in the Caribbean; in French Guiana in South America; in Tahiti and numerous other islands in Oceania. It has long been the language of international diplomacy and communication, and although replaced largely by English since World War II, it remains de rigueur for educated people around the world to have some level of basic French ability.