Editing French language (section)

== Vocabulary ==
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The majority of French words derive from [[Vulgar Latin]] or were constructed from [[Latin]] or [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] roots. In many cases, a single etymological root appears in French in a "popular" or native form, inherited from Vulgar Latin, and a learned form, borrowed later from [[Classical Latin]]. The following pairs consist of a native noun and a learned adjective:
* brother: ''[[wikt:frère|frère]]'' / ''[[wikt:fraternel|fraternel]]'' from Latin ''[[wikt:frater|frater]] / [[wikt:fraternalis|fraternalis]]''
* finger: ''[[wikt:doigt|doigt]]'' / ''[[wikt:digital|digital]]'' from Latin ''[[wikt:digitus|digitus]] / [[wikt:digitalis|digitalis]]''
* faith: ''[[wikt:foi|foi]]'' / ''[[wikt:fidèle|fidèle]]'' from Latin ''[[wikt:fides|fides]] / [[wikt:fidelis|fidelis]]''
* eye: ''[[wikt:œil|œil]]'' / ''[[wikt:oculaire|oculaire]]'' from Latin ''[[wikt:oculus|oculus]] / [[wikt:ocularis|ocularis]]''

However, a historical tendency to [[Francization|Gallicise]] Latin roots can be identified, whereas English conversely leans towards a more direct incorporation of the Latin:
* ''[[wikt:rayonnement|rayonnement]]'' / ''radiation'' from Latin ''[[wikt:radiatio|radiatio]]''
* ''[[wikt:éteindre|éteindre]]'' / ''extinguish'' from Latin ''[[wikt:exstinguo#Latin|exstinguere]]''
* ''[[wikt:noyau|noyau]]'' / ''nucleus'' from Latin ''[[wikt:nucleus#Latin|nucleus]]''
* ''[[wikt:ensoleillement|ensoleillement]]'' / ''insolation'' from Latin ''[[wikt:insolatio|insolatio]]''

There are also noun-noun and adjective-adjective pairs:
* thing/cause: ''[[wikt:chose|chose]]'' / ''[[wikt:cause|cause]]'' from Latin ''[[wikt:causa|causa]]''
* cold: ''[[wikt:froid|froid]]'' / ''[[wikt:frigide|frigide]]'' from Latin ''[[wikt:frigidum|frigidum]]''

It can be difficult to identify the Latin source of native French words because in the evolution from [[Vulgar Latin]], unstressed syllables were severely reduced and the remaining vowels and consonants underwent significant modifications.

More recently (1994) the linguistic policy ([[Toubon Law]]) of the French language academies of France and Quebec has been to provide French equivalents<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 October 2012 |title=French fight franglais with alternatives for English technology terms |work=Metro News |url=http://metro.co.uk/2012/10/01/french-fight-franglais-with-alternatives-for-english-technology-terms-590128/ |url-status=live |access-date=21 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517191211/http://metro.co.uk/2012/10/01/french-fight-franglais-with-alternatives-for-english-technology-terms-590128/ |archive-date=17 May 2013}}</ref> to (mainly English) imported words, either by using existing vocabulary, extending its meaning or deriving a new word according to French morphological rules. The result is often two (or more) co-existing terms for describing the same phenomenon.
* ''mercatique ''/ ''marketing''
* ''finance'' ''fantôme'' / ''shadow'' ''banking''
* ''bloc-notes'' / ''notepad''
* ''ailière'' / ''wingsuit''
* ''tiers-lieu ''/'' coworking''

It is estimated that 12% (4,200) of common French words found in a typical [[dictionary]] such as the ''[[Petit Larousse]]'' or ''Micro-Robert Plus'' (35,000 words) are of foreign origin (where [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] and [[Latin language|Latin]] learned words are not seen as foreign). About 25% (1,054) of these foreign words come from English and are fairly recent borrowings. The others are some 707 words from Italian, 550 from ancient [[Germanic languages]], 481 from other [[Gallo-Romance languages]], 215 from Arabic, 164 from German, 160 from [[Celtic languages]], 159 from Spanish, 153 from [[Dutch language|Dutch]], 112 from [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]], 101 from [[Native American languages]], 89 from other [[Asian languages]], 56 from other [[Afro-Asiatic languages]], 55 from [[Balto-Slavic languages]], 10 from [[Basque language|Basque]] and 144 (about 3%) from other languages.<ref name="Walter_1998" />

One study analyzing the degree of differentiation of Romance languages in comparison to Latin estimated that among the languages analyzed French has the greatest distance from Latin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pei |first=Mario |title=Story of Language |publisher=Lippincott |year=1949 |isbn=978-0-397-00400-3 |author-link=Mario Pei}}</ref> The French language's [[lexical similarity]] to a selection of other Romance languages is 89% with Italian, 80% with Sardinian, 78% with Rhaeto-Romance, and 75% with Romanian, Spanish and Portuguese.<ref name="MED">{{Cite journal |last=Brincat |first=Joseph M. |year=2005 |title=Maltese – an unusual formula |url=http://macmillandictionaries.com/MED-Magazine/February2005/27-LI-Maltese.htm |url-status=live |journal=MED Magazine |issue=27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050905023705/http://www.macmillandictionary.com/med-magazine/February2005/27-LI-Maltese.htm |archive-date=5 September 2005 |access-date=22 February 2008}}</ref><ref name=e27/>

=== Numerals ===
The numeral system used in the majority of Francophone countries employs both [[decimal]] and [[vigesimal]] counting. After the use of unique names for the numbers 1–16, those from 17 to 69 are counted by tens, while [[20 (number)|twenty]] (''{{lang|fr|vingt}}'') is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 70 to 99. The French word for 80 is ''{{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}'', literally "four twenties", and the word for ''75'' is ''{{lang|fr|soixante-quinze}}'', literally "sixty-fifteen". The vigesimal method of counting is analogous to the archaic English use of ''score'', as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70).

[[Belgian French|Belgian]], [[Swiss French|Swiss]], and [[Aostan French]]<ref name="Jean-Pierre Martin 1984">Jean-Pierre Martin, ''Description lexicale du français parlé en Vallée d'Aoste'', éd. Musumeci, [[Quart, Aosta Valley|Quart]], 1984.</ref> as well as that used in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]], use different names for 70 and 90, namely ''{{lang|fr|septante}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|nonante}}''. In Switzerland, depending on the local dialect, 80 can be ''{{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}'' (Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) or ''{{lang|fr|huitante}}'' (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg). The [[Aosta Valley]] similarly uses ''{{lang|fr|huitante}}''<ref name="Jean-Pierre Martin 1984" /> for 80. Conversely, Belgium and in its former African colonies use ''quatre-vingts'' for 80.

In [[Old French]] (during the [[Middle Ages]]), all numbers from 30 to 99 could be said in either base 10 or base 20, e.g. ''vint et doze'' (twenty and twelve) for 32, ''dous vinz et diz'' (two twenties and ten) for 50, ''uitante'' for 80, or ''nonante'' for 90.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Einhorn |first=E. |title=Old French: A Concise Handbook |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-521-09838-0 |location=Cambridge |page=110}}</ref>

The term ''octante'' was historically used in Switzerland for 80, but is now considered archaic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Septante, octante (huitante), nonante |url=http://www.langue-fr.net/spip.php?article202 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904065004/http://www.langue-fr.net/spip.php?article202 |archive-date=4 September 2010 |access-date=19 July 2009 |website=langue-fr.net |language=fr}}. See also the English Wikipedia article on [[Welsh language]], especially the section "Counting system" and its note on the influence of [[Celts|Celtic]] in the French counting system.</ref>

French, like most European languages, uses a space to separate thousands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Questions de langue: Nombres (écriture, lecture, accord) |url=http://académie-française.fr/la-langue-francaise/questions-de-langue#57_strong-em-nombres-criture-lecture-accord-em-strong |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101052809/http://xn--acadmie-franaise-npb1a.fr/la-langue-francaise/questions-de-langue#57_strong-em-nombres-criture-lecture-accord-em-strong |archive-date=1 January 2015 |access-date=15 November 2015 |publisher=[[Académie française]] |language=fr}}</ref> The comma ({{langx|fr|virgule|link=no}}) is used in French numbers as a decimal point, i.e. "2,5" instead of "2.5". In the case of currencies, the currency markers are substituted for decimal point, i.e. "5$7" for "5 dollars and 7 [[cent (currency)|cents]]".