Editing Pluricentric language (section)

=== French ===
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{{Main|Varieties of French}}
In the modern era, there are several major loci of the French language, including [[Standard French]] (also known as Parisian French), [[Canadian French]] (including [[Quebec French]] and [[Acadian French]]), [[Belgian French]], [[American French]] (for instance, [[Louisiana French]]), [[Haitian French]], and [[African French]].

Until the early 20th century, the French language was highly variable in pronunciation and vocabulary within France, with varying dialects and degrees of intelligibility, the [[langues d'oïl]]. However, government policy made it so that the dialect of Paris would be the method of instruction in schools, and other dialects, like [[Norman dialect|Norman]], which has influence from [[Scandinavia]]n languages, were neglected. Controversy still remains in France over the fact that the government recognizes them as languages of France, but provides no monetary support for them nor has the [[Constitutional Council of France]] ratified the [[Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].

North American French is the result of [[French colonization]] of the [[New World]] between the 17th and 18th centuries. In many cases, it contains vocabulary and dialectal quirks not found in Standard Parisian French owing to history: most of the original settlers of [[Quebec]], [[Acadia]], and later what would become [[Louisiana]] and northern [[New England French|New England]] came from Northern and Northwest France, and would have spoken dialects like Norman, [[Poitevin dialect|Poitevin]], and [[Angevin dialect|Angevin]] with far fewer speaking the dialect of Paris. This, plus isolation from developments in France, most notably the drive for standardization by [[Académie française|L'Académie française]], make North American dialects of the language quite distinct. Acadian French, spoken in [[New Brunswick]], Canada, has many words no longer used in modern France, much of it having roots in the 17th century, and a distinct intonation. Québécois, the largest of the dialects, has a distinct pronunciation that is not found in Europe in any measure and a greater difference in vowel pronunciation, and syntax tends to vary greatly. [[Cajun French]] has some distinctions not found in Canada in that there is more vocabulary derived from both local Native American and African dialects and a pronunciation of the letter r that has disappeared in France entirely. It is rolled, and with heavier contact with the English language than any of the above the pronunciation has shifted to harder sounding consonants in the 20th century. Cajun French equally has been an oral language for generations and it is only recently that its syntax and features been adapted to French orthography.

Minor standards can also be found in [[Belgian French|Belgium]] and [[Swiss French|Switzerland]], with particular influence of Germanic languages on grammar and vocabulary, sometimes through the influence of local dialects. In Belgium, for example, various Germanic influences in spoken French are evident in [[Wallonia]] (for example, to ''blink'' in English, and ''blinken'' in German and Dutch, ''blinquer'' in [[Walloon language|Walloon]] and local French, ''cligner'' in standard French). ''Ring'' (''rocade'' or ''périphérique'' in standard French) is a common word in the three national languages for [[beltway]] or ring road. Also, in Belgium and Switzerland, there are noted differences in the number system when compared to standard Parisian or Canadian French, notably in the use of ''septante'', ''octante/huitante'' and ''nonante'' for the numbers 70, 80 and 90. In other standards of French, these numbers are usually denoted ''soixante-dix'' (sixty-ten), ''quatre-vingts'' (fourscore) and ''quatre-vingt-dix'' (fourscore-and-ten).
French varieties spoken in [[Oceania]] are also influenced by local languages. New Caledonian French is influenced by [[Kanak languages]] in its vocabulary and grammatical structure.
[[African French]] is another variety.