Francophonie

It was in 1889 that the French geographer Onesime Reclus first used the term francophonie to refer to French-speaking people and countries. When spelled with a small F, the term alludes to French as a world language spoken by 274 million people on five continents. With a capital F, Francophonie designates the institutions that deal with relations among francophone countries, such as professional associations, writers’ groups, and networks of libraries, academics, journalists, lawyers, nongovernmental organizations, and, of course, teachers of French. Plus...