My story of learning French is one of success. I learned it, moved to Europe from Florida, and set up a life here. Learning French was a life changer for me, and I believe it’s more than worth learning for you.
In gist, learning French greatly increases your job prospects in international business, law, and politics; learning French has clear health benefits including improved memory and dementia resistance; and learning French will improve you personally in outlook, creativity, and self-confidence. Let’s look at these more closely.
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What is the scope of the French language?
One of the biggest arguments against learning French is that it’s not in the top 10 most spoken languages. In fact, it usually comes in around 12. The scope of French can thus be called “the twelfth most spoken language.”
That would be a very narrow-minded way to look at scope.
Among the 10 most spoken languages, the two most common are Mandarin Chinese and English. While Chinese has over 1 billion speakers in the world today, over ~90% of them are located in China itself. This means that the scope of Chinese is rather small since it’s only useful in one place.
Moreover, while English has over 1 billion speakers today, less than 30% of them are native speakers. This means that over 70% of English speakers actually speak another language first.
For many, English is a supplement and does not mean all people like speaking it. In fact, in my experience and with the exception of the Dutch and Scandinavians, most of them probably don’t. That means the most meaningful exchange would need to happen in their native tongue.
In other words, to understand the scope of a language, including French, we should look at:
1. Where French is spoken
2. Desire with which natives will speak French
Let’s look at this below.
French is the (second) most expansive language in the world
France stretches 5 of the 6 inhabited continents and is an official language of the European Union, many African countries, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and of course, France. The only places you won’t find French natively are Antarctica and Australia.
In addition, people who speak French in these regions speak it at a native level. Many franco-africans speak regional languages first, but they speak French by necessity since the law and finance are done in French. In almost all of the other continents listed above, French is the primary language, so you won’t meet much resistance to speak it. That’s why, with the exception of English, its scope is the largest in the world.
Career Possibilities with French
Now that we know how expansive French is, let’s look at how you can use it to your advantage in a career. In addition to its global presence, French also has a solid history. It was the governing language during some of the most formative periods in history, which means it still impacts careers in law, business, and international relations. For example, Napoleonic code is the legal foundation for the European Union, and its original language was French.
Best Choice for Working in Europe
French is the best choice for those who want to work in Europe. While its not the most spoken language (trailing German), you will get far more use out of it because 4 countries use it, and almost none of them are strong in English. Germans, on the other hand, are very good at English, and German is found in 3 major European countries.
In other words, learn French because it will open doors to European jobs where English is not enough, most of these jobs requiring French.
- If you want to work in Finance in Luxembourg, for example, you will need French and English.
- if you are looking for a job in Luxury goods in Paris, you will need French and English.
- If you want to work in wealth management in Geneva, you’ll need to speak French and English.
- If you want to work in manufacturing in Brussels, you’ll need to speak French and English.
- If you want to be a reporter on the European Union in Brussels, Luxembourg City, or Strasbourg, you will need French and English.
These are just a few examples. Many more exist.
Working in Philosophy or Literature
Because of France’s extensive history, philosophers and authors writing in the language have written a huge collection of works that have heavily influenced the Western world’s perception of logic, thought, purpose, and science. This is one of the main reasons why so many people choose to study philosophy and literature in their native tongue. But there’s a huge advantage to studying French texts in their original text.
If you plan to be a professor, or you simply want to read these texts for your own benefit, there is a huge power that comes with primary document research. Especially in academia, the possibility that nuances get lost in translation can be critical. Let me give you an example.
When I first read Albert Camus’ essay The Myth of Sisyphus, it was in English and I read one line in particular with great head: “It is nearly impossible to be logical to the bitter end.” I based an essay on this, and did very well.
Years later when my French had improve, I reread the book in French. This time, I interpreted the French sentence differently. It goes “Il est presque impossible d’être logique jusqu’au bout.” In my interpretation, “au bout” is more of a physical reference whereas “the bitter end” feels figurative. Physical implies that there exist an end we can achieve, whereas figurative rests ambiguous. This changed my entire view of the essay and Camus’ Absurdist philosophy.
The first time, it felt ambiguous. The second time, it felt confident. I ended up writing my senior thesis on the impact this ambiguity carries for that particular school of thought, but without speaking French I would have never noticed it.
This is simply one example of why consulting the original texts in French philosophy and literature is paramount in academia, but it extends to pleasure reading as well. If you are someone who wants to be sure they avoid ambiguity, you’ll need to learn French to get everything out of the texts.
Working in Law
Its use in philosophy isn’t the only reason French is known as the “language of reason.” As I mentioned above, most of Europe’s legal system is based on Napoleonic code, named after emperor Napoleon of France. For the first time in history, a legal system completely separate from institutional interference such as the Catholic Church, came to life. Most of Europe and latin american systems are still based on Napoleonic code.
In addition, the United States legal system took many things from French code and legal assumptions. Both “voir dire” (the jury selection process) and “deposition” (out-of-court video-taped hearing) are French words. You have probably heard that the American legal system is based on key assumptions such as “innocent until proven guilty” and “right to a speedy trial.” These ideas and others originated with Napoleonic code. If you’re an enthusiast or would like to invest in becoming and authority of the origin of modern law, you could go to original French texts to understand American law better. You could even get paid for this expertise as an expert witness.
Working in International Relations
If you are American and would like to work in international relations, whether as a Foreign Service Officer, an ambassador, a Fulbright scholar, or any number of representative political roles, then learning a second language is a huge advantage. In fact, because Americans are notorious monologuists (meaning we only speak English), having a good grasp of a second language is a great way to set oneself apart.
If you speak French fluently, you will be a much stronger candidate because the primary job of an ambassador is to reflect positively upon his/her home country, and a bilingual American will do just that. This is one of the reasons I won my Fulbright Fellowship.
You could choose a number of languages to learn, but keep in mind that you cannot choose to which country you will be assigned as an FSO or ambassador. In fact, you will find yourself more often than not assigned to random locations. As we discussed above, French will give you access to more regions of the world than any other second language, so you will be best prepared.
In addition, it is easiest to learn other romanic languages after French. French is recognized by many as the hardest of the 4 romanic languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French). Going from French to any of the others is easier because you usually pronounce words as the appear, instead of having to deal with French’s silent letters.
It’s also easier because French has a lot of common words with English, which means the initial transition to French vocabulary will be easier while you learn the romanic grammar, which is very similar across languages.. After that, you’ll be able to focus on the more difficult vocab in other romanic languages.
Reputation in International Relations
It’s easy to underestimate the power of bilingualism for an American on the international scene. You often hear the argument that anglophones “don’t need to learn another language” because English is the international language, and you can get by anywhere and everywhere. This is definitely true.
But, at the same time, that pervasive attitude means that if you are among the Americans who speak a second language, you will be impressive. You will have an instantly better reputation than Americans that don’t, and that means you will have achieved your goal of ambassadorship, as an official, an FSO, a Fulbright scholar, or other.
Working in the private sector across 4 hemispheres
Another benefit to French’s expansiveness is that you will be able to conduct business in all four hemispheres. Now, if you are certain that your career will never take you to a francophone area, then you should focus on learning the language you will need.
However, if you’re unsure where it may take you, French is the best option. As we’ve said, if you desire a deal in Europe, you will need French to work with francophonia’s weak English speakers. If you build a hotel in Réunion Island, you will need French. If you travel to Polynesia or the Caribbean on work, you will likely run into French.
If you want to work in Quebec, Canada or in SubSaharan and West Africa, you will need French. And finally, if you end up needing to learn a different romance language, you will be happy to already know French.
So, is learning French worth the investment?
The short answer is that unless you already know you need a specific language other than French for your career, French is absolutely worth its investment. It will open up opportunities in law, academia, international relations, and business across the world and set you up to learn of romance languages if necessary.
Health
In addition to its career benefits, language learning is also known to have a number of health benefits, including fighting Alzheimer’s, improving memory, and building self-confidence.
Fight Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is the buildup of proteins called tau (like “wow”) and beta amyloid (like “am-uh-loyd”) in the brain. While everyone develops these proteins over time, people with Alzheimer’s develop them in specific patters and speeds. Alzheimer’s is not dementia. It is a cause of dementia. Dementia is a general term to describe general memory loss and behavioral change 1.
Different studies have suggested different reasons, but the message is clear: being bilingual fights memory loss. Here are a few study summaries to show what scientists have discovered:
- Scientists noticed that bilingual persons developed Alzheimer’s 4.5 years later than non-bilingual persons2.
- Scientists noticed greater cortical thickness in language processing areas of the brain in multilingual patients vs monolingual patients, which is often associated with remembering personal details. This would extend to atrophy from diseases such as Alzheimer’s 3.
- Scientists noticed that bilingual patients with advanced brain atrophy had the same symptoms as monolingual patients with milder brain atrophy, suggesting that being bilingual helps patients resist the atrophy4.
In short, scientists haven’t identified exactly how multilingualism affects Alzheimer’s. They know, however, that it greatly delays onset and slows the behavioral impacts of atrophy, especially with regard to remembering personal details.
If learning French would help buy you 4.5 years of functional life, isn’t it already worth it?
Reading, Verbal Fluency, and General Intelligence
A watershed study from Dr. Thomas Bak — a lecturer at Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences — tested monolingual patients from 1947 to 2008/11, starting when they were 11 years old. He found that those who became bilingual performed significantly better in certain areas. Here’s what he says:
“Importantly, we detected no negative effects of bilingualism. The cognitive effects of bilingualism showed a consistent pattern, affecting reading, verbal fluency, and general intelligence to a higher degree than memory, reasoning, and speed of processing5.”
Thomas H. Bak
That’s pretty solid evidence that learning a second language after 11 means you will be better in reading, verbal fluency and general intelligence at a later stage of life than if you don’t.
So, is French worth it?
From a health perspective, learning French is definitely worth it. All of the evidence suggests you will maintain cognitive skills later in life and prolong your functioning life. If someone came up to you today and said, “learn French or you will go into a coma for 5 years,” wouldn’t you just learn it?
Personal Development
In addition to the value learning French brings to your career and health, there are the of course benefits to you as an individual. These personal development advantages are the most important of all for me. Learning French changed my life for the better. I’ll explain why below.
Expand your cultural horizon
Learning a language is only partially about vocabulary and grammar. A huge part involves understand how other cultures think — breaking down your normative conceptions about religion, politics, marriage, attraction, money, laws, and work ethic; trying new foods; wearing different clothes; and more. In a word, learning a language is about mental agility.
Some of the most transformative moments in my life have come through everyday interactions and discussions with French people during my time in Europe. One instance in particular really left me in a cultural conundrum, and it had to do with politics. I was discussing with a Luxembourgish woman about how we judge our presidents, and she brought up the case of one cheating on his wife.
I thought it obvious that you judge him at least in terms of his trustworthiness or fidelity. She said the two matters were completely separate! This shocked me so much that I had to ask around for a better sample. Of the 6 people I asked, 4 were French and 2 were Belgian (all francophone). They all responded the same way: cheating in one’s personal life has nothing to do with one’s role as president.
This is just one example, but it serves as perspective. If you’re reading this from the United States and you don’t speak French, it’s easy to read this article and judge the French people… because they’re different! The beauty of learning a language is that you’re opening up your mind, even at the level of moral belief, and looking at a question with new perspective. Very few situations have brought me to do such as an adult. A great French ruler said:
“To have another language is to possess a second soul.”
Charlemagne
But why is this good?
I think it’s good for 2 reasons:
- The first is that you become more self aware and are capable of analyzing yourself better, which leads to improvement in all fields of life.
- The second is that it will help you communication and attain goals with people who feel different than you.
Self-confidence
The interesting thing about questioning your beliefs is that it actually makes you more confident. There is always a degree of ambiguity in a belief or decision. With belief, you can’t be 100% sure. Doubt will always exist (and all major religions recognize this). With decisions, you never know if it’s right until you confirm it, save for questions of logic and math.
This is equally true for language learning. When you question yourself through the process of understanding another culture, you become comfortable with either the ambiguity, your original belief, or the new belief. The very process of thinking it through will bring you confidence in yourself. And you can only do so by learning a new language.
Creativity
Creativity is the turning of original ideas and imaginations into reality. Learning a language, especially in the middle stages, is an exercise in just that. When you’re looking for the right words but can’t find them, you must find a way to describe what you mean, and you have to do it under pressure when speaking.
Learning French will make you more creative because once you learn how to let go of your own conception of language norms (i.e English) and find another way to communicate, you train those creative muscles. And that skill will be transferable into every area of your life.
Learn other languages
And of course, once you’ve learned romanic grammar through French, you’ve tackled the hardest task in learning Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian as well. Because French and English share so many words, you don’t need to put in as much work with vocabulary on the first language. You will be well prepped to expand your horizon even more with additional languages. After all:
“You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.”
Czech Proverb
So, is it beneficial to learn French?
If you decide to learn French, you will open yourself to a number of career opportunities that other languages cannot as readily provide, including working in Europe, in law, in academic philosophy and literature, and of course in international relations. You will set yourself apart as a candidate for fellowships such as the Fulbright and position yourself well to be a foreign service officer.
Moreover, you will prolong your functional life against Alzheimer’s and dementia, as well as preserve your reading, verbal fluency, and general intelligence in later stages of life. Finally, you will expand your cultural horizon, making your a more confident individual, helping you think creatively, and potentially opening yourself to a lifetime of linguistic expansion with other romanic languages.
The real question is not whether learning French is worth it, but when should you start.