French is a Romance language originating in France but spoken in many other parts of the Europe including Luxembourg, Southern Belgium (Wallonia) and Western Switzerland. There are also small French speaking regions in northwestern alpine Italy. In North America, French is spoken primarily in Quebec and New Brunswick, but it is found almost every other province in Canada.

The French language is also found in parts of the US state of Louisiana. The majority of Quebec is francophone and the only bilingual province in Canada is New Brunswick. Although Canada is a bilingual nation, french is spoken by a minority of citizens in all the other provinces and territories. Other countries speaking French include former French colonies in North Africa and West Africa; in Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe 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 largely surplanted by English since World War II, it remains de rigueur (of obligatory requirement) for educated people in many societies around the world to have some level of basic French ability. It is also an official language of the UN and the EU.

Although less distinct than American vs. British English, there is a small difference between French spoken in Quebec and that spoken in France. The two main differences are that Quebec has retained many 18th & 19th century French words and that the French incorporate more English words. Furthermore, aside from Europe & Quebec, many French-speaking regions have incorporated many local words or formed a distinctive dialect/language known as creole.