Francophonie

The term Francophonie is polysemous, referring to different meanings depending on the number and use of capital letters (Traisnel, 2015). In the singular with a lowercase letter – la francophonie – it refers to the entire community of French-speaking peoples, i.e., those who use French in their daily lives. The plural form takes into account internal linguistic variations: the French spoken in metropolitan France differs from that used in Congo, Senegal, Quebec, Acadia, Wallonia, French-speaking Switzerland, Cambodia, and Madagascar. The term francophonies is therefore used to describe these variations. With a capital letter, La Francophonie refers to international institutions—sovereign or semi-sovereign states, autonomous regions, organizations—where French is both the official language and the language of everyday use.