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103-608: The National Capital Commission ( NCC ; French : Commission de la capitale nationale , CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning , and conservation in Canada's Capital Region ( Ottawa , Ontario and Gatineau , Quebec ), including administering most lands and buildings owned by the Government of Canada in the region. The NCC is the capital's largest property owner, owning and managing over 11% of all lands in

206-720: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process

309-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,

412-543: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and

515-503: A linked city park system. This included formally establishing Gatineau Park . Most notably, the Report recommended a major political reform : the creation of a federal district and federal authority to exercise control over planning and development. The General Plan recommended extinguishing the Ottawa and Hull municipal governments. In their place, a Federal District Commission, similar to

618-688: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on

721-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in

824-573: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and

927-513: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only

1030-897: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as

1133-536: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in

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1236-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French

1339-745: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French

1442-467: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English

1545-484: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given

1648-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including

1751-456: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share

1854-628: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in

1957-495: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English

2060-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from

2163-462: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in

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2266-775: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for

2369-704: Is responsible for managing and maintaining several assets in the Capital Region. The NCC operates 90 kilometers of scenic parkways through Ottawa and NCC parks in Gatineau. The NCC operates several urban parks in Ottawa and Gatineau. The NCC is the steward of the Capital's six official residences: Other assets managed by the NCC are: The role of the NCC is to champion the interests of Ottawa , Gatineau , and surrounding region as

2472-562: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,

2575-442: Is the Capital's largest property owner, owning and managing over 11% of all lands in the Capital Region. It also owns over 1,600 properties in its real estate portfolio, including the Capital's six official residences; commercial, residential and heritage buildings; and agricultural facilities. Over 70 NCC-managed buildings that are older than 40 years have been designated as "classified" or "recognized" federal heritage buildings by

2678-538: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure

2781-479: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in

2884-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially

2987-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism

3090-538: The 2006 elections , the Government of Canada asked for a formal review of the mandate of the NCC. A panel conducting the review, in its report, suggested that the NCC needed more money and should become more transparent . In 2018, the Government of Canada announced CA$ 55 million in funding to support critical repair and maintenance of NCC's major infrastructure assets. In 2020, the NCC secured $ 52.4 million in funding towards some of its most significant assets. The NCC

3193-738: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of

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3296-459: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as

3399-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of

3502-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains

3605-642: The Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO). The continuing preservation, evolution and management of Confederation Boulevard , the ceremonial route linking key attractions in National Capital Region, on both sides of the Ottawa River , in Ottawa as well as Gatineau, Quebec, are the responsibility of the NCC and its partners. These roles are in contrast with the mandates of the various municipal governments, which serve

3708-547: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,

3811-685: The Gréber Plan . Due to the Second World War , however, Gréber's plan was put on hold. At the conclusion of the War in 1945, an area of 2,330 km (580,000 acres) was declared the " National Capital District ," and the Federal District Commission Ac t was amended to expand the responsibilities of the FDC, giving it a truly national scope. Gréber was eventually invited back to develop his plan for

3914-820: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It

4017-529: The National Capital Act , the board consists of a chairperson , a chief executive officer (CEO), and 13 other members with relevant professional backgrounds from the Capital Region and across Canada. Since April 2016, the mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau have also ex officio held seats on the board, on a non-voting basis. The NCC holds an annual public meeting in which members of the public are able to express their ideas and ask questions directly to

4120-609: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It

4223-725: The Ottawa Improvement Commission ( OIC ) was established with the core mandate of improving and beautifying the city. What began as the OIC evolved as an organization in terms of both mandate and scope over 120 years. The OIC initially consisted of 4 (later 6) volunteer commissioners: three federal appointees, as well as the mayor of Ottawa . The OIC was supported by notable Capital builders, such as Government of Canada botanist William Saunders and Robert Surtees, former city engineer and designer of Major's Hill Park . The Commission acquired land as early as 1901, and its first priority

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4326-488: The Town Planning Institute of Canada , published a report (known as the "Cauchon Report") containing a new planning strategy for the Capital. The report included numerous studies on the Capital done by Cauchon over a period of around 16 years. It also proposed the reorganization of railway tracks , the building of highways, the development of parks and parkways, and the relocation of industrial activities. In 1927,

4429-951: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin

4532-484: The nation's capital , typically with regard to issues of national interest, such as the location of monument and museum sites, and major streetscapes such as Confederation Boulevard . The objects and purposes of the NCC are "to prepare plans for and assist in the development, conservation and improvement of the National Capital Region in order that the nature and character of the seat of the Government of Canada may be in accordance with its national significance." The NCC

4635-502: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;

4738-528: The 19th century, the character of what is known today as the National Capital Region was blemished and transformed by industrialization . According to then-Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier , what became the City of Ottawa was "not a handsome city" by the 1880s. Laurier, together with Lady Aberdeen , the wife of the governor general , advanced the idea of planning for a better capital.</ref> In 1899,

4841-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed

4944-437: The 6 official residences in the Capital Region. The committee also provides advice to Public Services and Procurement Canada , who is responsible for the Citadel , i.e., the Governor General ’s official residence in Québec City . The committee consists of experts in interior design , architecture, heritage, and real estate development. It has 7 members, plus 1 board observer and 2 ex officio members (the NCC chairperson and

5047-472: The CEO). Aside from the ex officio and observer members, committee members include: Marta Farevaag (chairperson), Bernard Serge Gagné (vice chairperson), Ken Greenberg, Hagit Hadaya, and Chris Piché . The Canadiana Fund solicits donations of heritage art, furniture, and funds to augment the staterooms of the official residences. Pieces that are chosen are meant to "reflect Canada's heritage, artistic traditions and historical associations," or they "complement

5150-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French

5253-443: The Capital Region. It also owns over 1,600 properties in its real estate portfolio, including the capital's six official residences; commercial, residential and heritage buildings; and agricultural facilities. The NCC reports to the Parliament of Canada through whichever minister in the Cabinet of Canada is designated responsible for the National Capital Act , currently the Minister of Public Services and Procurement . Through

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5356-436: The Capital, which was finally published in 1950. In 1958, Parliament passed the National Capital Act , which established the National Capital Region as well as a new National Capital Commission ( NCC ) to succeed the FDC as responsible for bringing Gréber's plan into reality. The replacement of the FDC came as result of it having repeatedly failed to convince municipal governments to cooperate in planning efforts regarding

5459-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,

5562-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of

5665-401: The FDC began to acquire land for Gatineau Park and, by 1939, a total of 6,500 hectares had been acquired. In 1936, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King invited French town planner Jacques Gréber to act as an advisor for planning in the Capital. A couple of years later, in 1938, Gréber was commissioned to develop a vision and plan for the National Capital Region, now famously known as

5768-405: The General Plan. The "Report of the Federal Plan Commission on a General Plan for the Cities of Ottawa and Hull," better known as the "Holt Report" or the "Bennett Plan," was released in January 1915 and was one of Canada's first comprehensive plans. The report recommended that the work of the OIC be broadened, expanding on the 1903 Todd Commission's beautification proposals for urban parkways and

5871-416: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained

5974-451: The Holt Commission). Todd was appointment chairmen when the Federal Plan Commission was established in 1913 by Order-In-Council of Prime Minister Robert Borden 's government with the purpose of "draw[ing] up and perfect[ing]" a comprehensive scheme for the future of the rapidly growing Federal Capital, called the "General Plan." The Commission was joined by a renowned architect and urban planner from Chicago, Edward H. Bennett , who prepared

6077-482: The NCC and 3 NCC employees—all of whom are those who have expertise and experience in matters related to the subject. These members are Anne Ménard (chairperson), Collinda Joseph (vice-chairperson), Yoland Charette, Catherine Gardner, Rita Tadi, Daryl Rock, and Monique Beaudoin. The NCC has built relationships with people and organizations throughout the Capital Region and across Canada, including local municipalities and Indigenous communities. To foster partnerships in

6180-471: The NCC chairperson and CEO, this committee includes: Maryse Gaudreault (Ex-Officio member), Vincent Asselin (Chairperson), Ken Greenberg, David L.A. Gordon, Bruce Haden, Anne-Marie Parent, Tobi Nussbaum (Ex-Officio member), Barry Padolsky, Beverly A. Sandalack, Collinda Joseph (observer), Caroline Lajoie (observer), and Andy Kikites (observer). The Advisory Committee on the Official Residences of Canada advises on asset management and matters that pertain to

6283-661: The NCC chairperson and the CEO (as ex officio members) sit on the Governance Committee. The Advisory Committee on Planning, Design and Realty advises on the long-range plans and policies for the use of public lands and properties in the Capital Region; design proposals affecting federal lands; and matters of real property . The committee consists of experts in real estate development ; environmental , urban , and regional planning; urban design ; architecture ; and landscape architecture . The committee has 11 members, in addition to two board members who act as observers and two ex officio members (NCC chairperson and CEO). Aside from

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6386-486: The NCC's internal audit function, and reviews the special examinations and annual financial audits of the federal Office of the Auditor General . It also oversees the reporting of financial information, ensuring that the necessary processes and controls are in place for the NCC to achieve its objectives. This committee consists of 6 board members, plus the NCC chairperson and the CEO (as ex officio members). The Governance Committee reviews (and makes recommendations to

6489-474: The National Capital Region. The National Capital Region was expanded to a total of 4,660 km (1,150,000 acres) of land on both sides of the Ottawa River ; for one thing, the NCC acquired the funds to purchase lands to create the Greenbelt . The National Capital Act gave, and continues to give, the NCC statutory authority to implement its plans, an authority confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada 's ruling in Munro v National Capital Commission . After

6592-426: The OIC was reorganized as the Federal District Commission ( FDC ). As its jurisdiction grew to include parts of Quebec , the FDC expanded the region's open spaces, extended parkways, improved Dow's Lake , and developed Confederation Square in conjunction with the City of Ottawa . In 1934, a citizens’ group urged the government to purchase land in the Gatineau Hills to save its forests. In 1937, three years later,

6695-435: The Todd Report, in 1903. Two of his major recommendations were the construction of a ceremonial boulevard linking Rideau Hall and the Parliament Buildings , and the preservation of large natural parks adjacent to the Capital. This plan was the first to recommend improvements north of the Ottawa River . Following the Todd Report was a master plan for Canada's Capital, tabled by Herbert S. Holt 's Federal Plan Commission (or,

6798-465: The architectural style of a particular residence." The Canadiana Fund consists of Cynthia Price Verreault (chairperson), Anne Fotheringham, Kathy Hays, Douglas B. Richardson, Deborah Riley, Harvey A. Slack, Candace Stevenson, Clyde Wells , and Fei Wong. The Advisory Committee on Universal Accessibility is mandated to assist the NCC by considering those projects that involve a significant universal accessibility component. It has 7 members—4 from outside

6901-434: The benefit of their immediate resident, under provincial legislation, on issues like road maintenance, sewer, water and public transport. The NCC is the responsibility of the Minister of Public Works and Procurement , currently Filomena Tassi . In the 28th Canadian Ministry under Stephen Harper , the NCC reported to Parliament through the Minister of Foreign Affairs , and then through senior Ottawa-area cabinet ministers,

7004-418: The board on) matters relating to amendments to the by-laws; the selection criteria for, duties of and benefits for the chairperson, CEO and other board and committee members; the mandate, functioning, competency profile and performance appraisals of the board and its committees; the terms of reference and the selection process for the ombudsman ; and general governance issues. A minimum of 5 board members, plus

7107-403: The board. The scope of these annual meetings includes direct public input in a workshop to "discuss the NCC's strategic priorities for the coming year." As of May 2021, current board members include: The CEO is accountable to the board of directors for the management of the NCC's operations and "the implementation of the board's strategic directions for the coming year." The following are

7210-416: The committees and committee members of the NCC as of May 2021. The 5-person Executive Committee is called upon when necessary to deal with specific business or issues. It can be delegated certain powers and functions by the board of directors. This Committee includes: Marc Seaman (chairperson), Mireille Apollon, Larry Beasley , Norm Odjick, and Tobi Nussbaum . The 8-person Audit Committee oversees

7313-715: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Beautification Beautification projects are often undertaken by city councils to refurbish their downtown areas, in order to boost tourism or other commerce. Often, this is also spurred by broken sidewalks, which pose a safety hazard for pedestrians and potentially insurmountable obstacles for wheelchair users. These projects are frequently part of other larger projects such as construction, especially in conjunction with ones for transit, such as streets and roads and mass transit . The Laurel Hill Association of Stockbridge, Massachusetts , founded in 1853,

7416-508: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French

7519-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French

7622-585: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as

7725-506: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of

7828-858: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,

7931-818: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being

8034-479: The governance model of Washington, D.C. , was recommended. This Commission, reporting to the Government of Canada, would benevolently dictate the planning, development and operation of Canada's Capital. Ultimately, the Holt/Bennett General Plan was shelved; however, many of its technical recommendations were implemented over 40 years after it was written. In 1922, Noulan Cauchon , one of the founders of

8137-450: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French

8240-474: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon

8343-602: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,

8446-658: The largest of which are Ottawa and Gatineau . The Algonquin First Nation are among the region's indigenous communities with whom the NCC works with in particular. Major Algonquin communities include: Pikwàkanagàn First Nation , located on the shores of the Bonnechere River and Golden Lake ; and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabe First Nation , located just outside the municipality of Maniwaki . French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )

8549-580: The last of whom was Pierre Poilievre . It is governed by the National Capital Act , which explains the boundaries of the National Capital Region in great detail. Its headquarters are in the Chambers Building on Elgin Street , between Queen and Sparks Streets. Oversight and direction of the NCC's operations and assets are the responsibility of its national board of directors. As defined in

8652-475: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what

8755-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by

8858-630: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;

8961-528: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of

9064-558: The planning and stewardship of the Capital, the NCC created the Urbanism Lab , where lectures, events, and public consultations take place on a regular basis. The NCC is the Capital's largest property owner, owning and managing over 11% of all lands in the Capital Region. As such, the NCC collaborates with the region's municipalities on various issues, including urban planning , safe and active transportation , and property and land stewardship . The Capital Region includes 13 municipalities,

9167-462: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French

9270-464: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in

9373-462: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In

9476-673: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French

9579-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by

9682-479: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of

9785-531: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of

9888-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as

9991-417: Was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French

10094-791: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but

10197-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul

10300-633: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates

10403-575: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of

10506-554: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,

10609-601: Was to clean up the banks of the Rideau Canal , create and expand a park system , as well as a network of boulevards and parkways . One of the OIC's first projects was the Rideau Canal Driveway (now the Queen Elizabeth Driveway ). Four years following its establishment, the OIC hired Frederick G. Todd , a pioneer in landscape architecture , to aid in reshaping the city. Todd completed his plan, dubbed as

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