French Dialects
French language like many other languages is characterized for having several different dialects and many regional versions, however, for foreign learners is chosen so called Metropolitan French model which is spoken in Paris and is generally considered a standard model.
Since the are several regional dialects and varieties of French language already within France it is not surprising that there are even many more outside France. Besides in France, French language in Europe is also spoken in Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, Luxembourg and the Channel Islands off the French coast of Normandy but in all those countries occur some distinct differences. Thus we can find the Belgian French, Swiss French and Aostan French (in Italy). However, the differences between French that is spoken in Europe are minor in contrary with variations and dialects of French language which is spoken in other continents.
The largest number of French speakers live in Africa and speak French either as first or second language. French language spread in Africa with French and Belgian colonialization and is characterized by many different varieties and in first place by words which do not exist in standard French and are either locally coined or borrowed from African languages. However, French speakers in Africa usually avoid using such words in communication with foreigners.
Some differences in compare with Metropolitan French occur also in Asian varieties of French, while the greatest differences are probably to be found in the Acadian French that is spoken in the Canadian Maritime provinces, the Saint John River Valley in northern Maine and the Magdalen Islands.