French (français) is the third of the Romance languages in terms of number of speakers, after Spanish and Portuguese, being spoken by about 67 million people as a mother tongue, and altogether by some 128 million francophones, which includes second-language speakers who use French for daily communication.French is thus the 18th most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, and 9th in terms of daily speakers. It is an official language in 29 countries. It is also an official or administrative language in various communities and organisations (such as the European Union, IOC, United Nations and Universal Postal Union). Before World War II, French was considered the international language, particularly in such fields as diplomacy, trade, shipping, and transportation.
