French is still widely spoken in the following North African countries:
- Algeria
- Morocco
- Tunisia
Use of the French language is one of the remnants of French colonial rule in North Africa.
Apparently, there are a few reasons why French is still commonly used in these countries. Some feel it is more classy and that they will seem more intelligent if they speak French.
Also, it seems that French is more expressive than Arabic. There are many more words in French (and English) to describe things whereas Arabic can be more general.
An example of this is a child who says that her foot is hurting but rubs her leg. In Arabic, the foot is basically anything below the hip so the little child has translated this into French the same way. However in French and English obviously we have separate words for upper leg, knee, lower leg, foot etc.
I do feel it is a pity that Arabs don't feel that their own language isn't good enough though, in my opinion they should be proud of it, it certainly looks very complicated, I wish I was talented enough to learn it!
