African French

French is not an indigenous African language, but it is widely spoken across many African countries. African French refers to the different types of the French language that are spoken by around 167 million people in Africa. This number determines that French is more widely spoken in Africa than in France.

The French language landed in African continent in the 17th Century due to colonialism (the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically). The most significant wave of colonization occurred in the 1930's.

The grip of France over it's African territories started to loosen in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to the eventual loss of colonial control. Despite this, French still remains one of the official languages in over 20 African countries.

(Cameroonian)