Francophonie

Francophonie, sometimes also spelt Francophonia in English, is the quality of speaking French. It is not to be confused with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, sometimes also informally called "la Francophonie". The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis or/and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language.

Francophonie, francophonie and francophone space are syntagmatic expressions that are sometimes misunderstood or misused. They can be synonymous but most of the time they are complementary.

• "francophonie", with a small "f", refers to populations and people who speak French for communication or/and in their daily lives.

• "Francophonie", with a capital "F", can be defined as referring to the governments, governmental and non-governmental organisations or governing officials that share the use of French in their work and exchange.

• "Francophone space", "Francosphere" represents not only a linguistic or geographic reality, but also a cultural entity: for example describing any individual who identifies with one of the francophone cultures, may it be Slavic, Latin, Creole or North American for example.

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