Literature and Culture of French-Speaking Africa and the Caribbean

Sample Lesson: Overview & History

WHICH African & Caribbean Cultures are Francophone?

There are more of them than you think! In Africa, 30 countries are French-speaking. Here, the French language was imposed by colonization in North Africa (also called the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco), as well as in the colonies south of the Sahara. Decolonization had some important linguistic implications. The Maghreb countries fought for a complete return to their arab culture and language. But French continues to play an important role in daily life in these countries, and symbolizes the modern age. Once a language of alienation, it could become a vehicle for liberation and progress.

In the former colonies of black Africa, like Madagascar, French continues to serve as an official language. It is more or less spoken in daily life, but especially functions as an international, inter-tribal language. The advancement of education has made it familiar to a growing proportion of the population. In becoming one of the languages of Africa, French has adapted itself to its new conditions and become a variant of standard, Parisian French: Regional African French.

Below is a list of the French-speaking African countries. Click here to see a map of Africa.

  • Algeria
  • Benin(formerly Dahomey)
  • Burkina Faso (aka Upper Volta)
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Comoros
  • Congo, People's Republic of
  • Djibouti
  • Egypt
  • Gabon
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Ivory Coast
  • Madagascar
  • Mali
  • Maurice
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Mayotte
  • Morocco
  • Niger
  • Reunion
  • Rwanda
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • Togo
  • Tunisia
  • Zaire

The 5 Caribbean islands which are francophone (listed below) are vestiges of the first French colonial Empire. Many of their population speak a creole derivative of French, and French is a second language to them. Although the versions of creole are similar to each other, they are all distinct dialects, descendants of standard French. These dialects remain the language of everyday communication. Here, French is perceived as the language of power, of the school, and of modern life. Click here to see a map of the Caribbean.

  • Dominica
  • Guadeloupe
  • Haiti
  • Martinique
  • Saint-Lucia
Now that you know which countries are francophone, I suggest you go on to do the ASSIGNMENT.