The French Southern territories are grouped with the Antarctic lands and form part of the French territories. The Southern territories are made up of four islands which include ile Saint-Paul and Ile Amsterdam, Iles Kerguelen, Iles Crozet, Scattered Islands and Adelie Land in Antarctica. The territories have no permanent inhabitants and the people on the island are the visiting researchers, military personnel, and officials on official duty. The lack of permanent inhabitants in the territories means there is no national language, but French can be considered the official language because France lays claim to the territories. The Southern territories are not a part of France and they are autonomous.
It is difficult to tell the number of speakers of a particular language in an area of the territories as the researchers come and go. The researchers come from different countries, and they work and live in different stations and camps around the territories. Researchers and personnel from other foreign countries use their home languages in communication.
Some useful phrases in French language include “Bonjour” which means hello, “Bonsoir” means good evening, and “s’il vous plait” which means please. “Je ne parle pas Francais” means I do not speak French and “nous sommes perdus” mean we are lost.
There are no minority languages in the territories as there is no national language. Some of the languages spoken in the French Overseas Territories include Amerindian, French-based Creole languages, Dutch, English, Patois, Shibushi, and Shimaore. The main foreign languages used in mainland France include English, Spanish, German, and Italian.
This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018
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