Abstract
Abstract Thanks to the French language, 77 member and observer States and governments of the International Organization of La Francophonie of all continents, with levels of development at the two extremes of the wealth scale, can maintain a regular dialogue. These states where French is an official language, often alongside other languages have a significant impact on the global economy, particularly in cultural sectors. Several studies revealed that speaking French is a professional asset and that, the mastery of many languages, including one for international communication such as French, is a decisive asset in the international competition and the globalized economies. In the same time the intensity of trade in goods and capital between the countries which share the French language as an official language allow the hypothesis of a "linguistic preference" as one of the components favorable to the economic relations between the territories. The scope of this paper is to investigate the current place of the French language in the field of business or finance, its economic weight in the cultural sector and the current need to master French to be competitive on the global labor market. The results have the mission to show the growing importance of the francophone economic space and the necessity of a bigger Romanian implication within its projects and initiatives. The contribution brought by the paper to the field of Francophone studies is significant especially for the Romanian academic environment since less attention has been given in the last decade to the French language and its inputs for the economy.
Highlights
IntroductionConfronted with many different economic, climatic, ecological, commercial and geostrategic contexts, the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF) member and observer states consult each other on major economic issues like financial regulation (Summit of the Francophonie Montreux, 2010), sustainable development (preparation for the Rio + 20 Summit), green growth, innovative financing for development and food security of Francophone developing countries (G20, alongside the Commonwealth)
Each of these institutions documents were consulted in order to: assess the relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness of the French language on the labor market, to assess its importance within the business environment in different countries belonging to La Francophonie, to identify which are the most notable academic institutions which provide studies in the French language and what investments are being performed at national and at international level to surpass the organizational challenges that the French language encounters in the economic milieu
The competitive edge of mastering the French language Thanks to the Francophone Employment Forums organized in Bucharest or Hanoi at the initiative of the Francophone University Association (AUF-Agence universitaire de la Francophonie), several hundred Francophone young people can apply every year to companies gathered for the occasion
Summary
Confronted with many different economic, climatic, ecological, commercial and geostrategic contexts, the IOF member and observer states consult each other on major economic issues like financial regulation (Summit of the Francophonie Montreux, 2010), sustainable development (preparation for the Rio + 20 Summit), green growth, innovative financing for development and food security of Francophone developing countries (G20, alongside the Commonwealth). Even with these difficulties the French language, which links more than 220 million people from all four corners of the globe, is a formidable economic trump card for the 57 state members of the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF).
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