UN holidays - International Francophonie Day (French Language Day)

Admirers of the French language celebrate their holiday on March 20. The date is called International Francophonie Day. The etymology of the word is clear: “franco” (in French) + “phonia” (sound, sound). Once upon a time, a good half of the enlightened world spoke French. One of the colorful illustrations of this is the conversation between Emperor Alexander I and commander Napoleon. As is known, the Russian monarch did not need an interpreter (translator), and spoke Hugo’s language better than the Corsican Bonaparte, which caused considerable annoyance in the latter. The second striking example is Pushkin’s complaints about his heroine, Tatyana Larina. The poet complained to the reader that Tanya “knew Russian poorly, did not read our magazines and had difficulty expressing herself in her native language.” So much so that she even scribbled a love letter to Eugene in French, being sure that the addressee would understand it. Echoes of the once significant influence of Francophonie can still be found. In current diplomatic documents, personal names and surnames are written in accordance with French transliterations. It is enough to look at your passport to be convinced of this. Many borrowings with French roots have taken root in the Russian language, even in proper names. So, we call Eugene Zhenya thanks to the French modification of this name, Eugene. And we don’t always think about the origin of the terms when addressing a makeup artist who uses lotion before applying makeup (lotion, makeup, makeup artist are words of French origin). French is the official language in dozens of countries, in several international organizations, and is also one of the six official and business languages ​​of the UN. The holiday was born as a tradition to celebrate the founding of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation; it was the first international organization among the French-speaking powers. The agreement on its creation was signed in 1970, on March 20, in the Nigerian city of Niamey. International Francophonie Day affects not only the language of the descendants of the Gauls, but also the culture, traditions, values ​​and customs that are in one way or another associated with the French. Since the French language is widely spoken geographically, representatives from different countries come to celebrate this date. At the same time, Canadians and Nigerians, Belgians and inhabitants of the Seychelles, residents of Luxembourg and Equatorial Guinea are present at the events, forming a powerful movement under the auspices of the holiday.