French

French (le français [lə fʁɑ̃sɛ] or la langue française [la lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛz]) is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France. The variant spoken in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas is known as the Nicholasien French (français nicholasien). Historically, upon the European Discovery of the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, portions of the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas became colonies of France. With colonization and immigration from France, there is a significant population whose mother tongue is French in the Imaginary Lands. It is estimated about 8 - 12% of the entire Imaginary Lands of Nicholas speaks French as a first language, with about 15 - 25% with some knowledge of French.

Status
French is not an official language in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, though it is recognized in some of its autonomous countries, especially those with a large French-speaking population, as an official language. They include Gravenhurst Region, City of Watersauga (excluding Port Run), Greater McCallister, Concord County and Pickering County. In particular, the Gravenhurst Region designated its primarily French-speaking cities as French Cultural Hubs in September 2012, to better protect the status of the language in the region (which constitutes to about 12% of the entire population) and to promote the culture in the region, in addition to encourage economic ties between French-speaking cities within the region.

The French language was also one of the primary causes to some separatism movements in the Imaginary Land of Nicholas, including the Bloc Borden based in Borden.

The use of French and the promotion of the language is regulated by La Francophonie des pays imaginaires de Nicholas, and local organizations where a French-speaking population is prominent. The function of the institute is also advised by l'Académie Française.

The language is celebrated on the Fête des Francophones, set on 18 February, to promote the usage of French.

Difference with Metropolitan French
While the French spoken in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas is largely identical to Metropolitan French in terms of intonations, while some vocabularies differ significantly and unique to the ILN.

Pronounciation
It is often noted by linguistic scholars that Nicholasien French sounds "flatter" than other varieties of French. In which, each syllable is sounded more clearly than other varieties of French, and the pronunciation of th "r" sound is less pronounced. As suggested by several linguistic studies, this is partially due to the influence of Cantonese and English, the other two official languages in the kingdom.

Vocabulary
The following table denotes some vocabulary differences with Metropolitan French:
 * * denote these vocabularies are unique to the ILN.

Places with a significant French Population
The following lists subdivisions in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas where the French speaking population is the largest language group in the division, or where French is one of the official language of the subdivision:
 * Gravenhurst (One of the official languages) － French Cultural Hub – 12%
 * Township of Arithmetic
 * Ville de Borden
 * Town of Caithness - Caledonia
 * Township of Charlesbourg
 * Township of Louisbourg
 * Town of Medicine Hat
 * City of Sussex
 * Town of Texas
 * Town of Valleydale


 *  (one of the official languages) – 16%
 * Secteur français de Watersauga - Mostly north of the Dawson River — 87%
 * Town of Aylmer
 * Township of Chelsea
 * Township of Montagne de Laurier
 * Township of Orléans
 * City of Ottawa - Gatineau (de jure, official language, though not the majority of the city speaks it)
 * Township of Pontiac
 * Township of Sainte-Virginie
 * Parts of Municipality of Valleyfield—Côteaux-des-Rivières
 * Outside the Secteur — 4%
 * City of Port Credit (Third largest language group)
 * Municipality of Port-Crédit-sur-la-Prairie
 * Port Run — 0.8%


 * Greater McCallister (one of the official languages) —31%
 * Comté-de-Sarnia
 * Ville de Frontenac
 * Canton de Lac Kerkonian
 * Ville de Mont-Royale-de-Dundas
 * Ville de Notre-Dame-du-Nord


 * Concord (one of the official language) — 89%


 * Pickering (one of the official languages) — 68%