African French (or français africain, pronounced [fran’sæ afri’kɑ:]) is the generic name of the varieties of French spoken by an estimated 120 million people in Africa spread across 15 francophone countries. Africa is thus the continent with the most French speakers in the world. French arrived in Africa as a colonial language. All the African French varieties differ from standard French both in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary, but the formal African French used in education, media, and legal documents is based on standard French vocabulary. Written alphabet: Latin (French alphabet) Official language in: 23 countries among which Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DR Congo, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia