History of French and is a lingua franca in some regions, notably in Africa. The legacy of French as a living language outside Europe is mixed: it is nearly extinct in some former French colonies (Southeast Asia), while the language has changed to creoles, dialects or pidgins in the French departments in the West Indies, even though people there are still educated in standard French. On the other hand, many former French colonies have adopted French as an official language, and the total number of French speakers has increased, especially in Africa. In the Canadian province of Quebec, different laws have promoted the
Official language rejected. It has also been described as necessary for the recognition of different groups or as an advantage for the country in presenting itself to outsiders. In accordance with "Chapter 1, Article 16" of the Constitution of Afghanistan, the Afghan government gives equal status to Pashto and Dari as official languages. Belarusian and Russian have official status in the Republic of Belarus. In accordance with the "Constitution Act, 1982" the (federal) Government of Canada gives equal status to English and French as official languages. The Province of New Brunswick is also officially bilingual, as is the Yukon. Nunavut has four