The language continues to attract a large number of students, with over 150 seeking admission for the current session.

Experts say French is easy to learn as compared to other languages and is spoken in all five continents thereby making it popular with a large number of students.

Now, the university has decided to add a certificate course in translation and interpretation in the Department of French. Talking to Newsline, Prof Cecilia Antony, chairperson, French department, said: “There are many students who are coming forward to learn French. Moreover, translation is fast becoming a rewarding career and so many learn the language to take up translation as a career.” The department would also do away with the annual system soon and introduce the semester system.

Experts believe the popularity of a language depends on its requirement. Prof Damodar Panda, chairperson of the Chinese department, said: “We have around thirty students in the department, comprising mainly those who really need to learn the language for one purpose or the other. Chinese is any day not a common international language and is tougher to learn as compared to French or any other international language.

French is also the most accepted international language, thus making it so popular, Prof Panda added.

Learning international language is becoming popular with a lot of translation work that various departments are receiving. This mainly relates to literature and individual documents. Moreover, faculty across these departments is being called for services relating to translation, the latest one being in the German rape case where a professor from the Department of German was asked to help as translator.