When is "le" omitted from "le français"?

Question

When is "le" omitted from "le français"? Is it only with "parler", or is there a general rule? I ask in relation to this Q&A:

"He will study either French or Italian" = "Il étudiera soit le français soit l'italien".

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi Harry,
Both are possible and I suppose the difference would be between
'to speak French' 
and 
'to speak the French language'
but you will hear both.
Bonne Continuation !

Jim Jones · Answer

Hi Harry,I also find this point tricky to deal with. Key is the usage as a noun or adjective?I suggest that you have a look here to assess the various options:-https://www.wordreference.com/fren/Fran%C3%A7aisHope you will find it helpfulJim

Chris Wirt · Answer

Jim is right: when used as a noun, you add the article. If it's an adjective, you leave it out:

"Je parle le français" vs. "je parle français". Confusingly enough, both mean "I speak French" but the first one refers to French as a noun, whereas the second one uses "français" as an adjective. Here is a sentence that makes it more obvious:

Le français est une langue parlé en France. -- French is a language spoken in France. (used as a noun)
Les français parlent français. -- The French speak French. (used as an adjective)

Pierre est français. -- Pierre is French (used as an adjective)
Il est le français que j'ai rencontré hier. -- He is the "Frenchman" whom I met yesterday. In this sentence, "français" refers to a male French person and not the language, of course.

Jim Jones · Answer

@ ChrisNot sure to use "le français" after the verb parler though  --  Je parle le français ?

Chris Wirt · Answer

Yes, I've heard "je parle le français".