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The Language of Diplomacy |
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French as a Medium of Diplomacy |
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In the second half of the seventeenth century, the pre-eminence of
Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (le Roi Soleil) helped to consolidate the
position of French, which became the diplomatic language,
replacing Latin, a position it retained until the twentieth century.
The French diplomatic machine was larger than any other. For over
150 years, until the Revolution, France remained supreme in
international diplomacy, setting the diplomatic pattern for the
world.
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Until the seventeenth century, when the author of
Paradise Lost
served as one of Cromwell’s political secretaries, Latin was still
the official language of European diplomacy. It was in the reign
(1643-1715) of the Grand Monarch, Louis XIV, that French, the most
precise and lucid of all living tongues, superseded Latin as the
recognized medium of international negotiations. This was brought
about by a fortunate combination of circumstances, and the
disinterested philologist, whatever his nationality, cannot fail to
deplore the declining part played by the French language in world
diplomacy since the formulation of the treaty of Versailles in 1919.
Simeon Potter.
Our Language
(Penguin Books, 1964), p. 180. |
The intrinsic qualities of the French language itself made it a
medium most suitable for diplomatic discourse. Strict rules of
syntax guaranteed the precision of the sentence, while its
vocabulary was constantly supervised by the Académie Française,
which, in purging the language of its corruptions, guaranteed
its incontrovertible accuracy of meaning and constant lucidity.
Today French diplomats still like to regard their native tongue as
the main language of diplomacy. But French is fighting a loosing
battle with English, which has largely superseded it in this role in
many parts of the world. However, even non-French diplomats regret
the downgrading of French. It is, they maintain, the perfect
diplomatic language because of its precision and clarity. It is
noteworthy that all British career diplomats have a good knowledge
of French.
Although on the retreat, French is still far from defeated.
Multilateral treaties are usually concluded in two languages –
English and French – with both texts considered equally
authoritative. English and French became the first two working
languages at the United Nations, when on 1 February 1946, during the
first part of its first session, the UN General Assembly adopted a
resolution entitled “Rules of Procedure Concerning Languages” of
which the Annex, paragraph 1, reads as follows:
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In all the organs of the United Nations, other than the
International Court of Justice, Chinese, French, English, Russian
and Spanish shall be the official languages, and English and French
the working languages. |
This meant in effect that speeches made in one working language
were interpreted into the other, and speeches made in the
official languages were interpreted into both working languages.
By the mid-seventies all the official languages of the United
Nations had, in addition, acquired the status of working
languages.
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Copyrighted material |
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