Alexander Resnick
French: A Language of Diplomacy
You may have been surprised to hear announcements in French alongside English and Korean during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang this February. Announcements are made in French at all Olympic Games because the International Olympic Committee (Comité International Olympique) is headquartered in Switzerland. This is one of many international bodies headquartered in French-speaking Europe, along with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). International organizations like the OECD (OCDE) and NATO (OTAN) also have French listed as co-official with English. Often, this means that French is accorded official status equal to English, but not used as much in practice.
The formation of all of these organizations points back to a time when French was considered the “language of diplomacy.” It was the language to know in international relations, but things have changed. French has lost ground to English as a lingua franca in recent decades, and not only in international affairs. English is now dominates in cultural arenas too, like Eurovision and the fashion industry. (While most of the first 10 winners of the competition sang in French, no song performed in French has emerged victorious since 1988!) Despite this rising tide of English, advocates are rallying around French and other languages across the bloc.
Languages in the EU
The European Union is unique in its language policies, with 24 languages co-official. While important documents are translated into all of these official languages, French, English and German dominate to varying degrees as the main working languages within the bloc. Like in other spheres, English has been overtaking these other two official working languages in recent decades. In light of the Brexit vote in 2016, this dominance of English has been called into question once again. The European Union must decide which language(s) should be used in the international workplaces that govern the bloc after the largest nation with English as an official language has gone. This leaves the smaller Malta and Ireland as the only nations where English has official status, as compared to France, Luxembourg and Belgium for French.
French in the EU: A History
French has been on a long decline in the EU over the last few decades. Christian Spillman, a member of the Agence France Presse (AFP) remarked that “There was a time when everyone in the bubble…spoke French.” That is no longer the case. In the words of French journalist Jean Quatremer, “”You can have 29 people in a room who speak French and all you need is one person who doesn’t and everyone switches to English.”
The decline of French is also tied with the changing definitions of “Europe” and who is a member of the European Community. While French was the dominant language of Eurovision entrants in the early years of the competition (up to the 1970s), its popularity waned as countries in Central and Eastern Europe joined in. With these countries in the EU, both German and English are more widely-known than French (including those who learned them as a second language). Seemingly overnight, French went from being widely-spoken throughout the EU, to a language of regional importance within the bloc. It simply became harder to do business in French.
Euro-English: Coping with Change
The English spoken by EU officials from all over the continent is not the same as the English spoken in the United States or the UK. It is known by some as “Euro-English:” a modified form of the language that emerges from being used as a lingua franca (pun intended) by ministers and representatives from all over Europe. Most of them speak English as a second or third language with varying levels of competency, so the variant of English spoken features some simplified forms and innovated terms derived from the other languages that MPs speak. While some look down on this modified “global” English, it is being used in more and more meetings within the EU.
To increase efficiency, meetings across almost all branches of the EU are now held only in English. In some areas of the EU, French used to be the only language used, but English is being introduced even in those areas. The European Court of Justice is one such example, entirely Francophone since its founding in the 1950s. Alas, a recent announcement suggests they may consider hearing cases in English in the future.
A Future for French?
While it does seem unlikely that French will overtake English as the main working language of the European Union anytime soon, it may be becoming more important. Francophone leaders in important positions within the EU are pushing for the increased use of French today. When Jean-Claude Juncker, the current President of the European Commission, asserted that “slowly but surely, English is losing importance in Europe” in his 2017 state of the union, he was met with strong applause. He went on to deliver the rest of his address in French. A native of Luxembourg, Juncker speaks his native Luxembourgish, French, German and English (as do all alumni of the public school system in Luxembourg).
Figure 2. Juncker delivering his 2017 State of the Union.
In a recent meeting of the Multiannual Financial Network, diplomats were asked to sign off on a document that stipulated the use of English in future meetings. The French EU ambassador, Philippe Léglise-Costa, responded by not only refusing to sign, but walking out of the meeting. The language is not without its advocates in high places.
However, there is still widespread resistance among Central and Eastern European countries to adopting French as the working language. After having invested in educating so many students in English, they are just not ready to make the switch. In a continent where nearly 75% of primary school students currently study English, this trend is not likely to change any time soon.
While French will remain one of the most widely spoken languages in the EU, it will almost certainly not recapture its old role as the sole language of diplomacy. It is useful and powerful within the EU offices in Strasbourg and Brussels, and in communities throughout the bloc, but it is not enough to unite all the EU countries without the help of other languages.
Works Cited
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Languages in Conflict 