Posted
on September 3, 2014
I
wrote a ridiculous title for today's post. When you read
that title, you should wonder, “WHICH Treaty of Paris?”
According
to Wikipedia, there are a few “Treaty of Paris” signings. One
might even say QUITE a few. Like, many:
- 1229
- 1259
- 1303
- 1320
- 1323
This painting of the Treaty of Paris,
by Benjamin West, was never completed
because the British diplomats refused to pose.
Can we say "bad loser"? - 1355
- 1515
- 1623
- 1626
- 1657
- 1718
- 1761
- 1763
- 1783
- 1784
- 1796
- 1802
- 1806
- 1810
- 1814
- 1815
- 1856
- 1857
- 1898
- 1900
- 1918
- 1919
- 1920
- 1947
- 1951
- 1952
- 1973
- 1995
The
one that happened on this date in 1783 was between Great Britain and
the United States of America; it formally ended the American
Revolutionary War.
Why
were so many treaties signed in Paris?
 |
| We often think of the Eiffel Tower when we think of Paris, but it wasn't built until 1889. |
There
are several reasons. One of course is that France is somewhat
centrally located to much of Europe, and Paris has for centuries had
high-level offerings in lodging and food and culture.
Partly
it's because France dominated Europe through its military, for a
while, and since this country and language were associated with
power, many Europeans and Americans learned to speak French and
sought to learn about all things French. From fashion to art, cooking
to dance, French language dominated many fields, and Paris was
considered to some extent to be one of the world's gems.
Partly
it's merely “tradition.” Once Paris was known as the place to be
for diplomacy, there was a snowball effect that caused even more
diplomats to travel to Paris for peace talks.
Because
Paris became a place where negotiations and peace talks occurred,
French became the lingua franca of diplomats. (Lingua
franca means a language that is used as a common language between
people who speak different languages. Note that the phrase lingua
franca itself is, in fact, French!)
Here
are a few of the French words used even in English-speaking countries
for diplomatic matters:
- detente – improvement in relations
- fait accompli – something that has already been done
- attache – a junior officer or a specialist officer
- communique – a brief public statement summarizing diplomatic meetings
And
here are some English words that came from French words:
- accord – an international agreement
- consulate – an office in one nation set up for diplomats and visitors from another nation
- diplomat – an agent who represents a nation and has the power to negotiated trade and peace treaties
- embassy – the home of an ambassador
- passport – papers of identification used to travel between different nations
- protocol – the ceremonial side of diplomacy, and the customs thereof
- treaty – a formal agreement between nations
- visa – an endorsement for a person to travel to another nation, often for work or study purposes
Because
French had become the language of diplomacy, even more people came to
Paris when it was time to create a treaty. Because even more people
came to Paris for negotiations, French became even more important to
diplomats. It's one of those feedback loops!
Is
French still the lingua franca of diplomacy?
Many
argue that English has taken over in being the “language of
diplomacy,” and it certainly has become the most-spoken second
language in the world. In other words, if Indian, Italian, Chinese,
and Peruvian software engineers meet together, they probably chat
with one another in English. English has become the language of
science (it used to be German and, before that, French), and English
has become the language of technology and business as well. Because
so many people worldwide speak English for these reasons, diplomats
tend to be even more familiar with English than with French, so many
more meetings are being held in English.
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
No comments:
Post a Comment