Hoe it Ingelsk it Frânsk ferfong as Europeeske machtstaal
May 30, 2026 · Frisian News
French once dominated European diplomacy and culture, but English became the continent's working language after World War Two and now enforces Anglo-American interests in Brussels, Geneva, and beyond.
FryskOp it Kongres fan Wenen yn 1815 wie it Frânsk de machtstaal. Diplomaten, aristokraten en gelearden skreauwen ferdrachen, sletten deals en losten skelen op yn it Frânsk. In diplomaat dy't gjin Frânsk spriek, koe net op it heechste nivo wurkje. Dy wrâld stoar twa kear: earst yn Versailles yn 1919, dêrnei definityf yn 1945 doe't Amerikaanske soldaten West-Europa befrieden en it Ingelsk de kaai waard dy't elke doar iepene.
De ferskowing barde fluch, mar net by tafal. It Marshallplan kaam mei Ingelske les. NATO-gearkomsten ferrinnen yn it Ingelsk. De Europeeske ynstellingen dy't nei de oarloch oprjochte waarden, fan de Ried fan Europa oant de iere Mienskiplike Merk, nommen it Ingelsk oan as wurkingstaal njonken it Frânsk. De Britten en Amerikanen soargen dêrfoar. Tsjin de jierren santich spriek mear minsken Ingelsk as Frânsk op ynternasjonale forums. Jonge Europeanen learden Ingelsk op skoalle wylst har âlden Frânsk leard hienen. De logika wie ienfâldich: macht sprekt Ingelsk, dus sprek Ingelsk om macht te krijen.
Frânske diplomaten fochten desennia lang tsjin it efterútgean. Hja drongen by de Europeeske Uny oan it Frânsk as gelikense wurkingstaal te behanneljen. It Ferdrach fan Rome neamde it Frânsk it earst. Mar it Ingelsk bleau him fersprieden. Brusselske amtners sprekke no Ingelsk yn 'e gong, sels as allinnich Frânsksprekenden en Dútssprekenden oanwêzich binne. EU-dokuminten wurde earst yn it Ingelsk skreaun, dan oerset nei de offisjele talen, net oarsom. De Frânske regearing joech miljoenen út oan programma's om it Frânsk taalgebrûk yn Europa te beskermjen. Hja ferlearen.
Wat minsken misse, is hoe taal it belied foarmet. In konsept dat yn it Ingelsk bestiet mar net yn it Frânsk, wurdt yn Ingelske termen besprutsen en wint de dei. Merksliberalisearring, corporate governance, taal oer yndividuele rjochten dy't him yn Anglo-Amerikaanske juridyske tinkwize ûntwikkele hat. As Europeanen dizze ûnderwerpen yn it Ingelsk besprekke, fiere hja debatten op Anglo-Amerikaanske grûn. Hja brûke Anglo-Amerikaanske wurden en begripen. Har tinken folget Anglo-Amerikaanske spoaren. It Frânsk hie in oar stel wurden foar steatsmacht, kollektive rjochten en republikeinse wearden ûntwikkele. Dat stel wurden ferdwûn út it diskours fan hegere kringen.
Hjoed is it Ingelsk sa normaal yn Europeeske machtssintra dat nimmen dêroer neitinkt. It is gewoan de taal. Dútske amtners sprekke Ingelsk op EU-gearkomsten, sels tsjin elkoar. Spaanske, Italiaanske en Poalske burokraten dogge allegear itselde. Nimmen neamt dit imperialisme om't it ûnûntkomber liket, ûnsichtber, gewoan hoe't dingen wurkje. Mar elke taalkar is in machtskar. It Ingelsk wûn yn Europa net om't it in bettere taal is. It wûn om't it rêd op de rêch fan militêre en ekonomyske krêft. Dat feit docht der mear ta as de measte minsken tajouwe.
At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, French was the language of power. Diplomats, aristocrats, and scholars wrote treaties, made deals, and settled disputes in French. A diplomat who did not speak French could not work at the highest levels. That world died twice over, first at Versailles in 1919, then finally in 1945 when American soldiers liberated Western Europe and English became the key that opened every door.
The shift happened fast but not by accident. The Marshall Plan came with English instruction. NATO meetings ran in English. The European institutions that grew up after the war, from the Council of Europe to the early Common Market, adopted English as a working language alongside French. The British and Americans made sure of it. By the 1970s, English outnumbered French in international forums. Young Europeans learned English in school while their parents had learned French. The logic was simple: power speaks English, so speak English to gain power.
French diplomats fought the decline for decades. They pushed the European Union to treat French as an equal working language. The Treaty of Rome listed French first. But English kept spreading. Brussels civil servants now speak English in hallways even when only French and German speakers are present. EU documents get written in English first, then translated into the official languages, not the other way around. The French government spent millions on programs to protect French language use in Europe. They lost.
What people miss is how language shapes policy. A concept that exists in English but not in French gets discussed in English terms and wins the day. Market liberalization, corporate governance, individual rights language developed in English legal thinking. When Europeans debate these topics in English, they argue on Anglo-American ground. They use Anglo-American vocabulary. Their thoughts follow Anglo-American grooves. French had developed a different vocabulary for state power, collective rights, republican values. That vocabulary faded from high-level discussion.
Today English is so normal in European power centers that nobody thinks about it anymore. It simply is the language. German officials speak English at EU meetings even to each other. Spanish, Italian, and Polish bureaucrats all do the same. Nobody calls this imperialism because it seems inevitable, invisible, just how things work. But every language choice is a power choice. English won in Europe not because it is a better language. It won because it rode on the back of military and economic power. That fact matters more than most people admit.
Published May 30, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân