Język dyplomacji – interrelacje angielsko-francuskie

The purpose of the following article is presenting both the overview of the process of shaping the diplomatic language in the European culture: from Latin through the French language to English, as well as the factors influencing the domination of the above-mentioned languages in international relations against historical background. The author presents examples of the twofold influence the French language has exerted upon the English language of diplomacy. The former concerns French impact on the linguistic technicalities: names of diplomatic titles and functions, diplomatic precedence as well as the names and structure of the official diplomatic correspondence, annual reports in particular. The latter influence of French upon the English diplomatic language deals with: first, its syntactic features typical of the Roman languages such as multiple compound sentences, transferred negation, frequent use of adverbials: Subuncts and Disjuncts, secondly, the vocabulary of the English diplomatic language abundant in expressions, phrases and idiomatic elements copied from the French language. Eventually, the author enumerates the most typical features of the diplomatic language.