BXCellent OP t1_iy00jf2 wrote
And they have CERN. It amazes me that despite only have about 4% of the world's language speakers the French have such a high impact on the naming of international bodies.
greenbags125 t1_iy01xe0 wrote
It’s a few reasons. French was the global lingua franca for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the language of a lot of global Royal courts, similar to English today. Second, as the capital of European culture, politics, and finance, a lot of organizations were formed in Paris, which gave them French names. Finally, French speaking Switzerland was highly influential with Geneva holding international status so a lot of French names was due to that.
axck t1_iy09q0l wrote
French used to be the global language of diplomacy
LipTrev t1_iy32lxe wrote
If it's on your land you get to name it. I'll assume that that part of Switzerland speaks French, but I know that part of France speaks French.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments