Language strength: The OECD and the French-speaking world

Language strength

The OECD and the French-speaking world

Philippe Marland, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the OECD

Of all the ties linking people in the community, language is one of the strongest. For a language is not only a means of communication, it is the expression of a certain vision of the world, an embodiment of the imagination, a particular way of matching “words” to “things”.

But French is not only an opportunity for those who use it on a daily basis; it is also, I believe, an asset to the organisation as a whole. For multilingualism is not merely the corollary of multilateralism, it is also one of its surest guarantees.

As Goethe said, “Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.” You can only think properly in a language if you know that there are others, which reflect reality in a different way. Our two official languages are therefore the very embodiment of that dialogue between nations which lies at the heart of our work.

One linguistics study has found that, in the thousands of languages spoken across the world, only 300 words have exactly the same meaning in every one and they include I, you; one, two, three; large, small; sun, moon and star. These words are said to represent what Abdou Diouf calls “the smallest common denominator of humanity”. Viewed from a different angle, this shows that all other words have no perfect translation, that it is never possible, when transposing them into another language, to convey their full meaning. This gives some idea of the difficulties facing interpreters and translators, and the importance of their work.

The use of French within the OECD is, in my view, a vital symbolof the influence of our organisation in a globalised world. It is in fact a dual symbol, of diversity and outreach.

It is first a symbol of our internal diversity. All of our member countries are, of course, deeply committed to the same values which lie at the very core of our organisation: democracy, the market economy, and economic and social progress. But these shared values do not and should not mean uniformity. “He who is different from me does not diminish me–he helps me grow”, said Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Those words may well take on a particular resonance when applied to our organisation. Accused by some of representing the rich, or the powerful, the OECD must demonstrate unstintingly how diverse and open it actually is. And the use of French in the organisation makes a noticeable contribution to that effort.

By the same token, the use of French is a symbol of our outreach across the globe.The French-speaking world, defined by Maurice Druon as “all those whose common heritage is the French language”, now numbers 175 million people, many of

them living in Africa or Asia. French is, with English, the only language spoken on the five continents. May I point out that the International Francophone Organisation now numbers 70 countries and governments.

French is very often the language of schooling and higher education in many developing countries. The translation of all OECD publications into French thus ensures that its work will reach a broader readership, particularly in the South. It is also a means of extending our outreach towards the emerging nations.

The OECD is currently facing some major challenges, and is probably at a crucial point in its history. Faced with the present crisis, it should more than ever assert its role and feature prominently in the new architecture of a tentative form of global governance. For this it boasts some major assets, in particular the values it shares with its members, its well-proven methods and its world-renowned expertise. But another of its assets may be the fact that it is a bilingual organisation. The new governance challenges involve restoring the balance of economic forces, but also raising awareness of cultural diversity. In an increasingly multi-polar world, the challenge for the future will probably lie in reconciling diversity and unity, cultural identity and universality. Preserving multilingualism in every major international forum is one aspect of that goal, but also a means of achieving it. Here too, the OECD should set the example.

Our languages are the embodiment of dialogue

Extract from speech by Philippe Marland, delivered at the OECD on 18 March to mark the 2009 Journée internationale de la Francophonie, a day dedicated to the French-speaking world. A full version of the speech is available at www.oecdobserver.org