U. S. English

Working overtime to smooth down bristling anti-French sentiment in the U. S., the French Foreign Office decided last week that better phraseology might help. From the French point of view, Paris grammarians solemnly pointed out, there are three major kinds of written English: 1) literal translations from French into what barely passes for English; 2) British English which is objectionable to many U. S. citizens; and 3) U. S. English which, all things considered, seems best for use on Americans.

"To meet the requirements of American psychology," the French Foreign Office hired last week one Leon Fleischmann, persuasive New York advertising writer, to translate all Foreign Office statements into U. S. English before cabling them to the French Embassy and consulates in the U. S. Impressed, many a U. S. patriot hoped that the U. S. State Department would take heed, hire 100% Frenchmen to translate into 100% French the often bewildering (to Frenchmen) statements of the U. S. Embassy and consulates in France.

Best linguist in the U. S. Diplomatic Service is probably U. S. Minister to Jugoslavia Dr. John Dyneley Prince who prides himself on being able to talk with almost any other diplomat in the latter's native tongue. Once, at a Belgrade diplomatic soiree, Dr. Prince realized that he was stumped, could not talk to the Albanian Minister in Albanian. Casually they chatted in Turkish. Later the Albanian Minister said with difficulty to a U. S. matron in Albanian English: "What a strange you Americans are! What a silly! You hire a Turk to be your Minister to Jugoslavia! To me it is a sorry but I could not understand Americans yet!"

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