Full Description
This book outlines major trends in language use by early modern diplomats, mainly in the European context, through a series of case studies and overviews of regional diplomatic traditions.
During the early modern period, linguistic practices in European diplomacy changed drastically, as the decline of Latin and German as diplomatic languages paved the way for the rise of French as a pan-European medium of diplomacy. While it was no secret that French was the dominant language of European elites during the eighteenth century, surprisingly little is known about the way this cultural trend translated into a major linguistic shift in diplomacy. This volume offers a broader perspective, tracking these changes throughout the early modern period. Spanning three centuries and extending across and beyond continental Europe, the contributors map the pace, the mechanisms, the reasons and the limits for changes in the use of languages in early modern diplomacy and explore the linguistic practices of diplomats as an indicator of wider social, cultural, and political changes.
A novel study of European diplomacy and linguistic interactions, this book will be of interest to historians, in particular those working on language practices in diplomacy and the social history of languages.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 licence.
Contents
List of Figures
About the Authors
I Introduction
1. Languages of Diplomacy in the Early Modern World. An Introduction
Gleb Kazakov and Vladislav Rjéoutski
II German-Speaking States and the Growing Role of French in European Diplomacy
2. German and French in the Diplomacy of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1700-1730
Gleb Kazakov
3. The 'Linguistic Turn' in Diplomacy in Prussia under Frederick II
Tatjana Trautmann
4. Languages in the Diplomatic Correspondence between France and Territories of the Holy Roman Empire
Nina Pösch
III Linguistic Policies, Language Practices, and Diplomatic Careers
5. Models and Practices of Language Use at the Peace Congresses of the Seventeenth Century
Guido Braun
6. "Write in no Foreign Language but Solely and Only in Swedish": Languages of Internal Communication in Swedish Diplomacy, c. 1700-1792
Sophie Holm
7. An Empire on the Wane? Language Use and Linguistic Policy in Eighteenth-Century Spanish Diplomacy
Vladislav Rjéoutski
8. Language and Career: Karl and Ivan Simolins in the Diplomatic Service of the Russian Empire
Maria A. Petrova
9. Language Choice in Eighteenth-Century Diplomatic Ciphers from Europe
Michelle Waldispühl and Beata Megyesi
IV Languages in Contacts between European and Non-European Powers
10. Linguistic Practice in Dutch Diplomacy in Taiwan, 1624-1662
Christopher Joby
11. The Eloquence of Ottoman Diplomacy: How Ottomans Acquired and Used Languages in the Eighteenth Century
Irena Fliter
12. Language and Legitimacy: The Entry of American Diplomats into the Francophone World of Diplomacy, 1775-1800
Ellen R. Welch and Jonathan Singerton
Index
