Why are many international organizations commonly abbreviated in their French translation?

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A couple examples of this:

“SI units”, or the system of units based on the fundamental units of measurement (seconds, meters, amperes, candelas, moles, kilograms, kelvin) is short for *Système international*.

“FIFA”, the corrupt international soccer organization is short for *Fédération Internationale de Football Association* (same as FIBA)

Is this just a coincidence?

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

For about a 150 year period from the mid-1600s to the very early 1800’s, France was by far the most powerful country on the European continent. One result of this was that French became the primary international communication language in Europe, similar to how English is the global language of business, diplomacy, and academics today.

France declined after the fall of Napoleon, but the French language kept its status as a prestigious language in the Western world through the 1800s and up until World War II.

FIFA was an international organization founded in Europe in 1904. It makes perfect sense that an international organization founded in that time and place used French as its primary working language.

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