Thread: vis a vis

Does anyone know why the English language tends to keep certain French expressions in a discourse? I know it is very common to use them in Conferences, for Simultaneous Interpretation, for example. I wonder why...

I don't think that's not the privilege of English, expressions in other languages can be found in any language, although there's an equivalent to those in this language. French, just like English nowadays, was the dominant language for many years, especially for diplomacy, and that could be the reason why so many words in French are still used in diplomatic situations.

Some of it goes back to the Norman Conquest. Since the French took over the court, many French terms that were introduced into British court life as well as many culinary terms, for whatever reason. The bitter hatred and animosity that exist between the two countries since only adds a bit of....je ne sais quoi to the whole situation.