French, English Blend, but Not Too Well

French, with subtle words like detente , has long been the language of diplomacy, but some not-so-delicate English terms are also big players in the European Community.

The daily EC briefings are given in French, but some oft-used phrases would hardly please “The 40 Immortals” of the Academie Francaise, the conservative watchdogs of the French language.

Terms like “anti-dumping,” “fact-finding mission” and “task force” are staples at the noontime briefings.

Others heard often include “mid-term review” and “disputes-settlement procedure,” a mouthful sure to wake up a drowsy reporter lulled into dreamland by sweetly serenading French on a slow news day.

To those whose native tongue is English, the briefings sound like a group of foreign tourists seeking directions in New York or London: terms like “Empire State Building” or “Buckingham Palace” stand out like moonbeams amid otherwise exotic dialect.

A mix of English and French is common at the EC, sometimes using initials: legislation dealing with an “open network provision” in telecommunications is called “La Directive O.N.P.” Available credits from the International Monetary Fund are “les credits standby.”

“Off the record” is a fixture at the briefings, sometimes used in a blinding blend of French and English.

One spokesman often says, “Je suis off “ (I am off the record), mutters a few remarks not for publication, then proclaims, ‘ ‘Je suis on “ to signify the briefing is back on the record. At times, it’s rapid fire, with just a few words of usable information squeezed in between “Je suis on “ and “Je suis off .”

Many of the European Community’s most-used Angloisms stem from the 97-nation General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which conducts its business in English.

“Whatever term is first on the market is the one that everybody uses,” says Isabelle Le Moal, an EC spokeswoman from Brittany in northwestern France.

With some concepts, like “anti-dumping,” there is no suitable French term; in other cases, like “background briefing,” the English expression has simply taken on a life of its own.

The top aide to an EC commissioner is called a chef de cabinet , a term used religiously in the 13-story headquarters of the Community, but the French word for “supervisor,” chef , is shunned as a stand-alone term.

“We always say ‘boss,’ not ‘chef,’ because it doesn’t sound so hierarchical,” says Le Moal.

And then there are some words, like beer ( biere in French) and sex ( sexe ) that sound the same in many languages.

The end of the week fits the same pleasure principle.

EC briefing sessions Monday through Thursday conclude with the French “a demain” (until tomorrow), but Friday’s briefing by Bruno Dethomas, the very French chief spokesman, always ends with “bon weekend .”