English as the Lingua Franca of Contracts

13 March 2008 | Ken Adams

I’m working on the introduction to MSCD2, and five minutes ago I wrote this:

English is used in contracts around the world, and not only in contracts between companies from English-speaking countries. English has become the lingua franca of international business, so a contract between, say, a French company and a Brazilian company is more likely to be in English than in French or Portuguese.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on use of English in international contracts.

About the author

Ken Adams is the leading authority on how to say clearly whatever you want to say in a contract. He’s author of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, and he offers online and in-person training around the world. He’s also chief content officer of LegalSifter, Inc., a company that combines artificial intelligence and expertise to assist with review of contracts.

English as the Lingua Franca of Contracts

The voice that matters.