- For the magazine, see Lingua Franca.
A lingua franca is any language widely used beyond the population of its native speakers. The de facto status of lingua franca is usually "awarded" by the masses to the language of the most influential nation(s) of the time. Any given language normally becomes a lingua franca primarily by being used for international commerce, but can be accepted in other cultural exchanges, especially diplomacy. Occasionally the term lingua franca is applied to a fully established formal language; thus formerly it was said that French was the lingua franca of diplomacy.
The origin of the term lingua franca is Latin (literally "Frankish language"), derived from the medieval Arab and Muslim use of the ethnonym "Franks" as a generic term for Europeans during the period of the Crusades.
European languages which have served as a lingua franca
Sabir
Originally "Lingua Franca" referred to a mix of mostly Italian with a broad vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic. This mixed language (pidgin, creole language) was used for communication throughout the medieval and early modern Middle East as a diplomatic language; the generic description "lingua franca" has since become common for any language used by speakers of different languages to communicate with one another.
Lingua Franca meaning "Frankish language" was an early language, also known as Sabir, used in the Mediterranean area from the 14th century or earlier and still in use in the 20th century. It is assumed to have been a pidgin, but unfortunately no fragments have been recorded that could help to clarify the status of this language. Lingua Franca was known by Mediterranean sailors including the Portuguese. When the Portuguese started exploring the seas of Africa, America, Asia and Oceania, they tried to communicate with the natives by mixing a Portuguese-influenced version of Lingua Franca with the local languages. When English or French ships came to compete with the Portuguese, the crew tried to learn this "broken Portuguese". Through a process of change the Lingua Franca and Portuguese wordstock was substituted by the languages of the people in contact.
Greek and Latin
During the time of theRoman Empire the lingua franca was Koine Greek. During the Middle Ages, lingua franca was Greek in the East (the Byzantine Empire) and Latin throughout Europe.
French
French was the language of diplomacy in Europe from the 17th century until its recent replacement by English, and as a result is still the working language of international institutions and is seen on documents ranging from passports to airmail letters. For many years, until the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, French was the sole official language of the European Union.
French was also the language used among the educated in cosmopolitan cities in North Africa such as Cairo, Egypt around the turn of the century until WWII. French is still a common lingua franca in many western African countries, a remnant of France's colonial times. All these African countries, together with several other countries throughout the world, are still members of La Francophonie.
German
German served as a lingua franca in large portions of Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries in the sciences — particularly in physics and sociology — as well as in business and politics. German was spoken in much of Eastern Europe until long after World War II.
Polish
Polish was once a lingua franca in various regions of Central and Eastern Europe, mostly due to the political, cultural, scientific and military influence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although Russian language influence has somewhat decreased this popularity, Polish is still sometimes spoken or at least understood in western border areas of Ukraine and Belarus.
English
English is the current lingua franca of Western international business, having displaced French in diplomacy since World War II. It arguably was advanced by the role of English-speaking countries in the outcome of the war.
The modern trend to use of English is certainly influenced by the residual consequences of the British Empire, but has accelerated in the age of electronic media through massive anglophonic cultural exports from the United States (movies and music). English is also regarded by some as the global lingua franca owing to the economic hegemony of the developed Western nations in world financial and business institutions. The de facto status of English as the lingua franca in these countries has carried over globally as a result.
A landmark recognition of the dominance of English came in 1995 when, on the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, English joined French as the official languages of the European Union. Many Europeans outside of the EU have also adopted English as their current lingua franca. For example, in Switzerland, which has four different official languages, English serves as a lingua franca with citizens and the relatively high foreign-born population (20% of Swiss residents are non-native; acquiring Swiss citizenship is a difficult process).
Outside Europe
In other regions of the world, other languages perform the function of a lingua franca.
Aramaic
The Aramaic, native language of the Arameans, became the lingua franca of the Assyrian Empire and the western provinces of the Persian Empire, mainly because of its simple, alphabetic writing system, more useful in administration than cuneiform. Aramaic was still used as lingua franca by the native people at the time of Jesus.
Portuguese
Portuguese served as lingua franca in Africa and Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Swahili
Swahili is used throughout large parts of East Africa as a lingua franca, despite having a relatively small native population.
Russian
Russian is still in use in areas of northwestern Asia formerly part of the Soviet Union, or adjoining it.
Hindi
Hindustani or "Hindi", and its close relative Urdu are commonly spoken in India and Pakistan. However, the use of English has begun to compete with them.
Malay (bazaar Malay)
Malay is used as a lingua franca in Malaysia and Brunei which is almost identical to the official Malay used in both countries.
Thai
Thai is widely used in and around Thailand.
Bislama
Bislama is used in the Pacific Islands
Chinese (Standard Mandarin)
Classical Chinese previouly served as both a written lingua franca and diplomatic language in Far East Asia, used by China, Korea, Japan, the Ryukyus, Vietnam in interstate communications. In the early 20th century Classical Chinese in China was replaced by modern written Standard Chinese. Currently, among most Chinese speaking communities, Standard Mandarin serves the function of providing a common spoken language between speakers of different and mutually unintelligible Chinese languages- not to mention between Chinese and ethnic non-Chinese in China.
Pidgin
Various pidgin languages have been used in many locations and times as a common trade speech. Some linguists speculate that the creation of pidgins is the major source for creation of new languages.
See also
References
