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Lingua Franca

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{{attention}}{{for|the magazine|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 language Latin (literally ''"Frankish/French language"'') of the modern era, when French became the language predominantly spoken for diplomacy and commerce between the European nations, and as they expanded their influence, in the whole world until the half of the 20th century. However, the term has become so common it continues to be used for any 'universal' language.

European languages which have served as a ''lingua franca''

Sabir
Originally ''"Lingua Franca"'' referred to a mix of mostly Italian language Italian with a broad vocabulary drawn from Turkish language Turkish, Persian language Persian, French language French, Greek language Greek and Arabic language 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 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 the Roman Empire, the ''lingua franca'' was Koine Greek. During the Middle Ages, ''lingua franca'' was Koine Greek Greek in the East (the Byzantine Empire) and Latin (language) Latin throughout Europe.

French
French language French was the language of diplomacy in Europe from the 17th century until its recent replacement by English (language) 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 language 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 language German was spoken in much of Eastern Europe until long after World War II.

Polish
Polish language Polish was once a ''lingua franca'' in various regions of Central Europe Central and Eastern Europe, mostly due to the political, cultural, scientific and military influence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although Russian language 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 language English is the current ''lingua franca'' of 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 English is certainly influenced by the residual consequences of the British Empire, but has accelerated in the age of mass media electronic media through massive anglophone anglophonic cultural exports from the United States (movies and music), and perhaps as well due to the Internet's origins in the United States and the resulting and continuing prevalence of English, particularly American English used there. 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 and German as the working 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 script cuneiform. Aramaic was still used as ''lingua franca'' by the native people at the time of Jesus Christ.

Italian
Italian was the lingua franca of Italian colonies in Africa and it is still used in business by some populations of Ethiopia.

Portuguese
Portuguese language 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 language Russian is still in use in areas of northwestern Asia formerly part of the Soviet Union, or adjoining it.

Hindi
Hindustani language Hindustani or ''Be-Hindi'', and its close relative Urdu language Urdu are commonly spoken in India and Pakistan. However, the use of English has begun to compete with them.

Malay (bazaar Malay)
Malay language 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 previously 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
* Business English * International auxiliary language * English as a lingua franca for Europe

References
*Heine, Bernd (1970). ''Status and Use of African Lingua Francas''. ISBN 3803900336 *Kahane, Henry Romanos (1958). ''The Lingua Franca in the Levant''. *R. A. Hall, Jr. (1966). ''Pidgin and Creole Languages'', Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801401739. af:Lingua franca bg:Ð›Ð¸Ð½Ð³Ð²Ð° Ñ„Ñ€Ð°Ð½ÐºÐ° cy:Lingua franca da:Lingua franca de:Lingua franca es:Lingua franca eo:Lingvafrankao fr:Sabir ga:FrancbhÃ©arla id:Lingua franca ia:Lingua franca it:Lingua franca he:×œ×™× ×’×•×?×” ×¤×¨× ×§×” lt:Lingua franca nl:Lingua franca ja:ãƒªãƒ³ã‚°ãƒ¯ãƒ»ãƒ•ãƒ©ãƒ³ã‚« no:Lingua franca pl:Lingua franca pt:Lingua franca ru:Ð›Ð¸Ð½Ð³Ð²Ð°-Ñ„Ñ€Ð°Ð½ÐºÐ° sl:Lingua franca fi:Lingua franca sv:Lingua franca {{for|the linguistic concept|Lingua franca}} '''''Lingua Franca''''' was a magazine about intellectual and literary life in the academy. It was where the Sokal Affair was first revealed and its editors later published a book (''The Sokal Hoax'') of selected papers on the subject. The magazine folded in the 2001 economic downturn. The following year, editor Alexander Star published the collection ''Quick Studies: The Best of Lingua Franca''.

See also
* Arts & Letters Daily

External links

- Lingua Franca Article Archive * Dennis Loy Johnson, [http://www.mobylives.com/Lingua_Franca_demise.html Who Killed Lingua Franca?] * ''The New York Times'': [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/18/business/media/18MAG.html Chronicle of Academic Life Suspends Publication] Category:Literary magazines {{mag-stub}}

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