Hinduism: Details about 'Lingua Franca'
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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. 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 francaSabirOriginally "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 LatinDuring the Roman Empire and for the following millennium the lingua franca was Greek (Koine) in the east and Latin in the western Mediterranean basin. FrenchFrench 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. 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. GermanGerman 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. PolishPolish 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. EnglishEnglish 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 certainly influenced by the 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. In Switzerland, which has four different official languages, English serves as a lingua franca with citizens and the relatively high (20%) foreign population. Outside EuropeIn other regions of the world, other languages perform the function of a lingua franca. AramaicThe 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. PortuguesePortuguese served as lingua franca in Africa and Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries. Swahili in East Africa. RussianRussian is still in use in areas of northwestern Asia formerly part of the Soviet Union, or adjoining it. HindiHindustani 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 and ThaiMalay and Thai are in common use in South-East Asia. BislamaBislama is used in the Pacific Islands Mandarin ChineseClassical Chinese served as both a lingua franca and a diplomatic language for Far East Asia, used by China, Korea, Japan, the Ryukyus, Vietnam, Tibet, and Xinjiang in interstate communications until the late 19th century. Currently, among most Chinese speaking communities, Mandarin Chinese 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. PidginVarious pidgin languages have been used in many locations and times as a common trade speach. Some linguists speculate that the creation of pidgins is the major source for creation of new languages. See also
References
Лингва франка Lingua franca Lingua franca Lingua franca Lingvafrankao Sabir Francbhéarla Lingua franca Lingua franca לינגואה פרנקה Lingua franca Lingua franca リングワ・フランカ Lingua franca Lingua franca Lingua franca Лингва-франка Lingua franca Lingua franca Lingua franca
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