Lingua franca

For other uses, see Lingua franca (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with French language.

A lingua franca (/ˌlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə/; lit. 'Frankish tongue'; for plurals see § Usage notes), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups of people who do not share a native language or dialect, particularly when it is a third language that is distinct from both of the speakers' native languages.[1]

Linguae francae have developed around the world throughout human history, sometimes for commercial reasons (so-called "trade languages" facilitated trade), but also for cultural, religious, diplomatic and administrative convenience, and as a means of exchanging information between scientists and other scholars of different nationalities.[2][3] The term is taken from the medieval Mediterranean Lingua Franca, a Romance-based pidgin language used especially by traders in the Mediterranean Basin from the 11th to the 19th centuries.[4] A world language—a language spoken internationally and by many people—is a language that may function as a global lingua franca.[5]

  1. ^ Viacheslav A. Chirikba, "The problem of the Caucasian Sprachbund" in Pieter Muysken, ed., From Linguistic Areas to Areal Linguistics, 2008, p. 31. ISBN 90-272-3100-1
  2. ^ Nye, Mary Jo (2016). "Speaking in Tongues: Science's centuries-long hunt for a common language". Distillations. 2 (1): 40–43. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  3. ^ Gordin, Michael D. (2015). Scientific Babel: How Science Was Done Before and After Global English. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226000299.
  4. ^ Italian-Based Pidgins and Lingua Franca. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications. Vol. 14. 1975. pp. 70–72.
  5. ^ Woll, Bensie. "English of often considered the de facto global language..." University College London Culture Online. University College London. Retrieved 17 October 2024.