Marco Histrico y Cultural de la Lenguas Project

Marco Histrico y Cultural de la Lenguas ProjectNames: Figueroa, Alejandra Lopez, Daiana

Topic: LINGUA FRANCA

Definition1) lingua franca (lnggw frngk), an auxiliary language, generally of a hybrid and partially developed nature, that is employed over an extensive area by people speaking different and mutually unintelligible tongues in order to communicate with one another. Such a language frequently is used primarily for commercial purposes. The original lingua franca was a tongue actually called Lingua Franca (or Sabir) that was employed for commerce in the Mediterranean area during the Middle Ages. Now extinct, it had Italian as its base with an admixture of words from Spanish, French, Greek, and Arabic. The designation "Lingua Franca" [language of the Franks] came about because the Arabs in the medieval period used to refer to Western Europeans in general as "Franks." 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 Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition, 2013)

2) A language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication by people whose native languages are different. Where a language is widely used over a relatively large geographical area as a language of wider communication, it is known as a lingua franca--a common language but one which is native only to some of its speakers. The term 'lingua franca' itself is an extension of the use of the name of the original 'Lingua Franca,' a Medieval trading pidgin used in the Mediterranean region." Even though everybody around the world speaks English--sort of--in their dealings with American media and business, politics, and culture, the English that is spoken is a lingua franca when it is used by a foreign culture. The term lingua franca is usually taken to mean 'any lingual medium of communication between people of different mother tongues, for whom it is a second language' (Samarin, 1987, p. 371). In this definition, then, a lingua franca has no native speakers, and this notion is carried over into definitions of English as a lingua franca, such as in the following example: '[ELF] is a 'contact language' between persons who share neither a common native tongue nor a common (national) culture, and for whom English is the chosen foreign language of communication' (Firth, 1996, p. 240).

"Clearly, the role of English as the chosen foreign language of communication in Europe is an extremely important one, and one that is on the increase. . . . It is important to note that this means that both in Europe as well as in the world as a whole, English is now a language that is mainly used by bi- and multilinguals, and that its (often monolingual) native speakers are a minority." A lingua franca is a language that you consciously learn because you need to, because you want to. A mother tongue is a language that you learn because you can't help it. The reason English is spreading around the world at the moment is because of its utility as a lingua franca.3) A lingua franca (also called a working language, bridge language, vehicular language or unifying language) is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.[1] Lingua francas have arisen around the globe throughout human history, sometimes for commercial reasons (so-called "trade languages") but also for diplomatic and administrative convenience, and as a means of exchanging information between scientists and other scholars of different nationalities. The term originates with one such language, Mediterranean Lingua Franca. Whereas a vernacular language (A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is a second language or foreign language to the population, such as a national language, standard language, or lingua franca) is used as a native language in a single speaker community, a lingua franca goes beyond the boundaries of its original community, and is used as a second language for communication between groups.4) Lingua Franca is a pidgin, a trade language used by numerous language communities around the Mediterranean, to communicate with others whose language they did not speak. It is, in fact, the mother of all pidgins, seemingly in use since the Middle Ages and surviving until the nineteenth century, when it disappeared with hardly a trace Like other pidgins, it had a limited vocabulary and a sharply circumscribed grammar, and lacked those things, such as verb tenses and case endings, that add specificity to human speech.

The language was never written. No poetry, no folktales, no translation of the Bible, just a way to sell the merchandise you had to offer, or haggle for a better price on its purchase.

Observers noted that the words constituting this pidgin were mainly of Romance origin, in particular, Italian, Spanish and Occitan.

EXAMPLE OF THE ORIGINAL LANGUA FRANCA (Now called Sabir)Non venir encora journo di sancto di vos autros?("Hasn't your holiday arrived yet?") politely enquired one speaker of another

5) Throughout the course of geographic history, exploration and trade have caused various populations of people to come into contact with each other. Because these people were of different cultures and thus spoke different languages, communication was often difficult. Over the decades though, languages changed to reflect such interactions and groups sometimes developed lingua francas and pidgins.

A lingua franca is a language used by different populations to communicate when they do not share a common language. Generally, a lingua franca is a third language that is distinct from the native language of both parties involved in the communication. Sometimes as the language becomes more widespread, the native populations of an area will speak the lingua franca to each other as well. While a pidgin is a simplified version of one language that combines the vocabulary of a number of different languages. Pidgins are often just used between members of different cultures to communicate for things like trade. A pidgin is distinct from a lingua franca in that members of the same populations rarely use it to talk to one another. It is also important to note that because pidgins develop out of sporadic contact between people and is a simplification of different languages, pidgins generally have no native speakers.

EXAMPLES+ Arabic was another early lingua franca to develop because of the sheer size of the Islamic Empire dating back to the 7th Century. Arabic is the native language of the peoples from the Arabian Peninsula but its use spread with the empire as it expanded into China, India, parts of Central Asia, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and parts of Southern Europe. The empires vast size exhibits the need for a common language. Arabic also served as the lingua franca of science and diplomacy in the 1200s because at that time, more books were written in Arabic than any other language.

The use of Arabic as a lingua franca and others such as the romance languages and Chinese then continued worldwide throughout history as they made it easier for diverse groups of people in different countries to communicate. For example, until the 18th Century, Latin was the main lingua franca of European scholars as it allowed easy communication by people whose native languages included Italian and French.

+ Modern Lingua Francas: Today, lingua francas play an important role in global communication as well. The United Nations defines its official languages as Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The official language of international air traffic control is English, while multilingual places like Asia and Africa define several unofficial lingua francas to facilitate easier communication between ethnic groups and regions.+ Esperanto: In 1887, Polish physician L.L. Zamenhof published a book under his pseudonym called Doctor Esperanto's International Language and Complete Handbook. This initial text, which was both a tutorial and the manifesto for a new social movement, spread the word of a new international language known as Esperanto. At the time, there had been dozens of international languages already created. Many of these artificial languages were like Esperanto in the fact that they were created to be an auxiliary language, that is, a second language for people around the word in order to allow for improved global communication. Of all of the artificial languages, it is Esperanto which caught on the best. Though today there are only between a few hundred thousand and a few million speakers of Esperanto around the word, those devoted to advancing the goal of the international language are as dedicated as ever. There over 100 newspapers, magazines, and journals printed in Esperanto and many books are written in or translated into the language by devotees of the language and its movement.

The Internet has helped to spread the word of Esperanto and to help many better understand the need for an international language.

Esperanto is popular because it is easy to learn. Some students of the language can become quite familiar with it through home study over a matter of a few weeks or months. According to supporters, Esperanto even helps students learn other languages easier. Esperanto is based on roots commonly found in European languages and the grammar is very simple. The Esperanto movement is becoming quite active in Asia, especially in Japan and China. Some Asian universities offer courses in Esperanto. An undergraduate degree in Esperanto has actually been available at a Hungarian university since 1967. The highest concentrations of Esperanto speakers can be found today in Brazil, Japan, Iran, Madagascar, Bulgaria, and Cuba.