![]() ![]() They allow (for better or for worse) the influence of a dominant culture to diffuse even where members of the culture itself are not present. This benefit can be economic, cultural, political, or a combination. Lingua francas are important to human culture because they allow groups that otherwise could not communicate with each other the ability to interact, often for mutual benefit. Creoles can become lingua francas if the group speaking the creole is engaged in trade or diplomacy across a region outside of where the creole is native they also frequently become official languages. Creoles in regions colonized by Europe often combined lingua francas of colonizers and traders and added elements of vernacular languages as well. Creoles are full languages evolving over generations of speakers and combining characteristics of two or more languages. Pidgins may die out or they may evolve into creoles. States that have launched colonizing ventures in the last 600 years, such as Portugal, Spain, the UK, France, and Russia, spread their languages across continents and have often imposed them on local people.Ī lingua franca can be subject to pidginization and creolization.Ī pidgin evolves as a simplified version of a trade language, invented and adopted quickly. ![]() ![]() Trade, conquest, and colonization go together. In their economic interests, the local groups learn the trade language to buy and sell goods. The traders, who may visit dozens of different groups, are not likely to learn local vernacular languages. 1 - English as a lingua franca: it is a native and official language in dark blue areas, official but native speakers not in the majority in light blue areas, and a lingua franca to some extent in every other countryĪ lingua franca often gains its status by being the native language of a people who trade with multiple cultures in a region. French was once the former in the realm of international diplomacy Italian was the language of classical music Arabic and Latin have been languages of religion.įig. Traders, scholars, and diplomats from hundreds of cultures could thus communicate with each in the exchange of goods and ideas.Ī lingua franca can also become a language of politics or culture. Sogdian, spoken by the Sogdian people of central Asia, became a lingua franca of the Silk Road trade routes during the Tang Dynasty (600s-800s AD). ![]()
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