Definitions
Sorry, no definitions found. Check out and contribute to the discussion of this word!
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word francas.
Examples
-
And having kept up with the times, it neatly illustrates how speakers of English collectively reassemble word parts passed down to them from lingua francas of the past.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
This early language, Vedic Sanskrit, was used to write the Vedas, sacred to Hindus and Buddhists.ii Many other languages spread powerfully when their native speakers gained military dominance over people who adopted them, either as lingua francas or as new native tongues.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
Sanskrit and Latin evolved into lingua francas of learned and religious communities.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
Following this new kind of language proliferation, Romance languages are today native to some 800 million speakers worldwide and serve as lingua francas to a much wider population.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
If we trace the contours of some major lingua francas in world history, we can see that they have served as common tongues over impressively wide territories, and yet each nevertheless remained a lingua franca for speakers within specific spheres of activities or within specific regions of the world.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
Like all lingua francas, English is used by a population beyond that of its native speakers.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
The British linguist Nicholas Ostler has surveyed major lingua francas in his book Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
Among the lingua francas of the historical era, the most renowned and well documented is Latin.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
Ostler observes that languages of this type belong to the modern era of exploration, colonialism, imperialism, and communism: all of these have greatly widened the territory of specific lingua francas.2 Apart from Dutch and English, the most striking of these comparatively recent “by sea” languages are daughters of Latin—the Romance languages—and particularly those of the formidable modern maritime powers: Portuguese, Spanish, and French.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
-
English is one of five official lingua francas recognized by the African Union, which includes every African nation save Morocco.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.