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English is the lingua franca, because English is the only language adaptable enough that it can refer to itself with a Latin phrase that literally means “French
by idontwantthis 2y ago
English is the lingua franca, because English is the only language adaptable enough that it can refer to itself with a Latin phrase that literally means “French”.
- lolinder 2y agoSorry, I have to chime in here again with more linguistic pedantry: "Lingua Franca" doesn't mean "French". The term referred to a trade language spoken throughout the Mediterranean [0], named for Western European traders (the Byzantines called all Western Europeans Franks). French later became one of many lingua francas, but that was after the term was already in common usage to refer to any language used as a bridge. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Lingua_Franca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Lingua_Franca
- DemocracyFTW2 2y agoIt becomes more correct when you consider that the reason for 'Franks' being applied to all Western Europeans is that it was used as a name for themselves by a big part of that population—the people who went on to become the French.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago> English is the only language adaptable enough that it can refer to itself with a Latin phrase that literally means “French”. lolinder has already pointed out that this is untrue, but I should note that it's also logically impossible - the Latin phrase referring to French would be lingua Latina, the Latin tongue. If you interpret lingua Franca as Latin, you get "the Frankish tongue", which is a variety of Germanic.
- DemocracyFTW2 2y agoNever in the course of history has "the Latin phrase referring to French" been "lingua Latina". If anything "lingua rustica" or "lingua Romana", but that was before vulgar Latin—not Latin—had evolved into a separate language.