2 ms·
Sorry, 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 througho
by lolinder 2y ago
Sorry, 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.