It was also a medium of communication used by slaves and their masters who otherwise did not have a common language. It enabled people in European countries to speak to each other in a language understood by all to do commerce. It was a mix of Italian, Provencal, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, French, Greek and Arabic. This was not limited by any borders or nationalities. When they had to communicate with one another in the course of business and trade, they needed a common medium of communication and thus was born Lingua Franca. Every country in Europe has its own national and regional language spoken by its native speakers.

Lingua Franca, meaning free or open language in Italian, was first used in the medieval times by traders in Europe.

It is basically a language of commerce where international boundaries are crossed. This common language is either created from different languages or it adopts a dominant language. What is a Lingua Franca?Ī Lingua Franca is a created common language that enables people who have no common native language to communicate with each other. Let us discuss two of those need based language forms that took birth in the world – Pidgin and Lingua Franca. With movement of people around the world for trade, conquest and colonization, many new languages and forms of languages sprung up based on need and ease of communication. Every region has a specific language based on many factors like geographical boundaries and political affiliations and dominations. The numerous forms that this language takes is proof of the creativity of man.

Man is also the only living thing to have a created language to communicate to others from the same species.

He is the only creature to have the ability to mould the environment to suit his changing needs. With the growth of civilization, man’s ingenuity has produced many marvels.

Pidgin creole and lingua franca