It
is a certain thing that English is the ‘Lingua Franca’ in the modern world.
With the term ‘Lingua Franca’ is intended a language that is used and known by
people that don’t have the same mother-tongue. The affirmation of English as
‘Lingua Franca’ is a process that is concluded during XIX century, during the
apex of the colonial period. Before that period, different languages was used
commonly, but before the discover of the new world (1492); it was only one the
language that is used as ‘Lingua Franca’ in the Mediterranean
Sea, ‘the Italian’.
But not ‘Italian’ in the form that actually we know, but a Simplified Italian,
in which the use of general infinite verbs is normal. The spreading of Italian
in Mediterranean Sea during the Middle Ages, was caused by the expansion of Maritime Republics
of Genoa, Venice,
Amalfi and Pisa;
and their merchants in the main ports and routes of that period.
If Italian was the ‘lingua franca’ in the commerce world, the Latin maintained
his use in every religious context, or in official and written documents. The
use of Latin had continued until the XX century, when the Pope of that period
decided for the use of local language instead of the use of Latin. That choice
was made to bring the Catholic Church near their followers, in every part of
the world. The Latin language, now is an unused language, because no one use it
as mother tongue; But is a language that is studied in many country because it
is important to know etymology of many other modern language derived from
Latin, like French,Italian,Spanish and Romanian.
This is my Writing Assignment 1 for the EDX Course
of University
of Queensland - UQx: Write101x English Grammar and Style
Peer's assessment on “Lingua Francas” in the recent History
