When did English become lingua franca of the world?

Super Korean   Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:49 am GMT
I'm pretty positive the former one was French but when did English become the world's lingua franca?

Was it by the late 19th century or was it after the world war II?
(or some time in between?)

And which country played more important role to make English the world's lingua franca?
the USA or the Great Britain??
Caspian   Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:46 am GMT
I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it was after WWII. I'm not positive though.

Great Britain of course ; )
Poliglob   Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:25 am GMT
Those questions are not easy to answer. Becoming a lingua franca is a matter of degree. There are no definite dividing lines chronologically. Even regionally the dividing lines between one language and another aren't always easy to define.

I believe you're right that French was the lingua franca before English, especially in Europe in the 18th and early 19th century (though the argument could be made that elsewhere Spanish was more of a lingua franca because of its more extensive overseas empire). By the latter part of the 19th century, though, Great Britain was probably more influential. It was the leading maritime nation, had a large empire, had been a leader in the industrial revolution, and had assumed a prominent position both economically and culturally. In the 20th century, of course, this prominence of the English language was further increased by the influence of the United States.

Though I'm an American myself, I'd still say that it was Great Britain that played the more important role in making English a lingua franca. Besides, that country was responsible for English being spoken in the United States itself.
R.M. Copied from Wikipedi   Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:33 am GMT
lingua franca (from Italian), literally meaning Frankish language.


Franks

The Franks or Frankish people (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River.

Map of Frankish Empire - (Saxony etc)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frankish_Empire_481_to_814-en.svg

"West Francia": would later become France.

Because the Frankish kingdom dominated Western Europe for centuries, terms derived from "Frank" were used by many in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and beyond as a synonym for Roman Christians

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franks

"The name France comes from Latin Francia, which literally means "land of the Franks, Frankland".
R.M. Copied from Wikipedi   Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:37 am GMT
The rise of English in diplomacy began in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I, when the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as in French, the dominant language in diplomacy at that time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca
SteveZ   Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:53 am GMT
I think the boom in the US after WWII had a lot to do with the rise of the English language. The US became the world's most successful economy and the global player No. 1. Additionally, English is the language of computer and the internet. Nowadays people in developing countries everywhere in the world speak English. The internet brought the language to them and they somehow "had" to learn it to keep uptodate and inform themselves.
Damian in Edinburgh   Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:20 am GMT
It cannot be denied that the influence of the United States of America on the world scene since the 19th century is a major factor on the way the English Language has become so hugely prominent on a global scale. It would be ridiculous to believe otherwise....a huge country gazillions times larger in size than the original home and birthplace of the Language and with a population some six or seven times greater.

Basically the two varieties of the Language (BE and AE) are the same for the most part they have diverged in certain ways much like the regional dialects have always done within individual countries in which English is the official tongue.

However, it also cannot be denied that the spread of the British Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries (using that period as a core) went a long way to globalise the Language in quite a big way.

The development of globalisation generally (from the medium we are all using now on this Forum to the use of English as the standadr means of communication in aviation, as just an example) is probably the main reason why our Language is now pretty much the planet's Lingua Franca, and wow! - doesn't that make life easier for those of us who use only English in our daily lives, even at the expense of making us appear lazy with regard to the learning of other Languages.

Sadly, the study of foreign Languages in the curriculum of many UK schools has declined quite noticeably in recent years, a fact which can only be regretted - especially as the UK is now part of an economic and cultural body made up of many other countries speaking a wide range of different Languages. The fact that English is now the "official" means of pan-EU communication is probaby the reason for this.

Yes, as I've said before in here, French was the official Language of the Court and in legal circlles in the Middle Ages in this country. It was the main Language spoken by our beoved and late lamented Mary, Queen of Scots, cruelly murdered by the English Queen Elizabeth I, the so called "Virgin" Queen who probably spoke with some kind of mockney accent herself.
Copied from Wikipedia   Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:28 am GMT
I feel that Wikipedia is the authority on this. I know lots of people who have commented on the reluctance of the French to speak anything but French, which is leaving them rather isolated.

English has continued to take new words from other languages, for example mainly from French (around 30% to 40% of its vocabulary)

(wikipedia simple english)




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca

After WWII


While there are six official languages of the United Nations, only two (English and French) are working languages, and, in practice, English is the sole working language of most UN bodies.

1995

English joined French and German as one of the working languages of the European Commission. Many Europeans outside of the EU have also adopted English as their current lingua franca.
Skippy   Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:59 am GMT
Post-World War II but the UK played a pretty important role before then.