Language of the World: Quote by Norman St. John-Stevas 3

[NorthNone]

How amazing that the language of a few thousand savages living on a fog-encrusted island in the North Sea should become the language of the world." -- Norman St. John-Stevas

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The customer may not always be right, but the customer is ALWAYS the customer.

 

[SteveGlo]

Well, with the name Norman St. John-Stevas, he would say that wouldn't he ?

 

[flapeyre]

I have a book that states that English has become the lingua franca of world commerce.

Not sure if the author realizes the irony, because lingua franca is Latin for "French toungue".

De mortuis nihil nisi bonum.

 

[strongm]

No, it isn't. It is Italian for Language of the Franks, and originally referred to a pidgen tongue that was employed for commerce in the Mediterranean area during the Middle Ages, where Franks actually referred to all Western Europeans (rather than just the Frankish tribes) thanks to Arabic usage.

 

[Dimandja]

As Dictionary.com says, lingua franca is "A medium of communication between peoples of different languages".

That's what your book is trying to say, flapeyre.

 

[craigsboyd]

While the meaning of "Lingua Franca" in Italian is indeed Frank Language (or however you wish to interpret it in English - Frankish Language, Language of the Franks, etc.) the words themselves are still Latin, and since Latin is older than Italian I would submit that the Italian meaning was derived from the Latin one. As for "French", that is incorrect, no arguing that. For any wishing to read more about the phrase's use and history:

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Lingua_franca

http://www.sweetpotatosoftware.com

 

[SteveGlo]

Anyway - he's wrong. When the population was a mere 'few thousand savages' the British Isles (not that they were called that then) had no common tongue and whatever they spoke is certainly not the language of the world.

 

[columb]

It would be more accurate to say that the language of a few thousand 'savages' from the Friesian coast would be the root of the language of the world.

Even that would have to ignore the vast contibution that the romance languages made to the english language. In fact. from a euro-centric view point, it's more a case of 'Isn't it surprising how little the english language has inherited from gaelic when compared to all the other influences'.

Columb Healy
Living with a seeker after the truth is infinitely preferable to living with one who thinks they've found it.

 

[strongm]

>the words themselves are still Latin

You could argue that for large parts of the modern Italian language. I'm happy to go with most dictionaries' views on the etymology of the phrase, which say it is Italian, not Latin (as does the link you reference).

 

[GwydionM]

The major languages represent successful Empire-building. That's why so many people speak Arabic, Russian, Spanish and Standard Chinese (Mandarin). And it was Britain's military success in India and North America that made it a global language.

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A view from the UK