Lıngua Franca Language Used in the Mediterranean

Lıngua Franca Language Used in the Mediterranean


In the past, when mixed societies lived together while using different languages ​​among themselves, a common language was compulsory to communicate with each other at the same time. States that used to use other countries as a colony used to have their language obligatory to agree with these states. As a result, hybrid languages ​​emerged. The language of Lıngua Franca used in the Mediterranean is one of these languages. This language is a very different and special language than others. Because this language was the common language of seafarers on the Mediterranean coast from the 11th to the 19th century.

This concept, whose meaning is French, is a word in Italian and is a common language for all hybrid languages ​​of European origin. This language is one of the most established common hybrid languages ​​that we can still find in many cultures today. This language, also known as Sabir, was the common language of the Mediterranean, more precisely, the seafarers in the Mediterranean.

During the times when the Roman Empire dominated the region, the language of the people, in general, was Latin. Latin was an extremely important business language for the region. This language was so important for the region that it was still used in the region many years after the fall of the Empire. Of course, different dialects emerged between different groups and regions over time. Lıngua Franca, the common language of the Mediterranean, was a new language that emerged with the influence of Latin.

Lıngua Franca is the first XI. It started to spread in the Eastern Mediterranean thanks to the commercial colonies of Venice, Pisa, and Genoese at the beginning of the century. This language was originally a mixture of Gallo-Italic languages, Lombardic, Venetian and Ligurian, and Iberian-Roman languages, Occitan and Catalan. Later, some elements of Portuguese, Spanish and French languages ​​were also included in the structure of the language. The development of this common language is XIII. It was further developed during the Crusades, which took place in the 19th century. New languages ​​that have contributed to language have emerged and their development has continued. These languages ​​are Turkish, Greek, Berber, and Arabic. Many words coming from this common language to the present day were of Turkish and Arabic origin. Many words in modern Italian are known to be in Arabic today.


Lıngua Franca became official both Mediterranean and diplomatic. It was a language widely used among the renegades, captives, and pirates, especially Christians in the conditions of the period. Muslims often called this language Lisan’ül-Efreng. The most important feature of the language was that the Italian and Spanish vocabularies were simplified and adapted to the Arabic sentence structure. In the language spoken in the west of the Mediterranean, the Spanish accent was very evident. The language is spoken here also had the effects of the Ladino language used by Jews exiled from Spain under the conditions of the time. Despite all these elements, Italian was still dominant. The most important reason for this was that there were a lot of captives taken by Muslims from the south of Italy at that time. The captured forceps took this language with them to the places they went to overtime and made it spread in the regions. In the 12th century, consuls were appointed by their countries to represent the Christian minorities living in Tripoli, Tunisia, and Algeria. Among the duties of the consul was the authority to provide notary service to the local people living in the region. However, in places where there was a frequent port for traders and sailors, people had to use a common language in official documents and documents. For this reason, Lingua Franca was used as a common language in almost all official correspondence at that time. There were even many sentence patterns and titles derived from this common language. After interacting with the Ottoman Empire, until the end of the 17th century, Turkish fashion, called Turquerie, would prevail throughout Europe. For nearly 200 years, everything would be of interest to Turks. The beginning of this fashion in 1669 was the XIV, the king of France of Müteferrika Süleyman Ağa, the Ottoman ambassador of the time. It had happened before Louis. Later, it was observed that this effect continued in the play named "Polite Fool" by the world-famous French playwright Molière.

Charles Etienne de la Condamine, who traveled to Algeria in 1731, stated that the Lingua Franca language was widely used in the region. He also noted that different versions of the language were spoken in the west and east.

Lingua Franca language XIX. It remained a common language used by merchants and pirates in the ports, not the century. So much so that the Milan priest Don Felice Caronni, captured by the Algerian pirates in 1805, gave important examples of language in his memoirs. Later, in 1817, the Florentine writer Filippo Pananti, who was taken prisoner by Algerian pirates, stated that in his work he wrote that pirates and merchants used a language consisting of a mixture of Spanish, Italian and Maghreb languages.

Lingua Franca was so widely used at that time that a dictionary called Dictionnaire de la Longue Franque was published so that Western travelers could communicate comfortably. We can say that this dictionary, which was published in Marseille in 1830, contains very important information about Lingua Franca. Some daily speeches and their meanings in the word are as follows;

• que hablar in citta? (What is running in the city?)

• guerra, con que nazion? (War, with which country?)

• genti hablar tenir Guerra. (People say there will be war.)


These dialogues, which took place according to the conditions of the period, also proved an extremely important danger waiting for Algeria. Because Algeria was occupied by the French that year. After this occupation, the structure of the common language used in Algeria also changed. More French influence was beginning to appear during the holidays. However, Spanish, Italian and Arabic elements were still dominant in the language. With the invasion of Tunisia, which was held in 1881 after the invasion of Algeria, the process of change and differentiation in the language continued. With Tripoli, occupied by the Italians in 1912, language became extra important. At that time, locals started to use this language to communicate with the occupying states. Of course, over time, the occupying states started to force their local language to learn and speak because of their openness to their schools. The efforts of the people to learn the culture and language of the colonial states continue today in some regions. In the 20th century, Lingua Franca, the common language used in the Mediterranean for centuries, was replaced by French and later English. This extremely important and necessary common language remained the language still used by local people in various regions. Of course, there were some changes in the language over time and with the changing conditions. Today, English is the common language used among sailors instead of Lingua Franca. However, many terms used in shipping are still in our lives as part of the common language used in the Mediterranean. Although the Lingua Franca language used in the Mediterranean is not actively used between the seas, its effects continue to this day. When the terms used are examined, it is seen that many of them have their origins in this language. Perhaps this language would still be the common language of seafarers without the colonial system.