Editing Lingua franca (section)

====English====
{{Main|English as a lingua franca}}
[[File:English language distribution.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|English language distribution
{{legend|#346699|Majority native language}}
{{legend|#99ccff|Official or administrative language, but not native language}}
]]

English is sometimes described as the foremost global lingua franca, being used as a working language by individuals of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds in a variety of fields and international organizations to communicate with one another.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2017-04-25|title=The Linguistic Colonialism of English|url=https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2017/04/linguistic-colonialism-english/|access-date=2021-04-24|website=Brown Political Review|language=en-US|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424084057/https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2017/04/linguistic-colonialism-english/|url-status=live}}</ref> English is the [[list of languages by total number of speakers|most spoken language]] in the world, primarily due to the historical global influence of the [[British Empire]] as well as the [[United States]].<ref>{{e22|eng|English}}</ref> It is a [[official languages of the United Nations|co-official language of the United Nations]] and many other international and regional organizations and has also become the ''de facto'' language of [[diplomacy]], [[science]], [[international trade]], [[tourism]], [[aviation]], [[entertainment]] and the [[Languages used on the Internet|Internet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/the-rise-of-english-rosemary-salomone.html|title=How the English Language Conquered the World|last=Chua|first=Amy|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=18 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301222132/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/the-rise-of-english-rosemary-salomone.html|archive-date=1 March 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

When the [[United Kingdom]] became a colonial power, English served as the lingua franca of the colonies of the [[British Empire]]. In the post-colonial period, most of the newly independent nations which had many [[indigenous language]]s opted to continue using English as one of their official languages such as [[Ghana]] and [[South Africa]].<ref name=":3" /> In other former colonies with several official languages such as [[Singapore]] and [[Fiji]], English is the primary medium of education and serves as the lingua franca among citizens.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tan|first=Jason|date=1997|title=Education and Colonial Transition in Singapore and Hong Kong: Comparisons and Contrasts|journal=Comparative Education|volume=33|issue=2|pages=303–312|doi=10.1080/03050069728587}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://ewave-atlas.org/languages/68 | title=The Electronic World Atlas of Varieties of English | chapter=Pure Fiji English (Basilectal FijiE) | year=2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fijiluxuryvacation.com/everyone-speak-english-in-fiji/ |title=Why Does Everyone Speak English in Fiji? |work=Raiwasa Private Resort |url-status=dead |access-date=5 December 2023 |date=26 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827143620/https://fijiluxuryvacation.com/everyone-speak-english-in-fiji/ |archive-date=2022-08-27 }}</ref>

Even in countries not associated with the [[English-speaking world]], English has emerged as a lingua franca in certain situations where its use is perceived to be more efficient to communicate, especially among groups consisting of native speakers of many languages. In [[Qatar]], the medical community is primarily made up of workers from countries without English as a native language. In medical practices and hospitals, nurses typically communicate with other professionals in English as a lingua franca.<ref name="melf">{{cite web|url=http://bild-lida.ca/journal/volume_2_1_2018/tweedie_johnson/|title=Listening instruction and patient safety: Exploring medical English as a lingua franca (MELF) for nursing education|first1=Gregory|last1=Tweedie|first2=Robert|last2=Johnson|access-date=6 January 2018|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803074912/http://bild-lida.ca/journal/volume_2_1_2018/tweedie_johnson/|url-status=live}}</ref> This occurrence has led to interest in researching the consequences of the medical community communicating in a lingua franca.<ref name="melf"/> English is also sometimes used in [[Switzerland]] between people who do not share one of Switzerland's [[Languages of Switzerland|four official languages]], or with foreigners who are not fluent in the local language.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/english-as-a-common-language-in-switzerland--a-positive-or-a-problem-/46494332 |first=Thomas |last=Stephens |access-date=4 December 2023 |title=English as a common language in Switzerland: a positive or a problem? |date=4 April 2021 }}</ref> In the [[European Union]], the use of English as a lingua franca has led researchers to investigate whether a [[Euro English]] dialect has emerged.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mollin|first1=Sandra|title=Euro-English assessing variety status|date=2005|publisher=Narr|location=Tübingen|isbn=382336250X}}</ref> In the fields of technology and science, English emerged as a lingua franca in the 20th century.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1109/MC.2017.3001253 |title=The Lingua Franca of Technology |year=2017 |last1=Alan Grier |first1=David |journal=Computer |volume=50 |issue=8 |page=104 }}</ref> English has also significantly [[Englishisation|influenced]] many other languages.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mikanowski |first=Jacob |date=2018-07-27 |title=Behemoth, bully, thief: how the English language is taking over the planet |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/27/english-language-global-dominance |access-date=2024-12-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>