At 2001-09-27T00:32:08Z, Bill Wohler <wohler@newt.com> writes: > ...the French thinking that French is the lingua franca of the world. It's > only wishful thinking. >From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary: Lingua Franca \Lin"gua Fran"ca\ (l[i^][ng]"gw[.a] fr[a^][ng]"k[.a]). [It., prop., language of the Franks.] In a literal sense, French *is* the lingua franca of the world. -- Kirk Strauser