Language levels

Something for world building. A few thoughts as a language person. There are four kinds of language

1. Lingua franca. This is a language you learn for business, for trade and for travel purposes. While it’s the first language for some, many others speak it as a second language, and their command of it is limited to their personal need for it. The emphasis is on clarity, not complexity; so active vocabulary of a lingua franca is likely to be smaller, its grammar simpler, and writing more valued for function than for entertainment. Linguas franca also function as national, regional and tribal languages.

– The premiere lingua franca at this time is international English. A Russian airplane pilot flying to Riyadh likely will communicate with airport personnel in international English; similarly, a tech meeting with representatives from Vietnam, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea likely will be conducted in international English.

– Other linguas franca include Spanish, French, Arabic, Swahili, Xhosa and Mandarin.

2. National language. This is the language that enjoys currency throughout a nation-state and helps to establish its common identity. The better you speak this language, the more readily you are accepted as a full member of this society, though there are always caveats offered whereby your membership unofficially may be revoked. Vocabulary is richer than in a lingua franca because it encompasses the entire life and history of the nation-state. The national language is used for robust discussion about the affairs of state; but it also acts as a gateway to the nation-state’s history, which is preserved and interpreted in the nation-state’s literature. A national language also may function as a regional or tribal language. Often this is not the case, particularly when there are multiple national languages.

– The (unofficial) national language of the United States is American English. It distinguishes itself from the dialects of other English-speaking countries through idiomatic expressions rooted in the American experience, such as “That came from left field” and through differences in vocabulary from other dialects. New Zealand English, for instance, includes words such as pakeha, bickies and Whykickamoocow; Australian English uses words like billabong and idiomatic expressions such as waltzing Matilda; and so on.

– The national language may draw on literature from other countries but still told in the national language or a closely related dialect of it, particularly when that predates the nation. Much literature taught in American schools comes from Britain, given our history as British colonies; very little comes from authors in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or other English-speaking countries, despite the high quality of literature produced by those countries. Similarly, translated works from Continental languages make it into the literary canon, but that is still a comparative rarity and is due primarily to their past or current status as a lingua franca.

3. Regional language. May or may not be written down. The regional language preserves the stories and history of an area. When it’s the same as the national language, this is where you will find it “poorly” spoken, with regional variations on pronunciation (roof and rufe, creek and crick), alternatives for common words (chipmunk vs. groundhog, smorgasbord vs. buffet). These variants often reflect the historical arrival of different immigrant population and the impact they have left on the region in its cuisine, customs and history. Regional languages may also serve as tribal languages, but often do not.

– Regional languages often have grammatical and lexical ticks that when present mark who belongs to the tribe and who doesn’t. Lehigh Valley natives, for instance, refer to the city of “Bethlem,” not as “Bethlehem.” Pittsburgh natives often pronounce “wash” as “warsh.”

– Regional language maintains history with a tighter focus than the national language. Natives of the Pittsburgh area, for instance are more likely to know specifics of the French and Indian War; while children from the American Southwest are more likely to be familiar with the U.S. Mexican War.

4. Tribal language. This is the language children learn at their mother’s knee. It is spoken by those in our immediate community, and even when it is distinct from the regional language, it may still be similar enough to the languages of nearby tribes that it can share a common alphabet and written form. Tribal languages are the kind least likely to have a written form, yet they are also the kind to preserve the most knowledge and histories: the heroes of the clan, the legends and folk stories that define the tribe, and that preserve the group’s identity. If a national language records a war and a regional language preserves the story of a battle, a tribal language will feature specific soldiers or commemorate a particular incident. Tribal languages are going extinct at an accelerated pace, due to globalization and mass communication.

– Conlangs like Navi, Quenya, dothraki, loglan, toki pona, Klingon or Esperanto are a kind of tribal language, the language of a tribe of adoption. People who learn a conlang are forging an identity with a group of people around a common interest, such as a science fiction/fantasy franchise, a particular philosophy or even a simple desire to differentiate from mass culture. By their nature these languages do not come with a common built-in history, culture or identity to preserve; but if enough of a community emerges around them and the language enters a second generation, one of native speakers, that can begin to change.