Language

List of languages by total number of speakers

List of languages by number of native speakers

Lingua Franca

Koine Greek - Hellenistic period 323 BC – 33 BC

Latin - Roman Empire 27 BC – 476 AD into 1700s

Italian - Western Europe - Renaissance 1300 - 1700

Spanish - Spanish Empire 1500 AD - 1800 AD

French - French Empire - 1600 AD - 1800 AD

English - British Empire - 1800 AD - 1945 AD

           American Globalism - 1945 AD - present

During the Renaissance, standard Italian was spoken as a language of culture in the main royal courts of Europe, and among intellectuals

By the 18th century, classical French usurped Latin in international treaties, starting with the Treaty of Rasstatt (1714), which marked the end of the War of Succession in Spain. This was the beginning of French as a langue diplomatique.

How And Why Did English Supplant French As The World’s Lingua Franca?

At present it [Spanish] is the second most used language in international trade, and the third most used in politics, diplomacy and culture after English and French.

French might have been spoken in the courts of Europe all the way to Russia — it is the language of the nobility, including Catherine II, who used it in correspondence and daily communication — but English was the language of money, and money talks louder than philosophy. The Victorian City of London was the financial center of the world and most of its business was directed outwards and overseas, not domestically.