The lost merchant languages that built global trade

When Marco Polo traveled along the Silk Road in the 13th century, he didn’t need to learn dozens of languages to trade. Instead, he probably used interpreters or relied on simplified trade languages. These practical, hybrid languages were created to help people from different linguistic backgrounds communicate in the world of international trade.

Imagine a 15th-century Mediterranean port. Italian merchants negotiate with Turkish traders, Greek sailors barter with Egyptian vendors, and, despite their varied native tongues, they communicate effectively. The secret to their success is a simplified trade language known as Lingua Franca, or Sabir – a linguistic bridge that facilitated trade across the Mediterranean for several centuries.

Lingua Franca was a pidgin—a simplified language that develops when people who speak different languages need to communicate, usually for practical reasons like trade. Pidgins borrow words from dominant languages and simplify grammar to make them easier for everyone to use. For example, while standard Italian uses "Io voglio comprare pane" ("I want to buy bread"), Lingua Franca reduced it to "Mi volere comprare pane." This simplified construction eliminated verb conjugations and reduced the need for articles and gender agreements, making communication straightforward. Another example is "Dove vai adesso?" ("Where are you going now?") in Italian, which Lingua Franca renders as "Dove tu va adesso?"—retaining basic word order but avoiding complex verb forms and subject-verb agreement.

Bazaar Malay

While Lingua Franca thrived around the Mediterranean, other trade languages developed in different parts of the world. In Southeast Asia, Bazaar Malay became one of the most successful trade languages in history. Unlike Lingua Franca, which remained a pidgin, Bazaar Malay evolved into a creole—a full-fledged language that develops when a simplified pidgin becomes the native language of a community. It even influenced modern Indonesian.

Bazaar Malay simplified the grammar of standard Malay to make it easier for non-native speakers. For example, the standard Malay sentence "Saya akan pergi ke pasar" ("I will go to the market") became "Saya pergi pasar" ("I go market"), dropping tense markers and prepositions like "ke" ("to"). Similarly, "Dia membeli buku di sana" ("He/she buys a book there") was simplified to "Dia beli buku sana" ("He/she buy book there"), leaving out auxiliary verbs and prepositions. Pronouns were also adapted; for instance, "Kamu sudah makan nasi?" ("Have you eaten rice?") in standard Malay became "Lu sudah makan nasi?" ("You already eat rice?").

These changes made Bazaar Malay highly effective in busy markets where people from many linguistic backgrounds needed a quick, practical way to communicate. By simplifying grammar and relying on context for meaning, the language became a tool for seamless trade.

Both Lingua Franca and Bazaar Malay used a straightforward Subject-Verb-Object structure, avoided gender agreements, and relied on context instead of complex grammar. This simplicity made them easy to learn and highly effective in fast-paced trade environments.

Remants in modern English

Although many merchant languages have faded, their influence persists in surprising ways, leaving behind traces that continue to shape modern English. Phrases such as "long time no see" are believed to have originated as direct translations from Chinese, specifically "好久不見" (hǎojiǔ bùjiàn). This expression entered English through Chinese Pidgin English in the 19th century, where simplified communication between English-speaking merchants and Chinese traders was essential.

Similarly, "no can do" is another phrase from Chinese Pidgin English, translating the Chinese "不能做" (bùnéng zuò), meaning "cannot do." Its terse, functional structure reflects the straightforward nature of trade pidgins, where clarity and brevity were paramount.

These examples demonstrate how merchant languages served as conduits for linguistic exchange, embedding fragments of diverse cultures into the English lexicon.

The decline of these merchant languages coincided with the rise of standardized national languages and shifting trade patterns. By the 19th century, Lingua Franca had largely disappeared, overtaken by standardized French, Italian, and other colonial languages. Bazaar Malay, however, survived as a foundation for modern Indonesian, retaining many of its simplified elements while becoming a full-fledged national language.