1 - Introduction

Summary

In 1830, the printshop Typographie de Feissat ainé et Demonchy, located at Rue Cannebière 19 in Marseilles, published a slim volume called Dictionnaire de la langue franque ou petit mauresque, suivi de quelques dialogues familièrs et d’un vocabulaire de mots arabes les plus usuels; à l’usage des Français en Afrique [Dictionary of Lingua Franca or Petit Mauresque, followed by a few familiar dialogues and a vocabulary of the most common Arabic words, for the use of the French in Africa] (Anonymous 1830a; the Dictionnaire). This work would effect a permanent change in the bleak documentary landscape that underlies our knowledge of Mediterranean Lingua Franca (LF), a language which has fascinated generations of scholars.