1184. This week, we look at the history of lingua francas, from the original mix of Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Turkish used during the Crusades to today's global English. Plus, we look at whether it's wrong to use "who" for animals, "that" instead of "who" for people, and "whose" for inanimate objects.

The lingua franca segment was written by Alexandra Aikhenvald, a Professor and Australian Laureate Fellow at Jawun Research Institute, CQ University in Australia. It originally ran on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license.

AI systems confusing dog faces with blueberry muffins.

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How the Crusades gave us 'lingua franca.' 'That' or 'who' for animals? Doot doot doot

Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.

How the Crusades gave us 'lingua franca.' 'That' or 'who' for animals? Doot doot doot