Defining a lingua franca as a "common language which is habitually used as a medium of communication between groups of people whose mother tongues are different, "this book begins by comparing various Africa lingua francas and discussing questions of general relevance to their study, and then presents statements of varying length about 40 such languages: Fanagalo, Tswana, Lozi, Umbundu, Lwena, Town Bemba, Nyanja, Luba lingua franca, Kituba, Lingala, Swahili, Ganda, Amharic, Zande, Sara, Kanuri, Maba, Arabic, Bulu, Yaunde, Pidgin A 70, Duala, Bali, Adamawa-Ful, Sango, Yoruba, Ewe, Twi, Ga, Mende, Temne, Susu, Wolof, Hausa, Song'ai, Mosi, Mandingo, Malinke, Dyula, Bambara, and Kangbe. The family classification of each language is given, alternate names are mentioned, and the following factors are considered: the development of the language into a lingua franca, its present-day spread, and its sociolinguistic status. Maps showing the distribution of the lingua francas in different areas of Africa accompany the text, and a 546 entry bibliography covering works of general relevance to the study of lingua francas as well as works directly pertinent to the African situation is appended. (FWB)