A survey is presented of the status and usage patterns of the lingua francas--common languages used as a medium of communication between ethnically and linguistically diverse peoples--of the African continent. The survey gives an overview of the general language situation and briefly describes the major languages: Swahili, Hausa, Fufulde, Mandingo, Sango, Kanuri, Song'ai, Wolof, Lingala, Kituba, Umbundu, Nyanja, Lwena, Bemba, Fanagalo, Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, German, and Arabic. Notes on the linguistic and ethnic history contributing to the distribution of languages are included. A table summarizing this information for the languages and their dialect variants also gives estimates of the numbers of speakers, numbers of native speakers, and the usage status (increasing, decreasing, or stable), and a map illustrates areas of use of the major lingua francas. (MSE)