lingua franca

American  

[frang-kuh] / ˈfræŋ kə /

noun

plural

lingua francas, linguae francae

1. any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages.

2. (initial capital letter) the Italian-Provençal jargon (with elements of Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish) formerly widely used in eastern Mediterranean ports.

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lingua franca ¹ British  

/ ˈlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə /

noun

1. a language used for communication among people of different mother tongues

2. a hybrid language containing elements from several different languages used in this way

3. any system of communication providing mutual understanding

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Lingua Franca ² British  

noun

1. a particular lingua franca spoken from the time of the Crusades to the 18th century in the ports of the Mediterranean, based on Italian, Spanish, French, Arabic, Greek, and Turkish

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Etymology

Origin of lingua franca

1670–80; < Italian: literally, Frankish tongue

Example Sentences

This entails programs to promote standard Chinese as the national lingua franca, instill pride in Chinese cultural heritage and exert stronger central control over regions with large ethnic-minority populations such as Tibet and Xinjiang.

From The Wall Street Journal

His Russian has improved in prison, where it is a lingua franca among the inmates.

From Barron's

Amongst themselves the militants spoke Fulfude - the language of the Fulani ethnic group spoken in many West African countries - but communicated with the locals in Hausa, the lingua franca of the region, he said.

From BBC

It’s the kind of zippy, immersive crime thriller that reminds you of the international lingua franca that Scorsese all but invented with “Goodfellas.”

From Los Angeles Times

Somalia is to introduce Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, to its national curriculum, the president has announced.

From BBC

Related Words

• accent
• dialect
• expression
• jargon
• prose
• sound
• speech
• style
• terminology
• vocabulary
• voice
• word
• wording