View synonyms for lingua franca

lingua franca

[ frang-kuh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural lingua francas, lin·guae fran·cae [ling, -gwee , fran, -see].

any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages.
(initial capital letter) the Italian-Provençal jargon (with elements of Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish) formerly widely used in eastern Mediterranean ports.

Lingua Franca

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

lingua franca

/ ˈlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə /

a language used for communication among people of different mother tongues
a hybrid language containing elements from several different languages used in this way
any system of communication providing mutual understanding

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1670–80; < Italian: literally, Frankish tongue

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C17: Italian, literally: Frankish tongue

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There the lingua franca is Cajun French, and folks love to fiddle, dance and most of all, eat.

Koch backed the death penalty, wasn't above a little Archie Bunker-ish lingua franca to get his point across.

Second, will it continue to be a widely used lingua franca, possibly even increase its influence?

Long gone seamen and traders made Italian its lingua franca.

She nods to me and greets her friends in Sesotho, the lingua franca among black South Africans in this mostly-poor region.

Having said this, the Moor asked several questions—through the negro, and always in the Lingua Franca.

He spoke in Lingua Franca, which Foster understood pretty well by that time.

In course of time, Arabic replaced the Aramean dialect, and became the lingua franca of the Jews.

Wobanguli began speaking in sonorous tones, using Malay-Dyak dialect, the lingua franca of the residency.

The Arabic language has been the lingua franca of the East from the time that it succeeded Greek in the seventh century.

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