lingua franca

(noun)

A common language used by people of diverse backgrounds to communicate with one another, often a basic form of speech with simplified grammar.

Related Terms

(noun)

A language or dialect systematically used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language or dialect.

Related Terms

Examples of lingua franca in the following topics:

  • Revolution in France

    • The latter half of the eighteenth century continued to see French preeminence in Europe, particularly through the arts and sciences, and the French language was the lingua franca of the European courts.

  • Akhenaton and the Amarna Period

    • They are predominantly written in Akkadian, the lingua franca commonly used during the Late Bronze Age of the Ancient Near East for such communication.

  • Alexander's Empire

    • Koine spread throughout the Hellenistic world, becoming the lingua franca of Hellenistic lands and eventually the ancestor of modern Greek.

  • The Printing Revolution

    • Across Europe, the increasing cultural self-awareness of its peoples led to the rise of proto-nationalism, accelerated by the flowering of the European vernacular languages to the detriment of Latin's status as lingua franca.

  • The Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars

    • Old Bulgarian became the lingua franca of much of Eastern Europe and it came to be known as Old Church Slavonic.

  • Scientific Exploration

    • French slowly took over Latin's status as the lingua franca of learned circles.

  • The Yoruba States

    • Oyo's imperial success made Yoruba a lingua franca almost to the shores of the Volta.