a lingua franca

lingua franca

Any language used to bridge the gap between people who do not speak the same language. English is the lingua franca in many foreign tourist destinations.See also: Franca, lingua

a ˌlingua ˈfranca

(from Italian) a shared language that is used for communication by people whose main languages are different: In the middle of the 20th century, English became the lingua franca of the world. ♢ The majority of our group being South American, we used Spanish as a lingua franca.See also: Franca, lingua