lingua franca

IPA/ˌlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə/
IPA/ˌlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə/

lingua franca — 名詞

1. a language that people with different native tongues use to talk to one another,

1.名詞B2
釋義

通用語

不同語言群體之間的溝通工具

a language that people with different native tongues use to talk to one another, especially in trade, diplomacy, or other international contexts.

例句

English serves as the lingua franca for air traffic control conversations worldwide.

在全球航空交通管制通訊中，英語扮演著通用語的角色。

collocation: serves as a lingua franca

In Mombasa, Swahili became the lingua franca among traders from different countries.

在蒙巴薩，史瓦希利語成為來自不同國家商人之間的通用語。

collocation: became the lingua franca among [group]

同義詞
  • common language

    more everyday term, less academic; emphasises mutual intelligibility between groups

  • shared language

    stresses that the language belongs to no one native group but is used by all parties

  • bridge language

    metaphorical term that highlights the connecting role between different speech communities

  • contact language

    technical linguistic term for a language used when speakers of different languages interact

反義詞
  • language barrier

    the communication problem that a lingua franca helps to overcome

用法筆記

Most commonly used in the singular form (a lingua franca). The plural lingua francas is accepted in modern English; the original Latin plural linguae francae is very rare and may sound overly academic.

常見錯誤

❌Mandarin is my lingua franca.
✅Mandarin is my native language.
💡Lingua franca is a shared language between groups, not a mother tongue.
❌She is a real lingua franca — she speaks five languages.
✅She is a polyglot
💡she speaks five languages.' — Lingua franca refers to a language, not a person.
❌There are several linguae francae in the region.
✅There are several lingua francas in the region.
💡The English plural lingua francas is preferred over the Latin original.