Franca langua

Lingua franca is any language widely used beyond its native speakers, primarily for international commerce but extending to other cultural exchanges, such as diplomacy. The origin of the term lingua franca is Latin (literally "Frankish language"), derived from the medieval Arab and Muslim use of "Franks" (ancient Germanic people) as a generic term for Europeans during the period of the Crusades. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua-franca