Standard Lemma guide

interlanguage

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ɪnˈtɜɹˈlæŋɡwɪd͡ʒ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æŋɡwɪdʒ

1

noun

Meaning 1

A language generated by a student of a foreign language that incorporates aspects of their native language and the target language.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Trasyanka and Surzhyk are interlanguages: a Belarusian–Russian and a Ukrainian–Russian mixed language.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A lingua franca, a common language used by speakers of different languages

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Latin used to be the European interlanguage. Currently English widely serves this purpose.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: koine, lingua franca

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A pidgin or creole

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a common language used by speakers of different languages

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Koine is a dialect of ancient Greek that was the lingua franca of the empire of Alexander the Great and was widely spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean area in Roman times

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lingua franca, koine

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: language, linguistic communication

History

Etymology

From inter- + language. In the language acquisition sense introduced by Larry Selinker in 1972.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 中介語 /中介语 (zhōngjièyǔ) — mixed language
  • Chinese Mandarin: 中間語言 /中间语言 (zhōngjiān yǔyán) — mixed language
  • Finnish: sekakieli — mixed language
  • French: interlangue — mixed language
  • German: Interimssprache — mixed language
  • German: Lernersprache — mixed language
  • German: Lernervarietät — mixed language
  • German: Zwischensprache — mixed language
  • Hindi: अन्तरभाषा (antarbhāṣā) — mixed language
  • Irish: idirtheanga — mixed language
  • Japanese: 中間言語 (chūkan gengo) — mixed language
  • Polish: interjęzyk — mixed language
  • Russian: интер-язы́к (intɛr-jazýk) — mixed language
  • Thai: ภาษาในระหว่าง (paa-sǎa-nai-rá-wàang) — mixed language