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A mix of Italian, French, Greek and Arabic types heard around the eastern Mediterranean, in a manner of speaking

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lingua franca

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'a manner of speaking' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to communication as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'a mix of italian french greek and arabic types heard around the eastern mediterranean' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found in the answer.
'italian' could be 'i' and 'i' is found in the answer.
'french' could be 'fr' and 'fr' is present in the answer.
'greek' could be 'g' (philological abbreviation) and 'g' is found within the answer.
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is present in the answer.
'around' could be 'ca' (circa) and 'ca' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lingua franca that I've seen before include "Hybrid medium of communication" , "Common language" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.
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