African tongue (7)
I believe the answer is:
swahili
'african tongue' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for swahili that I've seen before include "Common language in East Africa" , "East African language" , "Widely-spoken Bantu language" , "Language giving us bwana, safari" , "Common language of E. Africa" .)