An
international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as
IAL or
auxlang) or interlanguage is a
language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common
native language. An auxiliary language is primarily a
second language.
Languages of dominant societies over the centuries have served as auxiliary languages, sometimes approaching the international level.
Arabic,
English,
French,
Mandarin,
Russian and
Spanish have been used as such in recent times in many parts of the world. However, as these languages are associated with the very dominance—cultural, political, and economic—that made them popular, they are often also met with resistance. For this reason, some have turned to the idea of promoting an artificial or
constructed language as a possible solution.
The term "auxiliary" implies that it is intended to be an additional language for the people of the world, rather than to replace their native languages. Often, the phrase is used to refer to planned or constructed languages proposed specifically to ease worldwide international communication, such as
Esperanto, Ido and
Interlingua. However, it can also refer to the concept of such a language being determined by international consensus, including even a standardized natural language (e.g.,
International English), and has also been connected to the project of constructing a
universal language.