Lingua franca literally means "money language"--the language people learn in order to do business. If the people who want to do business with one another don't speak the same language, it's impossible to make a deal. One person may learn the other person's language, of course, but they often meet in the middle instead--each learning a third language, which becomes a lingua franca to them. English is a commonly used lingua franca around the world. In Eastern Europe and the Middle East, French is a often used as a lingua franca. People can do business together if both speak French or English--or if they are willing to hire someone who does.
A "pidgin" language is a bit different. It may be made of two languages or more--but only uses the words most important to the work or business at hand. Merchant marines, with crews who spoke many different languages, developed a "pidgin" language. Everyone could understand the words that were really necessary to keep the ship going and its crew safe. A few hundred words were enough. The "pidgin" became a sort of "work language"--anyone who wanted to understand it would need to translate all of the words, and also know something about the work they were meant to facilitate. Kappish?
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