matrix language

English

Noun

matrix language (plural matrix languages)

1. (linguistics) The dominant language in code-switching, into which elements of a secondary language are embedded, as opposed to the embedded language.
   • 2005 December, David Luna, Dawn Lerman, Lauren A. Peracchio, “Structural Constraints in Code-Switched Advertising”, in Journal of Consumer Research, volume 32, number 3, →DOI:

     Because, in that case, most of the text is in English, we can say that the matrix language (ML) of the message is English and that the embedded language (EL) is Spanish.

Further reading

matrix language on Wikipedia.Wikipedia