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Meaning & use

language

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
US/ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    The system of spoken or written words that people use to communicate with each other.

    Grammar: Used without a when meaning communication in general: language develops in childhood.

    Patterns

    • learn a language
    • the use of language

    Children pick up language quickly.

    Language is one of the main things that separates humans from other animals.

    She studies how language changes over time.

  2. nouncountable

    A particular system of communication used by a country or group, such as French or Swahili.

    Grammar: Take an or the: she speaks three languages.

    Patterns

    • speak a language
    • in a language

    He speaks four languages fluently.

    Welsh is a language with a long literary history.

    The book has been translated into thirty languages.

  3. noununcountable

    The words and style used by a person or group, especially in a certain area of life.

    Grammar: Often has a describing word before it: legal language.

    Patterns

    • the language of something

    The contract was written in plain language.

    Please watch your language in front of the children.

    Doctors often use technical language.

  4. nouncountablecomputing

    A formal set of symbols and rules used to give instructions to a computer.

    Grammar: Normally used with the name: the Python language.

    Patterns

    • a programming language

    Python is a popular programming language.

    She is learning a new language for web design.

    Each language has its own rules for writing code.

  5. noununcountablefigurative

    Any system of signs or behavior that carries meaning, such as gestures or music.

    Grammar: Often figurative: body language.

    Patterns

    • the language of something

    Body language can reveal how nervous someone is.

    Music is a universal language.

    The dog's wagging tail is its own language.

Word forms

plurallanguages

Common combinations

foreign language
She is studying a foreign language at night school.
native language
His native language is Portuguese.
body language
Her body language showed she was bored.
programming language
He knows several programming languages.
strong language
The film contains strong language.
sign language
They talked using sign language.

Synonyms and how they differ

tongue
Tongue is a literary word for a language, as in mother tongue, and is less everyday than language.
speech
Speech is spoken communication only, while language includes writing and signs.
dialect
A dialect is a regional or social variety of a language rather than a whole language.
vocabulary
Vocabulary means the words known or used, which is just one part of a language.

Opposites

silence

Word family

linguistic adjective
relating to language
linguist noun
a person who studies languages
bilingual adjective
speaking two languages
multilingual adjective
using many languages

Commonly confused: language or lingo? language or tongue?

language vs lingo

Lingo is informal and means the special words of a group, while language is the general term.

language vs tongue

Tongue is also the body part, so language is the clearer word in most cases.

Practice

Which sentence uses language to mean a computer instructions system?

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