language
[noun]
Synonyms:
- speech, communication, discourse, expression, parlance, talk
- tongue, dialect, patois, vernacular

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Related Words: argot, cant, jargon, lingo, patois, slang

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

lan‧guage S1 W1 /ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/ noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: langue 'tongue, language', from Latin lingua]

1. ENGLISH/FRENCH/ARABIC ETC [uncountable and countable] a system of communication by written or spoken words, which is used by the people of a particular country or area:
How many languages do you speak?
one of the best-known poems in the English language

2. COMMUNICATION [uncountable] the use of written or spoken words to communicate:
the origins of language

3. STYLE/TYPE OF WORDS [uncountable] a particular style or type of words
legal/medical/technical etc language
The letter was written in complicated legal language.
spoken/written language
The expression is mainly used in written language.
ordinary/everyday language
He is able to explain complicated ideas in simple everyday language.
literary/poetic language
The plays are full of old-fashioned poetic language.
language of
the language of science

4. SWEARING [uncountable] informal words that most people think are offensive
mind/watch your language spoken (=stop swearing)
bad/foul/abusive language

5. strong language
a) angry words used to tell people exactly what you mean
b) words that most people think are offensive Synonym : swearing

6. COMPUTERS [uncountable and countable] technical a system of instructions for operating a computer:
a programming language for the web

7. SIGNS/ACTIONS/SOUNDS [uncountable and countable] signs, movements, or sounds that express ideas or feelings
language of
the language of bees
the language of dolphins
⇒ body language, sign language, ⇒ speak the same language at speak(11)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

language
noun
I. system of communication
ADJ. first, native She grew up in Spain, so her first language is Spanish.
foreign, second How many foreign languages does she speak? the teaching of English as a second language
original Most local cinemas show films in the original language, with German subtitles.
source, target (both technical)
ancient, classical, dead Latin is a dead language.
modern | common, shared | indigenous, local | official Belgium has two official languages.
national Portuguese is the national language of Brazil.
international | minority Some minority languages are dying out.
spoken, written She could speak some Chinese, but never studied the written language.
colloquial, everyday, informal | formal | flowery, literary, poetic | racist, sexist | sign Not all deaf people use sign language.
body, non-verbal You could tell from his body language that he was very embarrassed.
legal, technical, etc. | computer, programming
VERB + LANGUAGE speak | understand | use | learn, study | master | be couched in, be expressed in | enrich idiomatic expressions that enrich the language
LANGUAGE + NOUN acquisition, learning new methods of language learning
course, lesson
PREP. in … ~ His letter was couched in very formal language.
PHRASES command/knowledge/mastery of (a) language Her command of language is very advanced for a six-year-old.
use of language The writer's use of language reflects the personality of each character.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

language
II. offensive words
ADJ. bad, crude, foul, obscene, offensive, strong using foul language
VERB + LANGUAGE use | mind, watch The referee warned the players to mind their language.

NOTE languages

excellent, fluent, good, perfect ~    He speaks fluent Japanese. bad, broken, poor~    I got by with broken Chinese and sign language. colloquial, idiomatic, non-standard, pidgin, standard ~    The inhabitants speak a kind of pidgin Spanish. spoken, written ~    My spoken Polish is better than my written Polish. business ~    She is doing a course in business English. original ~    The fable is translated from the original French. know, read, speak, understand, use ~    I am more comfortable using Spanish, if you don't mind. be fluent in ~    She was fluent in German, Urdu and Swahili. do, learn ~    I did German at school but I've forgotten most of it.    I've been learning Arabic for four years. improve, practise ~    I spent a month in Rome to improve my Italian. master ~    I never really mastered Latin. translate sth into ~    He has translated her latest book into Korean. ~ class, course, lesson    I'm late for my Russian class. ~ interpreter, speaker, a speaker of ~    the need for Gujarati interpreters a command/knowledge of ~    He has a poor command of English. in ~    What is ‘apple’ in French?    He addressed me in his best Portuguese.     ⇒ See also the note at SUBJECT

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

language

speak a language
Can you speak a foreign language?
use a language
The children use their native language at home.
learn a language
Immigrants are expected to learn the language of their new country.
master a language (=succeed in learning a language well)
She had had a long struggle to master the Russian language.
know a language
He had lived in Japan, but did not know the language.
a foreign language
He found learning a foreign language extremely difficult.
the English/Japanese/Spanish etc language
She had some knowledge of the Spanish language.
sb’s first/native language (=the language someone first learned as a child)
His first language was Polish.
a second language (=a language you speak that is not your first language)
Most of the students learned English as their second language.
modern languages (=languages that are spoken now)
The school has a good modern languages department.
a dead language (=a language that is no longer spoken)
She didn’t see the point of learning a dead language.
an official language (=the language used for official business in a country)
Canada has two official languages: English and French.
a common language (=a language that more than one person or group speaks, so that they can understand each other)
Most of the countries of South America share a common language: Spanish.
the language barrier (=the problem of communicating with someone when you do not speak the same language)
Because of the language barrier, it was hard for doctors to give good advice to patients.
a language student/learner
Language learners often have problems with tenses.
a language teacher
a book for language teachers
language teaching
recent developments in language teaching
sb’s command of a language (=someone’s ability to speak a language)
Does he have a good command of the language?

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

language
noun
BAD: I speak Arabic language all the time.
GOOD: I speak Arabic all the time.
BAD: I spent the whole year learning English language.
GOOD: I spent the whole year learning English.
BAD: They know Japanese language.
GOOD: They know Japanese.

Usage Note:
speak/learn/know etc + name of a language (WITHOUT language ): 'She speaks fluent English and a little German.' 'Do you know any Malay?' 'I'd like to learn Mandarin.'
Note that the Arabic/English/Japanese language may be used when you talk about a language in terms of its history, structure, users etc: 'The English language has evolved over many centuries.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲