language

Definition of language

Nouns

a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols

"he taught foreign languages"

"the language introduced is standard throughout the text"

"the speed with which a program can be executed depends on the language in which it is written"

Synonyms:: linguistic communication

Types:: show 73 types...; hide 73 types...; usage
the customary manner in which a language (or a form of a language) is spoken or written; dead language
a language that is no longer learned as a native language; words
language that is spoken or written; source language
a language that is to be translated into another language; application-oriented language, problem-oriented language
a language whose statements resemble terminology of the user; command language, query language, search language
a source language consisting of procedural operators that invoke functions to be executed; object language, target language
the language into which a text written in another language is to be translated; sign language, signing
language expressed by visible hand gestures; finger spelling, fingerspelling
an alphabet of manual signs; ASL, American sign language
the sign language used in the United States; artificial language
a language that is deliberately created for a specific purpose; Antido
an artificial language related to Ido; Arulo
an artificial language intended for international use as an auxiliary language; Basic English
a simplified form of English proposed for use as an auxiliary language for international communication; devised by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards; Blaia Zimondal
an artificial language; Esperantido
an artificial language based on Esperanto and Ido; Esperanto
an artificial language based as far as possible on words common to all the European languages; Europan
an artificial language proposed as an auxiliary European language; Idiom Neutral
an artificial language proposed for use as an auxiliary international language; based on Volapuk but with a vocabulary selected on the basis of the maximum internationality of the roots; Interlingua
an artificial language proposed for use as an auxiliary international language; based on words common to English and the Romance languages; Ido
an artificial language that is a revision and simplification of Esperanto; Latinesce
an artificial language based on Latin; Latino
an artificial language based on words common to the Romance languages; Lingualumina
an artificial language; Lingvo Kosmopolita
an artificial language; Monario
an artificial language; Nov-Esperanto
an artificial language based on Esperanto; Novial
an artificial language; Nov-Latin
an artificial language based on Latin; Occidental
an artificial language; Optez
an artificial language; Pasigraphy
an artificial international language using characters (as mathematical symbols) instead of words to express ideas; Ro
an artificial language for international use that rejects all existing words and is based instead on an abstract analysis of ideas; Romanal
an artificial language; Solresol
an artificial language; Volapuk
one of the first artificial language constructed for use as an auxiliary international language; based largely on English but with some German and French and Latin roots; programing language, programming language
(computer science) a language designed for programming computers; pidgin
an artificial language used for trade between speakers of different languages; metalanguage
a language that can be used to describe languages; syntax language
a language used to describe the syntax of another language; native language
the language that a person has spoken from earliest childhood; indigenous language
a language that originated in a specified place and was not brought to that place from elsewhere; substrate, substratum
an indigenous language that contributes features to the language of an invading people who impose their language on the indigenous population; superstrate, superstratum
the language of a later invading people that is imposed on an indigenous population and contributes features to their language; natural language, tongue
a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language; first language, maternal language, mother tongue
one's native language; the language learned by children and passed from one generation to the next; tonal language, tone language
a language in which different tones distinguish different meanings; creole
a mother tongue that originates from contact between two languages; American Indian, American-Indian language, Amerind, Amerindian language, Indian
any of the languages spoken by Amerindians; Eskimo-Aleut, Eskimo-Aleut language
the family of languages that includes Eskimo and Aleut; Chukchi, Chukchi language
an indigenous and isolated language of unknown origin spoken by the Chukchi that is pronounced differently by men and women; Sino-Tibetan, Sino-Tibetan language
the family of tonal languages spoken in eastern Asia; Austro-Asiatic, Austro-Asiatic language, Munda-Mon-Khmer
a family of languages spoken in southern and southeastern Asia; Hmong, Hmong language, Miao
a language of uncertain affiliation spoken by the Hmong; Austronesian, Austronesian language
the family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia; Papuan, Papuan language
any of the indigenous languages spoken in Papua New Guinea or New Britain or the Solomon Islands that are not Malayo-Polynesian languages; Khoisan, Khoisan language
a family of languages spoken in southern Africa; Indo-European, Indo-European language, Indo-Hittite
the family of languages that by 1000 BC were spoken throughout Europe and in parts of southwestern and southern Asia; Ural-Altaic
a (postulated) group of languages including many of the indigenous languages of Russia (but not Russian); Basque
the language of the Basque people; of no known relation to any other language; Elamite, Elamitic, Susian
an extinct ancient language of unknown affinities; spoken by the Elamites; Cassite, Kassite
an ancient language spoken by the Kassites; Caucasian, Caucasian language
a number of languages spoken in the Caucasus that are unrelated to languages spoken elsewhere; Dravidian, Dravidian language, Dravidic
a large family of languages spoken in south and central India and Sri Lanka; Afrasian, Afrasian language, Afro-Asiatic, Afroasiatic, Afroasiatic language, Hamito-Semitic
a large family of related languages spoken both in Asia and Africa; Niger-Kordofanian, Niger-Kordofanian language
the family of languages that includes most of the languages spoken in Africa south of the Sahara; the majority of them are tonal languages but there are important exceptions (e.g., Swahili or Fula); Nilo-Saharan, Nilo-Saharan language
a family of East African languages spoken by Nilotic peoples from the Sahara south to Kenya and Tanzania; interlanguage, koine, lingua franca
a common language used by speakers of different languages; linguistic string, string of words, word string
a linear sequence of words as spoken or written; sentence
a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language; syntagm, syntagma
a syntactic string of words that forms a part of some larger syntactic unit; barrage, bombardment, onslaught, outpouring
the rapid and continuous delivery of linguistic communication (spoken or written); slanguage
language characterized by excessive use of slang or cant

Type of:: communication
something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups

(language) communication by word of mouth

"he uttered harsh language"

"he recorded the spoken language of the streets"

Synonyms:: oral communication, speech, speech communication, spoken communication, spoken language, voice communication

Examples:: Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
negotiations between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics opened in 1969 in Helsinki designed to limit both countries' stock of nuclear weapons

Types:: show 63 types...; hide 63 types...; words
the words that are spoken; orthoepy, pronunciation
the way a word or a language is customarily spoken; Received Pronunciation
the approved pronunciation of British English; originally based on the King's English as spoken at public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities (and widely accepted elsewhere in Britain); until recently it was the pronunciation of English used in British broadcasting; conversation
the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.; crossfire
a lively or heated interchange of ideas and opinions; phatic communication, phatic speech
conversational speech used to communicate sociability more than information; exchange
a mutual expression of views (especially an unpleasant one); chat, confab, confabulation, schmoose, schmooze
an informal conversation; gossiping, gossipmongering
a conversation that spreads personal information about other people; talk, talking
an exchange of ideas via conversation; nothings
inconsequential conversation; commerce
social exchange, especially of opinions, attitudes, etc.; colloquy
formal conversation; rap
voluble conversation; rap session
conversation in a situation where feelings can be expressed and criticized or supported; second-hand speech
overheard conversation (especially overheard cellphone conversation); table talk
conversation during a meal; telephone conversation
a conversation over the telephone; tete-a-tete
a private conversation between two people; discussion, give-and-take, word
an exchange of views on some topic; argument, argumentation, debate
a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; deliberation
(usually plural) discussion of all sides of a question; conference, group discussion
a discussion among participants who have an agreed (serious) topic; panel discussion
discussion of a subject of public interest by a group of persons forming a panel usually before an audience; post-mortem, postmortem
discussion of an event after it has occurred; public discussion, ventilation
free and open discussion of (or debate on) some question of public interest; dialogue, negotiation, talks
a discussion intended to produce an agreement; expression, locution, saying
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations; Beatitude
one of the eight sayings of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; in Latin each saying begins with `beatus' (blessed); logion
a saying of Jesus that is regarded as authentic although it is not recorded in the Gospels; calque, calque formation, loan translation
an expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language; advice and consent
a legal expression in the United States Constitution that allows the Senate to constrain the President's powers of appointment and treaty-making; ambiguity
an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context; euphemism
an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh; dysphemism
an offensive or disparaging expression that is substituted for an inoffensive one; shucks
an expression of disappointment or irritation; tongue twister
an expression that is difficult to articulate clearly; anatomical, anatomical reference
an expression that relates to anatomy; southernism
a locution or pronunciation peculiar to the southern United States; catchword, motto, shibboleth, slogan
a favorite saying of a sect or political group; axiom, maxim
a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits; epigram, quip
a witty saying; adage, byword, proverb, saw
a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people; idiom, idiomatic expression, phrasal idiom, phrase, set phrase
an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up; agrapha
sayings of Jesus not recorded in the canonical Gospels; sumpsimus
a correct expression that takes the place of a popular but incorrect expression; non-standard speech
speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community; baby talk, babytalk
the developing speech of a young child; baby talk, babytalk, motherese
an adult's imitation of the speech of a young child; accent, dialect, idiom
the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people; localism
a phrase or pronunciation that is peculiar to a particular locality; regionalism
a feature (as a pronunciation or expression or custom) that is characteristic of a particular region; telegraphese
language characterized by terseness and ellipsis as in telegrams; vernacular
the everyday speech of the people (as distinguished from literary language); argot, cant, jargon, lingo, patois, slang, vernacular
a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); slang, slang expression, slang term
informal language consisting of words and expressions that are not considered appropriate for formal occasions; often vituperative or vulgar; idiolect
the language or speech of one individual at a particular period in life; monologue
a long utterance by one person (especially one that prevents others from participating in the conversation); charm, magic spell, magical spell, spell
a verbal formula believed to have magical force; conjuration, incantation
a ritual recitation of words or sounds believed to have a magical effect; curse, hex, jinx, whammy
an evil spell; dictation
speech intended for reproduction in writing; monologue, soliloquy
speech you make to yourself

Type of:: auditory communication
communication that relies on hearing

the text of a popular song or musical-comedy number

"the song uses colloquial language"

Synonyms:: lyric, words

Types:: love lyric
the lyric of a love song

Type of:: text, textual matter
the words of something written

the cognitive processes involved in producing and understanding linguistic communication

"he didn't have the language to express his feelings"

Synonyms:: linguistic process

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; reading
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message; speed-reading
reading at speeds significantly faster than normal; perusal, perusing, poring over, studying
reading carefully with intent to remember; browse, browsing
reading superficially or at random; skim, skimming
reading or glancing through quickly

Type of:: higher cognitive process
cognitive processes that presuppose the availability of knowledge and put it to use

the mental faculty or power of vocal communication

"language sets homo sapiens apart from all other animals"

Synonyms:: speech

Type of:: faculty, mental faculty, module
one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind

a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline

"the language of sociology"

Synonyms:: nomenclature, terminology

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; markup language
a set of symbols and rules for their use when doing a markup of a document; SGML, standard generalized markup language
(computer science) a standardized language for the descriptive markup of documents; a set of rules for using whatever markup vocabulary is adopted; HTML, hypertext mark-up language, hypertext markup language
a set of tags and rules (conforming to SGML) for using them in developing hypertext documents; toponomy, toponymy
the nomenclature of regional anatomy

Type of:: word
a unit of language that native speakers can identify

Vocabulary Lists for language

newspeak
labour camp
chinless
zip fastener
undercharge

aba
acetate
acetate rayon
acid
acrylamide

affiliation
network
social
network
analysis

mnemonics
mnemonic
mindfully
neuroanatomy
Mnemosyne

Aesop's fables
Africa
Alexander the Great
Ancient Greek
ancient history

adenine
air
ambitious
analysis
Aristotle

autogenic
backtrack
bind
change
check

scarecrow
woodman
tip
bug
emerald

matzah
Sturmabteilung
concentration camp
Hakenkreuz
antisemitic

prefect
soutane
rector
refectory
study hall

Definition of language

Nouns

Vocabulary Lists for language

Words that contain language