- [countable] the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country or area
- the English language
- It takes a long time to learn to speak a language well.
- All the children must learn a foreign language.
- German is my native language.
- Is English an official language in your country?
- The novel has been translated into over twenty languages.
- She has a good command of the Spanish language.
- Good language skills are essential in this job.
- They fell in love in spite of the language barrier (= the difficulty of communicating when people speak different languages).
- Why study Latin? It's a dead language (= no longer spoken by anyone).
Synonyms languagelanguagevocabulary ▪ terms ▪ wording ▪ terminologyThese are all terms for the words and expressions people use when they speak or write, or for a particular style of speaking or writing.language a particular style of speaking or writing:- Give your instructions in everyday language.
- the language of the legal profession
- to have a wide/limited vocabulary
- The word has become part of advertising vocabulary.
- I’ll try to explain in simple terms.
- It was the standard form of wording for a consent letter.
- medical terminology
- Scientists are constantly developing new terminologies.
- formal/informal/everyday language/vocabulary/terms
- business/scientific/technical/specialized language/vocabulary/terminology
- A word enters the language/the vocabulary.
Extra ExamplesTopics Languagea1- How many foreign languages does she speak?
- Most local cinemas show films in the original language, with German subtitles.
- Portuguese is the national language of Brazil.
- Some minority languages are dying out.
- idiomatic expressions that enrich the language
- manuscripts written in an unknown language
- She could speak some Chinese, but never studied the written language.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- first
- native
- foreign
- …
- speak
- know
- understand
- …
- acquisition
- development
- learning
- …
- command of (a) language
- knowledge of (a) language
- mastery of (a) language
- …
- [uncountable] the use by humans of a system of sounds and words to communicate
- a qualification in language teaching
- a study of language acquisition in two-year-olds
- Language is constantly evolving.
Extra ExamplesTopics Languagea1- theories about the origins of language
- new methods of language learning
- Her command of language is very advanced for a six-year-old.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- spoken
- written
- colloquial
- …
- use
- be couched in
- be expressed in
- …
- in…language
- use of language
- [uncountable] a particular style of speaking or writing
- spoken/written language
- literary/poetic language
- foul language (= words that people may consider offensive)
- The poem uses distinctly modern language.
- His strength is that he addresses his readers in plain language.
- the language of science
Extra ExamplesTopics Languagea1- Give your instructions in everyday language.
- They were shouting and using foul language.
- The following programme contains strong language.
- people using foul language
- She reserved her harshest language for those she believed had betrayed her.
- His letter was couched in very formal language.
- The writer's use of language reflects the personality of each character.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- spoken
- written
- colloquial
- …
- use
- be couched in
- be expressed in
- …
- in…language
- use of language
- [uncountable, countable] a way of expressing ideas and feelings using movements, symbols and sound
- the language of mime
- the language of dolphins/bees
- [countable, uncountable] a system of symbols and rules that is used to operate a computer
- a programming language
of a country
communication
style of speaking/writing
movements/symbols/sound
computing
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French langage, based on Latin lingua ‘tongue’.
Idioms
See language in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee language in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishmind/watch your language
- to be careful about what you say in order not to upset or offend somebody
- Watch your language, young man!
- The referee told the players to mind their language.
speak/talk the same language
- to be able to communicate easily with another person because you share similar opinions and experienceTopics Opinion and argumentc2
Check pronunciation:
language