language

lan|guage [ `læŋgwıdʒ ] noun ***

1. ) uncount the method of human communication using spoken or written words:

Linguistics is the study of language and how people use it.

language skills (=the ability to use a language, especially a foreign language, well): They have no money, no home, no food, and no language skills.

a ) the style or types of words used by a person or group:

slightly formal language

He was shocked at how crude their language was.

bad/foul language (=language that might offend people): My kids have started using the foul language they hear on television.

ordinary/plain language: In ordinary language, larceny means stealing or theft.

spoken language: a comparison between spoken and written language

strong language (=swearing): Mrs. Beeson did not normally use strong language, and certainly not in public.

b ) mind/watch your language to make sure you use words that will not offend people:

Just you watch your language, snarled Swain.

2. ) count the particular form of words and speech used by the people of a country, area, or social group:

There is a legacy of African languages in many parts of the Caribbean.

English and French are the official languages of Canada.

common language: Their only common language was English (=they all knew how to speak it).

speak a language: An announcer spoke a language Richard had never heard before.

3. ) count or uncount signs, symbols, sounds, and other methods of communicating information, feelings, or ideas:

the language of dance

the language of mathematics

a ) a system of instructions used to program a computer:

Which computer languages do you know?

speak/talk the same language

to have the same ideas and attitudes as someone else

=> BODY LANGUAGE, FIRST LANGUAGE, NATURAL LANGUAGE, SECOND LANGUAGE