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languagemore about language

language


  5  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Language  \Lan"guage\,  n.  [OE.  langage,  F.  langage,  fr  L.  lingua 
  the  tongue,  hence  speech,  language;  akin  to  E.  tongue.  See 
  {Tongue},  cf  {Lingual}.] 
  1.  Any  means  of  conveying  or  communicating  ideas; 
  specifically,  human  speech;  the  expression  of  ideas  by  the 
  voice;  sounds,  expressive  of  thought,  articulated  by  the 
  organs  of  the  throat  and  mouth. 
 
  Note:  Language  consists  in  the  oral  utterance  of  sounds  which 
  usage  has  made  the  representatives  of  ideas.  When  two 
  or  more  persons  customarily  annex  the  same  sounds  to 
  the  same  ideas,  the  expression  of  these  sounds  by  one 
  person  communicates  his  ideas  to  another.  This  is  the 
  primary  sense  of  language,  the  use  of  which  is  to 
  communicate  the  thoughts  of  one  person  to  another 
  through  the  organs  of  hearing.  Articulate  sounds  are 
  represented  to  the  eye  by  letters,  marks,  or 
  characters,  which  form  words 
 
  2.  The  expression  of  ideas  by  writing,  or  any  other 
  instrumentality. 
 
  3.  The  forms  of  speech,  or  the  methods  of  expressing  ideas, 
  peculiar  to  a  particular  nation. 
 
  4.  The  characteristic  mode  of  arranging  words  peculiar  to  an 
  individual  speaker  or  writer;  manner  of  expression;  style. 
 
  Others  for  language  all  their  care  express.  --Pope. 
 
  5.  The  inarticulate  sounds  by  which  animals  inferior  to  man 
  express  their  feelings  or  their  wants 
 
  6.  The  suggestion,  by  objects,  actions,  or  conditions,  of 
  ideas  associated  therewith;  as  the  language  of  flowers. 
 
  There  was  .  .  .  language  in  their  very  gesture. 
  --Shak. 
 
  7.  The  vocabulary  and  phraseology  belonging  to  an  art  or 
  department  of  knowledge;  as  medical  language;  the 
  language  of  chemistry  or  theology. 
 
  8.  A  race,  as  distinguished  by  its  speech.  [R.] 
 
  All  the  people,  the  nations,  and  the  languages,  fell 
  down  and  worshiped  the  golden  image.  --Dan.  iii.  7. 
 
  {Language  master},  a  teacher  of  languages.  [Obs.] 
 
  Syn:  Speech;  tongue;  idiom;  dialect;  phraseology;  diction; 
  discourse;  conversation;  talk. 
 
  Usage:  {Language},  {Speech},  {Tongue},  {Idiom},  {Dialect}. 
  Language  is  generic,  denoting,  in  its  most  extended 
  use  any  mode  of  conveying  ideas;  speech  is  the 
  language  of  articulate  sounds;  tongue  is  the 
  Anglo-Saxon  tern  for  language,  esp.  for  spoken 
  language;  as  the  English  tongue.  Idiom  denotes  the 
  forms  of  construction  peculiar  to  a  particular 
  language;  dialects  are  varieties  if  expression  which 
  spring  up  in  different  parts  of  a  country  among  people 
  speaking  substantially  the  same  language. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Language  \Lan"guage\,  v.  t.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Languaged};  p.  pr  & 
  vb  n.  {Languaging}.] 
  To  communicate  by  language;  to  express  in  language. 
 
  Others  were  languaged  in  such  doubtful  expressions  that 
  they  have  a  double  sense  --Fuller. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  language 
  n  1:  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"  [syn:  {linguistic 
  communication}] 
  2:  communication  by  word  of  mouth;  "his  speech  was  slurred"; 
  "he  uttered  harsh  language";  "he  recorded  the  language  of 
  the  streets"  [syn:  {speech},  {spoken  language},  {oral 
  communication}] 
  3:  a  system  of  words  used  in  a  particular  discipline;  "legal 
  terminology";  "the  language  of  sociology"  [syn:  {terminology}, 
  {nomenclature}] 
  4:  the  cognitive  processes  involved  in  producing  and 
  understanding  linguistic  communication;  "he  didn't  have 
  the  language  to  express  his  feelings"  [syn:  {linguistic 
  process}] 
  5:  the  mental  faculty  or  power  of  vocal  communication; 
  "language  sets  homo  sapiens  apart  from  all  other  animals" 
  [syn:  {speech}] 
  6:  the  text  of  a  popular  song  or  musical-comedy  number;  "his 
  compositions  always  started  with  the  lyrics";  "he  wrote 
  both  words  and  music";  "the  song  uses  colloquial  language" 
  [syn:  {lyric},  {words}] 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  language 
 
  1.    {programming  language}. 
 
  2.    {natural  language}. 
 
  (1998-09-07) 
 
 
 
  From  THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY  ((C)1911  Released  April  15  1993)  [devils]: 
 
  LANGUAGE,  n.  The  music  with  which  we  charm  the  serpents  guarding 
  another's  treasure. 
 
 




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