- [countable]
the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country or area 语言 the English language 英语 It takes a long time to learn to speak a language well. 学会说好一种语言需要花很长的时间。 All the children must learn a foreign language. 所有的儿童必须学一门外语。 German is my native language. 德语是我的母语。 Is English an official language in your country? 英语在你们国家是官方语言吗？ The novel has been translated into over twenty languages. 这部小说已被翻译成二十多种语言。 She has a good command of the Spanish language. 她精通西班牙语。 Good language skills are essential in this job. 在这份工作中，良好的语言技能是必不可少的。 They fell in love in spite of the language barrier (= the difficulty of communicating when people speak different languages). 尽管有语言障碍，他们还是相爱了。 Why study Latin? It's a dead language (= no longer spoken by anyone). 为什么学拉丁语？它是死语言，没人说了。
Synonyms languagelanguage- vocabulary
- terms
- wording
- terminology
- language a particular style of speaking or writing:
- vocabulary all the words that a person knows or uses, or all the words in a particular language; the words that people use when they are talking about a particular subject:
to have a wide/limited vocabulary 词汇丰富／有限 The word has become part of advertising vocabulary. 这个词已经成了广告用语。
- terms a way of expressing yourself or of saying something:
I’ll try to explain in simple terms. 我会尽量讲得通俗易懂。
- wording [usually sing.] the words that are used in a piece of writing or speech, especially when they have been carefully chosen:
It was the standard form of wording for a consent letter. 这是同意书的标准用词。
- terminology (rather formal) the set of technical words or expressions used in a particular subject:
medical terminology 医学术语 Scientists are constantly developing new terminologies. 科学家不断发展新的专门用语。
- formal/informal/everyday language/vocabulary/terms
- business/scientific/technical/specialized language/vocabulary/terminology
- A word enters the language/the vocabulary.
Extra ExamplesTopics Languagea1How many foreign languages does she speak? 她会讲几种外语？ Most local cinemas show films in the original language, with German subtitles. 多数当地影院放映配有德语字幕的原版电影。 Portuguese is the national language of Brazil. 葡萄牙语是巴西的国语。 She grew up in Mexico, so her first language is Spanish. 她在墨西哥长大，因此第一语言是西班牙语。 Some minority languages are dying out. 一些少数民族语言正在消亡。 idiomatic expressions that enrich the language 使语言更加丰富的习用语 manuscripts written in an unknown language 以一种未知语言写成的手稿 the teaching of English as a second language 作为第二语言的英语教学 She's got a degree in modern languages. 她有现代语言学的学位。 She could speak some Chinese, but never studied the written language. 她会说一些汉语，但从来没学过书面语。
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 言语；说话；语言 a qualification in language teaching 语言教学的资格 a study of language acquisition in two-year-olds 对两岁儿童语言习得的研究 Language is constantly evolving. 语言在不断地演变。
Extra ExamplesTopics Languagea1theories about the origins of language 有关语言起源的理论 new methods of language learning 语言学习的新方法 Her command of language is very advanced for a six-year-old. 作为一个 6 岁的孩子，她对语言的掌握非常超前。
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 某种类型的言语（或语言） spoken/written language 口[书面]语 literary/poetic language 文学／诗歌语言 foul language (= words that people may consider offensive) 脏话 The poem uses distinctly modern language. 这首诗使用了明显的现代语言。 His strength is that he addresses his readers in plain language. 他的长处在于用平实的语言去跟读者讲话。 the language of science 科学术语
Extra ExamplesTopics Languagea1Give your instructions in everyday language. 用通俗的语言发布指令。 They were shouting and using bad/foul language. 他们大喊大叫，还骂脏话。 The following programme contains strong language. 以下节目含有强烈的语言。 people using foul language 说脏话的人 She reserved her harshest language for those she believed had betrayed her. 她把最狠毒的话语留给了她认为背叛了自己的那些人。 His letter was couched in very formal language. 他的信使用了非常庄重的语言。 The writer's use of language reflects the personality of each character. 作者通过语言的运用反映了每个角色的性格。
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 （用动作、符号和语音来表达思想感情的）表达方式，交际方式 the language of mime 哑剧的手势语 the language of dolphins/bees 海豚／蜜蜂的交流方式
- [countable, uncountable]
a system of symbols and rules that is used to operate a computer 计算机语言 a programming language 程序设计语言
of a country国家
communication沟通
style of speaking/writing口语／书面语的风格
movements/symbols/sound动作；符号；声音
computing计算机技术
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French langage, based on Latin lingua ‘tongue’.
Idioms
mind/watch your language
speak/talk the same language
to be able to communicate easily with another person because you share similar opinions and experience （因意见和经历相似）能容易地沟通，说得来，有共同语言