| 释义 |
languagen.int. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French langage, language. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman langage, language, langwage, laungage, launguage and Old French language, Old French, Middle French langage (French langage) system of spoken or written communication used by a country, people, community, etc. (c1000 in Old French as lengatge , in a text apparently showing Occitan influence), act or instance of speaking, that which is said, discourse (first half of the 12th cent.), inarticulate sounds by which animals communicate (c1160 with reference to birds), manner of expression, way of speaking (12th cent.), nation, people, tribe (second half of the 12th cent., after post-classical Latin lingua in same sense: see note), power or faculty of speech (early 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), gift of oratory, ability to speak well (end of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), means of communicating by facial expression (1624 or earlier in langage des yeux , with reference to the eyes) < lang , lange , langue langue n. + -age -age suffix. Compare Old Occitan lengatge, lenguatge (both 12th cent.), Catalan llenguatge (late 13th cent. as †lenguatge, †lengatge), Spanish lenguaje (c1200; probably < Occitan), Portuguese linguagem (13th cent. as †lenguages (plural); < Occitan), Italian linguaggio (a1202 as †lengaio; also †lenguaggio, †lenguazo, etc.; < Occitan); also post-classical Latin linguagia (c1279), langagium, languagium (both end of the 14th cent. in British sources).Both in Anglo-Norman (where they are much more frequent than in continental French) and in English, spellings with insertion of u or w after g are due to the influence of classical Latin lingua, as is the standard pronunciation of the English word. In Middle English the word was usually pronounced without /w/; the 16th-cent. orthoepists Hart and Bullokar still record this pronunciation as the usual one, and it survives in Scots and Irish English, as shown e.g. by the spellings langidge , langige . See further E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §421 note 7. In most of the modern Romance languages the now usual word for ‘language’ in the sense ‘system of spoken or written communication’ is the descendant of classical Latin lingua lingua n.; compare French langue langue n., Old Occitan lenga , lengua (c1070; Occitan lengua ), Catalan llengua (c1200 as †lengua ), Spanish lengua (end of the 12th cent.; showing semantic overlap with idioma idiom n.), Portuguese lingua (mid 12th cent.), Italian lingua (mid 13th cent.), all found early in the senses ‘tongue’ and ‘language’, a polysemy inherited from Latin lingua . The semantic distinction between these words and the morphological parallels of language n. cited above is not always clear even in the modern Romance languages. In the medieval period (at least in French) it was even less clear. In modern French, broadly speaking, langage is used (1) in senses which are at the ‘idiolectal’ end of the spectrum, especially ‘manner or style of expression’, but also ‘register’, ‘sociolect’, or ‘dialect’ (depending on the context), (2) in senses which are at the ‘universal’ end of the spectrum, namely, ‘power or faculty of speech’ and ‘language in general, as opposed to specific human languages’, and (3) to denote non-human systems of communication such as those used by animals or computers (compare senses 1b, 1c, 1d). In Anglo-Norman and Old French, by contrast, both langue and langage are attested in sense 1a as well as in other senses. For a detailed discussion of the two words in medieval French, see H.-G. Koll Die franz. Wörter ‘langue’ und ‘langage’ im Mittelalter (1958), which also contains some material on the relationship with the corresponding words in other Romance languages. During the course of its history, the word shows significant semantic overlap with the earlier speech n.1 and tongue n., and to a lesser extent also with reird n., leden n., and leed n.1 In sense 3a after post-classical Latin lingua (in this sense, Vulgate), itself after similar Hellenistic Greek uses (Septuagint and New Testament) of ancient Greek γλῶσσα (see gloss n.1), which is in turn after similar biblical uses of Aramaic liššānā (several times in the book of Daniel) and Hebrew lāšōn (apparently only in Isaiah 66:18) ‘tongue, language’. Compare tongue n. 9. In sense 3b after French langue langue n. In without language at sense 5b after Middle French sans langaige (1483 in the passage translated in quot. 1490). With the language of flowers compare French langage des fleurs (1811 or earlier), German Blumensprache (1820 or earlier; after French). 1. the mind > language > a language > [noun] c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 55 in C. Horstmann (1887) 108 (MED) Þoruȝ godes grace heo was i-lad with men þat onder-stoden hire langage. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) l. 1569 (MED) In þe langage of rome, rane a frogge is. c1330 Short Metrical Chron. (Auch.) 1309 in (1931) 46 133 Þe king seyd wiþ glad chere. Welcome be þou maiden here. & sche answerd in hir language. Trauaile sommes par mere sauuage. a1400 (a1325) (Gött.) l. 6384 (MED) Þis mete þat þai war fedd wid þan þai called it in þair langag [Vesp. langage] man [Vesp. manna]. c1429 (1986) l. 3672 Wymmen Spak there diuerse langegages. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) i. xiii. 66 Thei..han vsid the hool Bible..in her modris langage. c1475 (?c1400) (1842) 32 In a langwag vnknowun ilk man and womman mai rede. a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil (1957) i. Prol. 382 Latyn That knawyn is maste perfite langage fyne. 1589 G. Puttenham iii. iv. 120 After a speach is fully fashioned to the common vnderstanding, & accepted by consent of a whole countrey & nation, it is called a language. 1598 W. Shakespeare v. i. 37 They haue been at a great feast of Languages, and stolne the scraps. View more context for this quotation 1610 T. Bell xvi. 342 The Scriptures were translated into all maner of Languages; and that they were not onely vnderstood of Doctors and Maisters of the Church, but euen of the Lay people and common Artificers also. 1641 J. Etherington 8 In the times of Papistry, it was not held lawfull for the Scriptures to be in the English Language, nor for the lay people to reade the same. 1697 R. Bentley 51 Every living Language..is in perpetual motion and alteration. 1720 J. Gay II. 402 Love, devoid of art, Spoke the consenting language of the heart. 1748 (ed. 4) IV. 277 It is called in the Irish Language, I-colm-kil; some call it Iona. 1812 W. C. Bryant 3 To him who in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language. 1823 T. De Quincey Lett. Young Man in Mar. 325/1 On this Babel of an earth..there are said to be about three thousand languages and jargons. 1875 W. Stubbs II. 414 The use of the English language in the Courts of law was ordered in 1362. 1910 V. 598/1 The Macassar language, which belongs to the Malayo–Javanese group, is spoken in many parts of the Southern peninsula. 1976 Sept. 9/2 It is strange that few of the modern Romance languages have used the Greek or Latin as roots for their principal words meaning shark. 1991 26 Aug. 109/3 ASL [= American Sign Language] is a unique, entirely self-contained language in which the hand signs are not literal representations of spoken English words or sounds. 1992 G. Hancock i. i. 3 Speaking in Tigrigna, the local language, he then sought clarification through my interpreter about my character and my motives. 2002 A. Marcantonio iii. 56 The Ugric group in turn split further into Hungarian on the one hand and the Ob-Ugric languages..on the other. the world > animals > by noises > voice or sound made by animal > [noun] c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham (1902) 120 (MED) Þe oxe and asse..Þo þat hy seȝen hare creature..makede ioye in hare manere, And eke in hare langage. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) l. 141 Ther nys no fowel þt fleeth vnder the heuene That she ne shal wel vnderstonde his steuene..And answere hym in his langage ageyn. ?c1450 tr. (1906) 1 (MED) Y reioysed me of the melodie..of the wilde briddes; thei sang there in her langages. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 20 Choughs language, gabble enough, and good enough. View more context for this quotation 1639 W. Lower iv. sig. I3v Sir, you have learn'd a pretty art indeed, To understand the languages of birds, And tell their meanings. 1667 J. Milton viii. 373 Is not the Earth With various living creatures, and the Aire Replenisht,..know'st thou not Thir language and thir wayes. View more context for this quotation 1708 T. Taylor tr. J. Basnage iii. vii. 175/2 Solomon..understood the Language of Birds. 1763 J. Shebbeare xxxviii. 238 An Arabian barb, and an English stallion, speak the same language;..the same is true in the language of dogs, and other quadrupeds. 1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick I. Introd. p. xxv The notes, or, as it may with more propriety be called, the language, of birds. 1815 J. G. Spurzheim viii. 450 Natural language is common to animals and man; artificial language is a prerogative of mankind. 1832 W. Irving II. 23 Instructed..in the language of birds, by a Jewish Rabbin. 1869 25 169 The extensive language of animals consists of simple interjections. 1877 C. W. Shields i. iii. 147 Speech was discovered long before there were any men, in the pairing-call of birds and gesture-language of monkeys. 1904 F. S. Mathews 47 There is no music in the Crow's caw..but he is a bird with a distinct language. 1922 H. Lofting 137 Jip kept springing into the air and barking and calling Ben Ali bad names in dog-language. 1975 R. Collins iii. 97 All that animal language lacks in comparison to human rituals, is a symbolic significance or naming quality. 1997 S. B. Morrow 92 The Greek speeches in the play imitate the sounds that the birds make, their ‘language’, and contained in the play is the idea that the language of birds is the earliest religion, augury. 2000 (RNLI) Christmas 18/2 No matter how carefully you tilt his head back to open the [cookie] jar, he'll burst into dolphin language (a sort of eeh! eeh! sound to the untutored ear). society > communication > [noun] > non-verbal communication > means of 1605 Bp. J. Hall II. §51 I need not be so mopish, as not to beleeue rather the language of the hand, then of the tongue. 1609 W. Shakespeare iv. vi. 56 Ther's language in her eye, her cheeke her lip. View more context for this quotation 1646 R. Crashaw 32 If at least shee not denyes, The sad language of our eyes, Wee are contented. 1695 J. Collier 119 As the Language of the Face is universal, so 'tis very comprehensive. 1711 R. Steele No. 66. ⁋2 She is utterly a Foreigner to the Language of Looks and Glances. 1749 J. Wesley 9 That this silent Language of your Face and Hands may move the Affections of those that see and hear you, it must be well adjusted to the Subject, as well as to the Passion which you desire either to express or excite. 1837 VIII. 282/2 Dactylology must not be confounded with the natural language of the deaf and dumb, which is purely a language of mimic signs. 1876 J. B. Mozley vi. 134 All action is..besides being action, language. 1989 M. Kumin i. 21 A wordless yet perfect language of touch and tremor. society > computing and information technology > programming language > [noun] 1947 Jan. 59 The present methods of coding or translating from mathematical symbols to machine language are given in some detail. 1959 E. M. Grabbe et al. II. ii. 186 The purpose of these activities has been to..set up a class of languages that will be easily translatable by machine from one to another, and also easily recognizable to the ordinary human user... Such languages form the input to a class of automatic computer programs called translators, which perform a translation..into a second or target language. The latter may be either (1) an assembly language such as soap, sap, or magic.., or (2) a straight machine language, in pure decimal, binary (or in some cases such as the Univac I and II), alphanumeric. 1961 H. D. Leeds & G. M. Weinberg ii. 46 The best way of writing down operations is to write them in alphabetical format. A format used for writing down these alphabetical instructions is called the programming language or paper language, to distinguish it from the machine language..acceptable to the machine circuitry. 1977 M. A. Boden i. 12 The higher languages used in artificial intelligence include the general purpose ‘programming languages’ (such as lisp, sail, fortran, planner, conniver qa4, pop-2, and popler), and special purpose languages embodying specialized knowledge relevant only to certain domains. 1985 D. R. Hofstadter x. 205 The software could exist in a number of different ‘instantiations’—that is, realizations in different computer languages. 2005 N. Gershenfeld 40 The answer was the development of a new kind of programming language for doing what became known as computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) with numerically controlled (NC) machines. 2. society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > [noun] > style of an author, period, or work society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > [noun] > mode of expression the mind > language > malediction > [noun] > profane language society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun] > vehemency or vehement language c1350 (Harl. 874) (1961) 171 (MED) Þe loseniours..hane taken vnder honde to speken þe deuels langage forto disceyuen goddes childer & bynymen god his eritage. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng (Harl.) l. 10082 (MED) Y rede þe here how þe propertes are shewed, Þogh þe langage be but lewed. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 861 With-outen any subtilite Of speche..For harde langage and hard matere ys encombrouse for to here Attones. 1490 (1962) i. 14 For it is sayde in comyn langage, that the good byrde affeyteth hirself. c1500 (?a1475) (1896) 368 In eloquence of langage he passyd all the pak. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. (1882–7) lxix. 236 Come to ye poynt, and vse no more such langage nor suche serymonyes. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1590) ii. xxvii. sig. Ff4 In Tragedies..he had learned, besides a slidingnesse of language, acquaintance with many passions. 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch 124 When the Greekes abused him with verie bad language, his familiar friends about him said they deserved to be sharply chastised and punished, for so miscalling and reviling him. 1611 Ecclus. vi. 5 Sweet language will multiply friends. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. viii. 45 Be not to rough in termes, For he is fierce, and cannot brooke hard Language . View more context for this quotation 1643 Sir T. Browne (authorized ed.) i. §5 By his sentence I stand excommunicated: Heretick is the best language he affords me. View more context for this quotation 1654 T. Gataker 3 I list not to contend with him in scurrilitie and bad language. 1694 W. Penn ii. 44 They also used the Plain Language of Thou and Thee. 1714 J. Collier II. iii. 166/1 John Bale..remonstrates against the Barbarity in pretty strong language. 1749 Ld. Chesterfield 27 Sept. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1407 Vulgarism in language is the..distinguishing characteristic of bad company and a bad education. 1770 ‘Junius’ (1772) II. xxxviii. 83 They suggest to him a language full of severity and reproach. 1798 G. Colman i. i. 12 I never give my Lady no bad language. 1809–10 S. T. Coleridge (1865) 135 These pretended constitutionalists recurred to the language of insult. 1849 T. B. Macaulay II. vi. 118 He lived and died, in the significant language of one of his countrymen, a bad Christian, but a good Protestant. c1863 T. Taylor in M. R. Booth (1969) II. 109 Come, cheeky! Don't you use bad language. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato (ed. 2) V. 348 The language used to a servant ought always to be that of a command. a1910 ‘M. Twain’ (1925) II. 88 She made a guarded remark which censured strong language. 1934 R. Macaulay vi. 100 Milton's familiarity with the tradition [of scurrility] may account for much of his strong language, even when reviling in English. 1989 L. Clarke 316 There have been raised voices thereabouts and the parson driven to bad language by the woman's mobbin' him so. 2002 5 May (LifeEtc. section) 14/3 The stern granite tenets of Presbyterianism..did not stand easily alongside..the crudeness of her language. the mind > language > a language > register > [noun] > jargon 1502 tr. (de Worde) Prol. sig. a.ii v Ye swete & fayre langage of theyr phylosophy. 1598 W. Shakespeare ii. v. 19 I can drinke with any Tinker in his owne language . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iii. 74 This is not Hunters Language . View more context for this quotation 1651 T. Hobbes iii. xxxiv. 207 The words Body, and Spirit, which in the language of the Schools are termed Substances, Corporeall and Incorporeall. 1710 J. Harris II Weed, in the Miners Language is the Degeneracy of a Load or Vein of fine Metal, into an useless Marchasite. 1747 J. Spence viii. xv. 243 Those attributes of the Sword, Victory, and Globe, say very plainly (in the language of the statuaries) that [etc.]. 1786 J. H. Tooke ix. 325 The cypher..only serves (if I may use the language of Grammarians) to connote and consignify. 1841 J. R. Young i. 10 Thus can be expressed in the language of algebra, not only distance but position. 1891 2 May 532/1 In it metaphysics have again condescended to speak the language of polite letters. 1903 J. W. Brodie-Innes 186 Adopting the theory and the language of Roman Law, the convention and the reconvention are considered to be correlative and may be tried together. 1938 185/1 These young felons are what prison language describes as ‘repeaters’. 1959 K. R. Atkins vii. 246 Each particle..is transformed into a ‘quasi-particle’, which, in the language of field theory, is a ‘bare’ particle surrounded by a cloud of virtual excitations. 1977 C. Miller & K. Swift v. 71 Nowhere are the semantic roadblocks to sexual equality more apparent—or significant—than in the language of the dominant organized religions. 2001 R. W. Cahn viii. 324 All these variegated rubbers—‘elastomers’ in polymer language—were chemically distinct from natural rubber, polyisoprene. society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > [noun] society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > [noun] > mode of expression > wording of a document 1699 R. Bentley (new ed.) 378 Mr. B...at least is answerable for the Language of his Book. 1712 J. Addison No. 285. ¶6 It is not therefore sufficient, that the Language of an Epic Poem be Perspicuous, unless it be also Sublime. 1782 W. Cowper 224 A tale should be judicious, clear, succinct, The language plain. 1837 16 258 The language of Scripture..the style not being so much symbolical or typical as prothetical. 1886 Sir J. Stirling in 55 283/2 There are two remarks which I desire to make on the language of the Act. 1925 H. W. Horwilis iii. 60 The language of the document, it will be noticed, is carefully consistent with that employed just before. 1966 A. Ostrom iv. 151 His various understandings of the culture of his America have various direct effects upon what his poems are, and especially upon the poems' language. 2003 (Nexis) 19 Feb. 23 Mr Brown..persuaded a majority of ministers to tone down the language of the ruling. c1808 W. Blake (1972) 446 To learn the Language of Art, ‘Copy for Ever’ is My Rule. 1846 Aug. 18/1 How admirably Handel has translated all these varying sentiments into his divine musical language. 1927 A. Levinson in R. Copeland & M. Cohen (1983) i. 52 The ballet blanc is able to transmute the formal poses of the slow dance movement..into a mysterious and poetic language. 1953 S. J. Cohen in R. Copeland & M. Cohen (1983) i. 20 The dance language has been expanded as choreographers began to utilize a greater range of movement. 1972 A. Bowness vi. 105 Of all the revisions of pictorial language proposed in the 20th century, cubism has been the most radical. 1991 Apr. 43/3 Rohrer's paintings are remarkable for the unified visual language he has woven together from three disparate American artists he acknowledges as sources. 2007 (Nexis) 20 Apr. e3 This dance..uses the conventional language of ballet, for which he has a natural bent. the mind > language > malediction > [noun] > profane language 1855 17 Nov. They were also quarrelling about McCardle using some language about Jones [sic] wife. 1860 C. Dickens Uncommerc. Traveller in 10 Mar. 464/1 Mr. Victualler's assurance that he ‘never allowed any language, and never suffered any disturbance’. 1865 Extra Christmas No., 7 Dec. 4/1 But have a temper in the cart, flinging language and the hardest goods in stock at you, and where are you then? 1886 W. Besant I. ii. ii. 263 The evening is the liveliest time of the day for Ivy Lane..the street is fullest, the voices loudest, the children most shrill, the women most loquacious, and the ‘language’ most pronounced. 1893 F. C. Selous 3 The sailor..had never ceased to pour out a continuous flood of ‘language’ all the time. 1929 C. C. Martindale 173 I have heard more ‘language’ in a ‘gentleman's’ club in ten minutes than in all that evening in the Melbourne Stadium. 1974 ‘M. Innes’ vii. 75 ‘You behave like bloody fools.’ ‘Language, now, Mr Honeybath, language.’ 1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey 172/2 'E's allus usin' langwidge, 'e is. A weeannt let them kids near 'im. 3. the world > people > nations > [noun] society > society and the community > [noun] > a community > having same language c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Dan. iii. 7 Alle peplis, lynagis and langagis [L. linguae]. a1425 (c1395) (Royal) (1850) Isa. lxvi. 18 Y come to gadere togidere the werkis of hem, and the thouȝtis of hem, with alle folkis and langagis [a1382 E.V. tungus; L. linguis]. 1587 Dan. v. 19 And for the maiestie that he gaue him, all people, nations, and languages [1611 King James all people, nations, and languages;] trembled, and feared before him. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais x. 48 All people, and all languages and nations. 1952 Dan. v. 19 All people, nations, and languages [1970 New Eng. all peoples and nations of every language]. society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > other branches society > faith > church government > monasticism > religious order > religio-military religious > Knights Templar > [noun] > branch of 1703 tr. U. Chevreau IV. viii. ii. 438 Aloph de Vignacourt Grand Hospitaller, and Chief of the French Language. 1728 E. Chambers (at cited word) Among the Maltese [sc. the Knights of Malta or Hospitallers], the Word Language is used for Nation. 1728 J. Morgan I. v. 314 Don Raimond Perellos de Roccapoul, of the Language of Aragon,..was elected Grand Master. 1870 19 Nov. 442/2 The only branches of the order now in active existence are the 4th, 6th, and 7th Languages being those of Italy, England, and Germany respectively. 1885 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold (ed. 3) 413/2 The order [of Hospitallers]..was divided into eight ‘languages’, Provence, Auvergne, France, Aragon, Castile, England, Germany, and Italy. 1949 5 37 There were eight languages forming the Order of the Hospitallers. the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [noun] > quality of being skilled in use of a language the mind > language > speech > [noun] > faculty or power of speech a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) vi. 1622 (MED) This child, whan he was bore thus Aboute his moder to ful age, That he can reson and langage. a1425 (?a1400) Bk. Priue Counseling in P. Hodgson (1944) 153 Ȝif a soule..had tonge & langage to sey as it feliþ, þan alle..schuld wondre. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 391 (MED) Thei kytte awey bothe his tunge and his stones, But in the thrydde day folowynge, his langage [a1387 ( J. Trevisa) speche; L. loquela] was restorede to hym by miracle. 1526 T. Wolsey Let. to Tayler in J. Strype (1721) I. v. 66 A gentleman..who had knowledge of the country and good language to pass. 1589 G. Puttenham iii. ii. 115 A Knight of Yorkshire was..not vnlearned in the lawes of the Realme, but as well for some lack of his teeth, as for want of language nothing well spoken. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. ii. 83 Here is that which will giue language to you Cat; open your mouth. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 71 I shall loose my life for want of language. If there be heere German or Dane, Low Dutch, Italian, or French, let him speake to me. View more context for this quotation 1691 J. Dunton III. i. 24 Either for want of Language or want of Sence I cannot my self express. 1707 C. Cibber iii. i. 30 Are not you a most precious Damsel, to retard all my Visits for want of Language, when you know you are paid so well for furnishing me with new Words for my daily Conversation? 1790 W. Cowper 1 Oh that those lips had language! 1907 H. Belloc 61 My language fails! Go out and govern New South Wales! †5. the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrespect > insult > [verb (transitive)] society > communication > information > reporting > [noun] > a report > that which is said 1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt (1931) 132 (MED) Richard bobyngton, and [prob. read an] vtrer of vnlawfull langage and a noyous neghbour. a1438 (1940) i. 37 (MED) I haue herd mych euyl langwage of ȝow syth ȝe went owt, & I haue ben sor cownseld to leue ȝow & no mor to medyl wyth ȝow. ?c1450 tr. (1906) 2 (MED) And so thei dede bothe deseiue ladies and gentilwomen, and bere forthe diuerse langages on hem. 1465 M. Paston in (2004) I. 299 I hyre moch langage of the demenyng be-twene you and herre. 1466–7 in (1841) 172 Ȝe have mekel on setenge langwache aȝenste me, were of I mervel gretely for I have ȝeffen ȝowe no schwsche kawse. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 551 Every day sir Palomydes brawled and seyde langayge ayenste sir Trystram. 1485 W. Caxton tr. sig. lvv/2 Feragus said in this manere... The valyaunt Rolland was contente ryght wel & accepted hys langage. 1502 tr. (de Worde) iv. xvi. sig. xvv Yf in songes vnhoneste, & tryfylles, and talkynges, of langage, he swereth god. 1586 L. Bellenden Let. 4 Feb. in W. Fraser (1863) II. 25 To mak his langag guid be ane denyell for him selff. 1636 H. Blount 33 A Turke..gave such a Language of our Nation, and threatning to all whom they should light upon, as made me upon all demands professe my selfe a Scotchman. a1700 (1830) 25 The laird wes sa..seik, that he durst nocht wse mekill langage. 1709 Mr Talbot Let. 18 Dec. in Duke of Buckingham (1853) II. 354 Their language uniformly was that France was..desirous for the restoration of peace. 1709 Duke of Marlborough Let. 5 Aug. in H. L. Snyder (1975) III. 1324 I believe what your sister writes you has been the languidge in France. the mind > language > speech > [noun] the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adverb] the mind > language > speech > conversation > [adverb] > in conversation with society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > phrases indicating mode of expression [phrase] ?c1450 tr. (1906) 18 My fader sette me in langage with her, that y shulde haue knouleche of her speche [Fr. Si resgarday celle dont l'on me parloit, et la mis en parolles de tout plain de choses, pour savoir de son estre]. 1461 (1904) III. 279 I dwelled uppon the cost of the see here, and be langage hit were more necessare to with-hold men here than take men from hit. ?a1475 (1922) 35 (MED) Afftyr Adam, with-outyn langage, þe secunde fadyr am I [sc. Noe] in fay. 1477 Earl Rivers tr. (Caxton) (1877) lf. 29 One was surer in keping his tunge, than in moche speking, for in moche langage one may lightly erre. 1490 W. Caxton tr. xxviii. 106 Without eny more langage [Fr. sans aultre langaige] dydo,..seased thenne the swerde. a1513 W. Dunbar (1998) I. 63 Be nocht of langage quhair ȝe suld be still. c1530 A. Barclay i. sig. Fiij v Tomorowe of court, we may haue more langage. the mind > language > [noun] a1525 Bk. Chess 2074 in W. A. Craigie (1923) I Quhen to the king chek in the feild is maid That is to saye in langage ‘Do me richt, Haue ȝe na reskew of sum vther knycht?’ 1531 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece (1938) I. i. iii. 30 The first ile..was namit Ardgaeill, fra Gathelus; quhilk now, be corrupcioun of langage [c1540 langaige], is callit Argile. 1589 G. Puttenham iii. xxii. 213 Your misplacing and preposterous placing is not all one in behauiour of language. 1600 W. Shakespeare iv. i. 97 There is not chastitie enough in language, Without offence to vtter them. View more context for this quotation 1644 J. Milton 2 Language is but the instrument convaying to us things usefull to be known. 1669 W. Holder 9 Written Language..is permanent. 1751 J. Harris iii. i. 314 The Meaning..of Language is derived, not from Nature, but from Compact. 1782 W. Cowper Conversation in 213 So language in the mouths of the adult,..Too often proves an implement of play. 1841 R. C. Trench ii. 18 Language must be recalled, minted and issued anew. 1862 J. Martineau (1891) IV. 104 Language, that wonderful crystallization of the very flow and spray of thought. 1892 B. F. Westcott 186 Language must be to the last inadequate to express the results of perfect observation. 1902 J. B. Greenough & G. L. Kittredge 158 The history of language is the history of mankind. 1938 I. Goldberg p. vii It was the curiosity born of this pluri-lingual heritage that led me..to..a special interest in language. 1963 J. Lyons ii. 31 In the learning and use of language there are two complementary factors to be reckoned with. 2001 10 Jan. ii. 15/3 The post-futurist novel will employ just such a concentration in its use of language. 1917 26 675 Saussure's doctrine..distinguishes speech (parole)..from language (langue). 1924 8 318 This rigid system, the subject-matter of ‘descriptive linguistics’, as we should say, is la langue, the language. 2003 R. Harris in H. G. Davis & T. J. Taylor 19 Each such language (langue) was envisaged as an independent, self-contained object of knowledge. Phrases1770 Marquis de Vere xiv. 143 The Prince, who was not very well versed in the language of flowers, sent her back always the same sort. 1834 tr. 95 It is more especially by..modifications that the Language of Flowers becomes the interpretation of our thoughts. 1847 W. M. Thackeray (1848) iv. 31 Perhaps she just looked first into the bouquet, to see whether there was a billet-doux hidden... ‘Do they talk the language of flowers at Boggley Wollah, Sedley?’ asked Osborne, laughing. 1949 (ed. 122) 462 Language of Flowers. The symbolism of flowers has always possessed a certain fascination, especially for the young person of either sex. 1994 Aug. 46/2 It was during the Elizabethan era that the language of flowers was popularised. 2004 22 Aug. 126/1 The language of flowers has atrophied over the years. Victorian floriography was more complex than the hand signs of Bloods and Crips. the world > relative properties > relationship > difference > be different [verb (intransitive)] > have little in common with someone the mind > mental capacity > understanding > understand [phrase] > share understanding the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > be friendly [verb (intransitive)] > get on (well) 1825 W. Hazlitt 17 What wonder that so little progress has been made towards a mutual understanding between the two parties! They are quite a different species, and speak a different language, and are sadly at a loss for a common interpreter between them. 1893 ‘S. Grand’ I. ii. vi. 256 What could Evadne have in common with these flippant people..? They did not even speak the same language. (To their insidious slang she opposed a smooth current of perfect English.) 1904 H. James I. xvii. 297 They hung together, they passed each other the word, they spoke each other's language, they did each other ‘turns’. 1915 J. Conrad iv. xi. 391 You seem to be a morbid, senseless sort of bandit. We don't speak the same language. 1923 H. Crane 13 Apr. (1965) 131 The older poets and writers down here..don't talk the same language as we do. 1930 A. Huxley viii. 284 You'll perceive that he speaks your language, that he inhabits your world of thought and feeling. 1938 F. S. Fitzgerald 7 July (1964) 33 I want my energies and my earnings for people who talk my language. 1957 J. Osborne ii. ii. 64 As for Jimmy—he just speaks a different language from any of us. 1961 A. Wilson i. 25 Bobby..had presumed that since he and I ‘spoke the same language’, I should naturally dislike the Director as much as he did. 1971 R. Rendell xix. 166 She really didn't understand him at all, his need to be respectable... They didn't speak the same language. 1993 June 40/1 Some of the Czech banks don't speak the same language—in every sense of the word. 2006 (Nexis) 23 Oct. It is amazing that the political head of the council is speaking a different language from his foot soldiers. Compounds C1. General attributive. 1902 528 In the final analysis language acquisition comes to this, whether you are willing to be laughed at. 1921 H. E. Palmer 14 In addition to certain spontaneous capacities, we possess what we may term ‘studial’ capacities for language-acquisition. 1965 N. Chomsky i. 52 The innate structure of a language-acquisition device. 2004 (U.K. ed.) July 12/2 Just as motherese forms the scaffold for language acquisition during child development, so, too, did it underpin the evolution of language. 1919 J. B. Watson vi. 217 The habitual factor shows itself especially in the language behavior of the adult. 1986 R. Cameron v. 81 The expanded sequence incorporates language behaviours from all areas of the checklist. 2002 115 638 Corson reveals the ways in which language behavior varies. 1882 W. Meuller & J. P. Peters xxiii. 330 The emperor..broaching the question of the proper language-boundary in Piedmont. 1956 32 612 This amoeba-like generation of new languages cannot be said to be complete until a language boundary or its equivalent has developed to mark off the different daughter languages. 2006 (Nexis) 27 Mar. 18 Because they rely on visual comedy they also recognise no cultural or language boundaries. 1875 W. D. Whitney xiv. 281 Every division of the human race has been long enough in existence for its language-capacities to work themselves out. 1995 R. P. Meier & R. Willerman in K. Emmorey & J. S. Reilly xviii. 391 The child's language capacity is sufficiently plastic that the signing child suffers no delay in the acquisition of language. 1944 65 p. xliv A language-centered curriculum. 2004 I. R. Edgar ii. 44 There is then a continuing dialogue and relationship between physical and cultural experience and understanding of the world through a metaphorically structured, language-centred, consciousness. 1885 W. D. Whitney in XVIII. 785 Both parts appear also abundantly in other deportments of language-change. 1912 L. Bloomfield in C. F. Hockett (1970) 37 A suggestion of ‘concerted effort to shape usage’ is..hitched on to a discussion of the universal unconscious processes of language-change. 1996 25 65 Functional interpretations of language change are, in practice, an expression of Gricean default values that we bring to understanding and producing conversations. 1911 E. Richard ii. 25 Those changes of the consonants will probably have proceeded from inner conditions, originating in the language community itself. 2007 (Nexis) 10 Mar. 3 When most people were members of a small language community long ago, it wasn't necessary to know any language but your own. 1848 B. R. Hall vii. 274 One in favor of an english [sic] course, the other, of a language course, or, as usually called, the classical. 1921 H. E. Palmer 54 Most language-courses must necessarily be corrective courses. 1995 16 142 At the same time, language courses, and works of reference are increasingly advertising themselves as offering ‘real English’ and ‘real-life communication’ to the learner. 1920 C. A. Murray 223 The teacher..should be an expert in language description. 1936 12 204 He thoroughly confuses the synchronic and diachronic aspects of language-description. 1993 14 167 The storage of vast amounts of text on computer..has begun to have a significant impact on language description and on language pedagogy. the mind > mental capacity > psychology > mental image > [noun] > use of words in thinking the mind > mental capacity > psychology > mental image > [noun] > use of words in thinking > concept associated with word 1866 4 140 As the impressions are different, we should suppose the instinctive expression of them to take different language forms. 1932 A. H. Gardiner iv. 207 Jespersen..points out that particular phrases used in this way have become so stereotyped as to be real language-forms, e.g. Well, I never! I must say! Most curious of all is I say! with nothing following. 1971 D. Crystal 71 The philosophical search for laws of thought underlying language forms. 1994 15 119 The common applied linguistic sense of discourse analysis is basically a two-level view of discourse, with the ‘micro’ level being language forms..and the ‘macro’ the context of utterance. 1872 W. D. Whitney in 3 91 A consistent linguistic system, which finds abundant support from the recorded facts of language-history. 1974 50 576 The writing traditions that form the basis of the usual language histories of Norwegian are Old Norwegian;..Dano-Norwegian;..and New Norwegian. 1993 Apr. 64/1 This is not to say that the empirical study of language history should be expected to produce sets of neat correspondences. 1897 E. Dowden in E. E. Speight p. xv What may be called the language pattern in good prose is perhaps more complex... The difference between one prose writer and another depends largely on his power in designing and varying the pattern. 1925 J. E. Boodin iv. 160 Language patterns are only one form of this expression, though socially a very fundamental one. 1961 J. B. Wilson iii. 178 Accepted language-patterns..act primarily as conservative forces both in the individual and in society. 1994 23 277 Variational linguistics..tends to discourage researchers from talking about their research goals with their consultants, for fear this will skew the speaker's ‘natural’ or habitual language patterns. 1883 28 Sept. 2/5 The reconciliation of the two countries has been retarded on one side by a return to the illiberal language policy. 1924 I. L. Kandel xvi. 450 Difficult as the problem of reducing the appalling illiteracy is, it seems to be exceeded in complexity by the language policy inaugurated by the American administration. 2007 (Nexis) 9 Apr. 6 A language unit..to ensure coordination of language policies across all departments of government. society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > other types of school 1878 10 88 The Imperial University of Tōkiō (having with its attached Language School, twenty-five foreign professors). 1943 3 Apr. 370/1 After nine weeks of intensive instruction in the language school at Laramie, Wyoming, one graduate was sent on a mission to South America. 2005 Aug. 41/2 You could look for a part-time job, perhaps teaching English..at a language school. 1868 C. S. Wake iv. 43 The idea formed in the mind is first of the individual; but..the language sign—which represents the individual—may, and generally soon does, lose its particular character and become the symbol of a general idea. 1894 G. T. Ladd xvii. 380 As the mental images become more and more abstract,..the necessity and importance of the language-sign becomes greater. 1946 C. Morris 350 In this book ‘language sign’ is often used in place of ‘lansign’. 1970 Jan. 57 In the 1930s C. K. Ogden, I. A. Richards and A. Korzybski, and more recently C. E. Osgood, D. H. Mowrer and others, tried to show how language symbols and signs (lansigns, as they are sometimes called) are associated with their referents in much the same way as conditioned stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus, as in the classical conditioning theory of Pavlov. 1998 N. Markel v. 96 A final noteworthy point regarding the domain of paralanguage is the fact that it is always present when humans interact by way of language signs. 1912 1 499 One of the great obstacles to progress in language skill in our schools. 1969 A. Neel xx. 248 The appearance of the syntaxic or reality-oriented period was greatly aided by acquisition of language skills. 2002 Sept.–Oct. 55/1 Diasporas can help fill the demand for language skills. a1847 A. L. Wigan Let. in T. Laycock (1855) 19 The euphonious word ‘psychal’—better derived and more in harmony with our noble ‘language-structure’, as a German would call it. 1874 Jan. 90/2 Its value as a key to Indo-European language structure was unsuspected. 1881 W. D. Whitney in 2 367 The acceptance of a view like this would..further imply that African language-structure was in its growing stage at the period of separation. 1933 L. Bloomfield i. 18 H. Steinthal..published in 1861 a treatise on the principal types of language structure. 1999 Jan. 41/1 It..allows us to integrate some of the results of the study of aphasias and other types of language impairment as evidence in our investigation of language structure. 1891 7 Feb. 3/6 ‘A cynic is a man who is tired of the world, is he not?’ the young language student asked. 1986 K. E. Müller 126 The model for a language student in any setting..is usually the educated native speaker. 1844 4 May 274/2 We are all very variously constituted, some having an aptitude for language-study, others for matters of fact. 1933 L. Bloomfield i. 1 Many people have difficulty at the beginning of language study. 2005 96 335 Jackman further explored ways to correlate nature study with reading, arithmetic, history, literature, and language study. 1887 10 June 573/2 The knowledge of one language system already acquired. 1946 55 339 This task should be approached by construction of consistent language-systems. 1994 S. Pinker vi. 189 Writing..must tap into the language system at well-demarcated points, and that gives it a modicum of logic. 1803 R. Southey Let. 9 June in C. C. Southey (1850) II. 212 In all these modern ballads there is a modernism of thought and language-turns, to me very perceptible. 1885 16 p. xxxiii The author has endeavored to give merely an outline of Negro language usage. 2006 (Nexis) 6 June 10 There are discriminatory aspects to some questions, in terms of socio-cultural bias and language usage. 1894 11 26 The meaning which the title must then have is supported by the actual language use. 1963 J. Lyons i. 7 The known or apparent facts of language-learning and language-use. 1965 N. Chomsky 6 The grammar of a particular language..is to be supplemented by a universal grammar that accommodates the creative aspect of language use. 2001 76 416 Linguistic profiling, means of assessing competence, psychological development, and socioeconomic class from language use. 1885 6 90 Prof. Schuchardt has chosen for the study before us a territory..that abounds in language varieties. 1983 10 Mar. 13 The linguist does not..ignore the social acceptability, or otherwise, of a particular language or language variety. 1994 J. Harkins vi. 146 To decode this meaning correctly, I needed knowledge of..the semantics of this particular language variety, at several levels. C2. Objective. 1834 7 232 Establishing a wide difference between them and other language learners. 1921 H. E. Palmer 14 Most language-learners at the present day are found to make an almost exclusive use of their studial capacities. 1965 N. Chomsky i. 43 Cyclic regularities..are much more difficult for the language-learner to construct. 2000 23 July (Culture section) 43/3 (advt.) Four revolutionary ‘audiomagazines’ that are unlike anything for language learners you've ever seen. 1697 J. Sergeant Pref. sig. A7v Perhaps there is not one Evident Truth in it..but only such a way of Plausible Discourse or Language-Learning, as may serve equally and indifferently to maintain either side of the Contradiction? 1846 C. Kraitsir 6 Does not nature indicate that this is the period for language-learning, by the facility of verbal memory which it gives to early years? 1964 40 134 Chomsky's hypothesis is that the child is innately equipped with a language-learning device. 2001 D. Crystal vii. 205 The situation resembles that found in language learning, where learners pass through a stage of ‘interlanguage’, which is neither one language nor the other. 1607 T. Tomkis iii. v. F 2 These same language makers haue the very quality of colde in their wit, that freezeth all Hetero~geneall languages together. 1867 W. D. Whitney v. 197 Language-makers in different parts of the earth. 1952 H. Read in B. Hepworth p. ix/1 In this situation the artists of a period are the language-makers, inventing visual symbols. 2002 H. G. Davis in H. G. Davis & T. J. Taylor i. 11 (heading) Rethinking language users as language makers. the mind > language > a language > [noun] > a foreign language > teacher of 1783 J. Retzer I. Ep. Ded. p. iv A choice..will appear widely different from those compiled within these few years in Germany by language teachers. 1826 E. B. Pusey Let. to Lloyd in (1893) I. v. 97 A language-teacher gives me lectures..five times a week. 1921 H. E. Palmer 58 The language-teacher must possess a considerable knowledge of phonetic theory. 1998 25 Feb. 13/1 A Japanese language teacher at a middle school in Omiya, east of Tokyo, was arrested. 1846 C. Kraitsir 21 Is it too much to believe that a reform of the language-teaching of these United States is possible? 1881 T. R. Price (title) Methods of language-teaching as applied to English. 1964 W. R. Lee in D. Abercrombie et al. 291 The clear purpose is to see in what manner aids can subserve language-teaching. 1995 16 121 Nattinger and DeCarrico..consider lexical phrases to be important for language teaching. 1864 W. D. Whitney in 97 There are ever in existence, among the lower strata of language-users, hosts of these deviations from correct usage. 1953 62 332 The sentence..mentions neither linguistic expressions nor language users. 1971 D. Crystal 85 We must..start with the study of individual language users. 1995 24 566 Many readers will congratulate Wierzbicka for considering at least some data from language users in specific (or even imagined) contexts. 1856 W. Whitman (ed. 2) viii. 191 Language-using controls the rest; Wonderful is language! Wondrous the English language, language of live men. 1890 10 172 Grammatical rules are merely a means of getting at the habits of the language-using animal to whom belonged this temperament. 1954 U. Weinreich in S. Saporta & J. R. Bastian (1961) 376/1 The language-using individuals are thus the locus of the contact. 1996 M. Toolan Introd. 10 The conclusion to which the present studies point is that the foundational requirements and characteristics of language using are quite general ones. C3. society > education > learning > study > subject or object of study > [noun] > a department of study > arts > trivium > subjects of 1896 B. A. Hinsdale (title) Teaching the language-arts. 1939 (Conf. on Reading, Univ. Chicago) v. 87 By language arts we mean all uses of language to convey or to receive the conceptions of the mind. 1981 56 167 The focus is on problems of language-arts education. 2006 16 177/2 Classroom teachers in maths, science, language arts, and social studies taught the quasi-experimental, two-year field trial. the mind > language > linguistics > other schools of linguistics > [noun] > linguistic geography or dialectology > area where specific language is spoken the world > life > the body > nervous system > cerebrospinal axis > brain > parts of brain > [noun] > as (supposed) seat of faculty > seats of specific faculties 1898 J. T. O'Connor 258 In reading aloud the visual area arouses the auditory area..and..the motor speech area... Copying needs only the visual language area and the motor area in [the] left hemisphere for the hand. 1903 6 Jan. 9/2 A large, representative and permanent committee of literature was appointed for each extensive ‘language area’ in India, Burma, and Ceylon. 1937 2 36 (heading) Case illustrating capacity for use of symbols after destruction of the major (left) language area. 1939 L. H. Gray ii. 25 One may frequently say that such-and-such an individual is from such-and-such a district within the language-area. 1986 R. B. Morrison & C. R. Wilson v. 102 Sirenikski was spoken by only 150 to 200 people who lived along the southern shore of the Chukchi Peninsula, just west of the Chaplinski language area. 2000 97 11841/2 Electrical stimulation of a single language area can effect both production and perception of speech. 1971 37 177/2 In extreme cases of individual language attrition, the peripheral aspirates and non-aspirates also merge. 1991 12 215 Language attrition and death have been suggested or claimed in several creole studies, especially in association with the process of decreolization. 2004 J. Walters i. 15 I am also interested in..language attrition among immigrants, and application of the [SPPL] model to the study of language disturbances in bilingual children. the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [noun] > language barrier 1889 23 100 The impassable language barrier, twixt man and the rest of the animal kingdom.] 1900 8 328 It therefore seems advisable that the student should have some reading knowledge of Latin,..in order to remove, so far as possible, the language barrier between him and the author's thought. 1933 Sept. 281/2 Science itself..might go forward with greatly increased efficiency if the language barrier were removed by the adoption of Basic for Abstracts and Congresses. 1961 18 May 8/2 A German girl tries to talk to him, but the language barrier is impenetrable. 2002 25 Apr. 36/4 Along with a number of tongue-singeing curries..the affectionate welcome and gracious service—despite the language barrier—will win you over. the mind > language > [adjective] > terms relating to language change or development 1911 13 44 The old state boundary of Michoacan probably marked pretty accurately the line of language contact. 1954 U. Weinreich in S. Saporta & J. R. Bastian (1961) 378/1 A full account of interference in a language-contact situation..is possible only if the extra-linguistic factors are considered. 1964 M. A. K. Halliday et al. 77 Situations in which one language community impinges on another have been called ‘language contact’ situations. 1966 41 39 A name in a language-contact situation is sometimes the only element which survives the impact of another language. 1997 18 159 They investigate fascinating cases of language contact, where co-existence with English in the one case and Scots in the other ultimately resulted in the complete disappearance of the competing language. 1972 W. Dressler in 448 Language death has been viewed as an extreme case of language contact. The victorious language slowly replaces the dying language. 2003 42 218 The possible reasons for language death in Taiwan are diverse but to some extent interrelated. 1903 F. W. Langdon in F. Peterson & W. S. Haines I. 525 As regards responsibility and competency for other acts than signing a will or document, the form of language disorder present, and its relation with the nature of the act, must be carefully considered. 1927 D. K. Henderson & R. D. Gillespie xiv. 398 Anomalies of gait, and speech (not language) disorders such as aphonia. 1963 F. Kodman in N. E. Ellis xiv. 475 Evidence is strongly in favor of special diagnostic classifications to describe the sensoriperceptual defects, the educational retardation, and the language disorders of the exceptional child. 1992 13 284 Neurolinguistics..focuses primarily on language disorders (for example, aphasia, dyslexia) resulting from various types of brain damage, abnormalities, or degeneration. 2002 (Nexis) 23 Mar. b3 Often the children afflicted by language disorders enjoy above average intelligence when it comes to puzzle-solving, visual perception and independent work habits. 1950 23 720/1 (title) Before language engineering can be said to exist in any formal way, someone will have to gather together the various strands of interest from philosophy, philology,..anthropology, literature. 1953 J. B. Carroll iv. 113 Linguistics may play a part in the solution of certain social problems. If so, a new kind of applied science—‘language engineering’ as it has recently been termed—may come into being. 1957 7 Sept. 851/2 An electronic data-processing machine..is breaking new ground in ‘language engineering’ by providing words—as many as five consecutive ones—which are missing from the Dead Sea Scrolls. 1996 K. Sparck Jones & J. R. Galliers 66 The most ambitious current manifestation of the growth of interest in NLP evaluation as such is perhaps the work being done in Europe within the larger EAGLES project on standards for language engineering. 2004 M. Olohan ii. 12 It then examines..the place of corpus linguistics within language engineering. 1929 26 154 Both types of linguistic responses are reciprocal phases of a language event. 1964 45 21 This admits under the label of ‘English’ a great range of different kinds of ‘language event’. 1965 R. M. W. Dixon 93 The data to be accounted for are observed language events. 2003 J. Gavins in J. Gavins & G. Steen 130 As the language event progresses, each participant constructs a mental representation, or text world, by which they are able to process and understand the discourse at hand. the mind > language > a language > [noun] > family of languages 1863 W. Smith III. 1251/2 Varieties of the great Shemitic language-family are to be found in use in the following localities. 1877 A. S. Gatschet in W. W. Beach 430 We are not cognizant of any national name given to the race of Indians who spoke the intricate dialects of this language-family. 1943 Dec. 699/1 Languages of ancient Egyptians, the Coptic Church of Ethiopia, Berbers of the North African mountains, and masked Taureg of the Sahara belong to the Hamitic, or the third language family. 2004 D. Dalton 258 Most inhabitants speak Hiligaynon, of the Austronesian language family. the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > philosophy of language > [noun] > language-game 1914 15 25 One device which has proved very successful is the language game. 1921 H. E. Palmer 145 Language-games may not further the student sufficiently in the habit-forming process. 1933–4 L. Wittgenstein (1958) 17 I shall in the future again and again draw your attention to what I shall call language games. These are ways of using signs simpler than those in which we use the signs of our highly complicated everyday language. Language games are the forms of language with which a child begins to make use of words. 1970 A. MacIntyre vii. 80 Wittgenstein tries to construct language games. 1970 23 July 787/1 In this country it was a dominant caste of philosophers..who seemed to be most gainfully preoccupied with the verbal manifestations of mind, having been coached at ‘language-games’ by Wittgenstein. 2000 D. E. Ford in A. Hastings et al. 117/1 Theologians should make clear what sort of language game christology is and draw the consequences for ‘playing’ it. the mind > language > a language > [noun] > family of languages 1853 4 309 Our Indian fellow-subjects, who are now immured in so many isolated and distinct language-groups. 1927 H. Peake & H. J. Fleure 121 A group with common speech, that is to say a language-group. 1964 45 Suppl. 11 His systematic sub-division of the principal language-groups..represents an astonishing linguistic perception. 2006 11 Nov. 53/3 Unfortunately this was meant to be home not only to the original inhabitants but to all Bushmen from all language groups. 1964 F. M. Chreist i. 6 Much speech therapy with language-impaired children has been based on the direct-method philosophy. 1994 S. Pinker ii. 48 The grandmother of the family is language-impaired. 2003 (Nexis) 19 Sept. 8 Elmtree has brought its specialist provision right into the hub of the school, so that language-impaired children mix with their mainstream peers for almost the whole day. the mind > language > a language > [noun] > a foreign language > classroom for teaching or learning 1945 29 591 Language versatility on the part of the individual members of the foreign-language staff will come to the fore in these ‘language labs’. 1968 A. Diment ii. 18 There was my speech training. Usually a couple of hours a day down in the language labs. 1997 74 481 Pretaped video segments or programs used in the classroom or the language lab. the mind > language > a language > [noun] > a foreign language > classroom for teaching or learning 1931 R. H. Waltz in 16 217 (title) Language laboratory administration. 1946 20 19 A large Language Laboratory was installed... Phonographs and records were available at all times of the day. 1969 3 July 8/2 I've done most through the Language Laboratory. I think it's a marvellous idea to start off a language by listening to what people say in the language. 1973 123 7 The Ss were brought in groups of 20 to 30 students each, to a language laboratory where they were seated at individual carrels. 2001 J. Coe (2002) 133 He stared into the encroaching dusk, watched as the neon lights flared up, one by one, in the language laboratories across the courtyard. 1953 U. Weinreich (Publ. Ling. Circle N.Y. No. 1) iv. 99 The sociolinguistic study of language contact needs a term to describe a phenomenon which corresponds to language approximately as nationalism corresponds to nationality. The term language loyalty has been proposed for this purpose. 1985 J. Richards et al. 158 Some immigrant groups in the USA, such as Estonians, have shown a high degree of language loyalty. 2001 45 633 The Taiwan study focuses on issues of linguistic and ethnic identity and on the forcefulness of language loyalty. the mind > language > a language > [noun] > a foreign language > teacher of 1672 O. Walker i. xiv. 195 If they scape these, then the Fencing, Dancing, and Language-Master catch them. 1712 J. Addison No. 305. ¶11 The Third is a sort of Language Master, who is to instruct them in the Stile proper for a Foreign Minister in his ordinary Discourse. 1831 T. Moore (1854) VI. 190 It turned out that what his friend, the language-master, had..been teaching him was Bas-Breton! 1874 L. C. Moulton vii. 72 Her French could not be much worse than the English of most of the language-masters whom she had been in the habit of seeing. 1958 10 Apr. 13/1 When two language masters meet at the jazz festival to discuss the role of jazz in modern society. 1867 13 207 Dr. G. Dax tried to prove that the lesion concomitant with Aphasia, was invariably seated in the anterior and outer portion of the middle lobe of the left hemisphere, thus locating the seat of the language organ very near to the island of Reil. 1918 2 221 The first and strongest impression of a new word is received through the ear, the natural language organ. 1979 5 371 There are many profound insights into the nature of language and the structure of what Chomsky dubs the ‘language organ’. 1994 S. Pinker x. 307 This region of the cortex, the left perisylvian region, can be considered to be the language organ. the mind > language > a language > [adjective] > within a specific language 1968 P. M. Postal viii. 164 The function of morpheme structure rules was to represent those language-particular predictable constraints on the possible combinations of feature specifications both within a segment and sequentially. 1970 46 377 It is a possible language-particular constraint on pronominalization in complex structures that a pronoun and its antecedent must lie within the same ‘chain of command’. 1993 69 345 The situation is further complicated by various apparently language-particular constraints. 1948 32 66 The aim of language planners has been to produce better—that is, easier—more logical languages. 2000 34 189 The chapters combine to make an excellent primer for..the language planner..who is attempting to understand the linguistic and historical complexities of the region. 1943 F. Bodmer xi. 453 Language-planning received a new impulse in a contracting planet. 1959 E. Haugen in J. A. Fishman (1968) 673 By language planning I understand the activity of preparing a normative orthography, grammar and dictionary for the guidance of writers and speakers in a non-homogeneous speech community. 1997 18 69 The paper will propose a model of language planning for Zaire which calls for the revalorization of the country's four national languages. 1952 13 11 The ideal of correctness is a deadening one,..it is in vain to set up a language police to stem living developments. 1992 4 May a12/3 In Canada today, less than eight years from the 21st century, we actually have ‘language police’. 1993 31 Jan. ix. 1 The methods and fervor of the self-appointed language police can lead to a rigid orthodoxy—and unintentional self-parody. 2005 Sept. 52/2 They also share a certain antipathy toward the Quebec government, irritated..by language police who would insist on Poussez instead of Push signs. 1899 2 Oct. 3/3 Any settlement will be based on..equal language rights..no subsequent interference with the voting laws, [etc.]. 2002 K. Henrard i. 18 Minority schools, and the determination of language rights of the members of linguistic minorities..are closely related to minorities' chances of preserving and developing their own, separate identity. 1953 U. Weinreich (Publ. Ling. Circle N.Y. No. 1) ii. 68 A language shift may be defined as the change from the habitual use of one language to that of another. 2003 59 272 The study concludes that language shift is indeed underway in some K'iche' communities..but that diglossia is being maintained. the mind > language > a language > [adjective] > within a specific language 1956 A. Flew in i. 7 The latter is language-specific: if we enquire about the usage of ‘table’ then we are concerned with how that particular English word is (or ought to be) employed by those who employ that word, and not ‘tavola’. 1969 3 258 Studies of..relative frequencies of language-specific syllabic patterns. 1995 16 40 In learnability theory, uniformity is a key ingredient in motivating the existence of a language-specific module. 1933 26 579 (title of article) Language transfer. 1975 59 430/1 Language transfer, once believed to be the paramount source of errors in second language learning, is now accepted as one of many major sources. 1999 L. Verhoeven in L. Elderling & P. P. M. Leseman x. 221 The role of language transfer in the initial stages of reading acquisition has only been examined in a small number of studies. the mind > language > linguistics > [noun] > universal rule in linguistics 1948 B. W. Aginsky & E. G. Aginsky in 4 169 There is a double interest in the study of language universals, due to the twofold nature of language itself. 1991 20 336 It is this (limited) isomorphism in grammar and in the lexicon that gives sense to the notion of language universals. 1998 74 871/2 The first three articles..demonstrate the difficulties in using language universal prototypes and categories to describe structures of individual languages. 1917 6 Aug. Is any German-language newspaper so flagrantly disloyal to the United States? 1962 17 Nov. 4/1 Editors of French language newspapers. 1989 26 Dec. 25/1 Nestled among the samovars..is a stack of the Russian-language edition of Monopoly. 2005 30 Sept. 13/3 About 30–60 attend the English-language eight-o'clock on Sundays, and about 200 attend the Tamil-language eucharist at 9.30. 1979 May 6 The intellectual and linguistic concerns of the ‘language poets’ are both an inevitable and peculiar outgrowth of the narcissistic preoccupations of the group of writers who comprised what was called ‘The New York School’ in the late sixties. 1982 9 428 Fraser..has been working closely with the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets based in New York and San Francisco. 1991 Apr.–May 5/2 Like other forms of postmodernism..that have been misrepresented as formalistic and self-reflexive, ‘language poetry’ is still looking for an adequate critical representation. 1993 Spring 40 A syncretic variety of aesthetic sensibilities, derived mostly from surrealist writing, concrete poetry, and L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E writing. 2004 July 42/1 Rae Armantrout first turned up in the late 1970s in the gaggle of left-wing, challenging..writers known as ‘language poets’. Derivatives 1910 W. Packard 206 They cut up the yawns into brief words and phrases which made a most languagelike gabble. 1978 53 61 Glossolalia is..related to other kinds of ‘pseudolanguage’ which can be produced by any sufficiently uninhibited person who is merely playing with language-like sounds. 2004 June 105/1 If its formal character looks language-like for Eisenman, it still does not work for the rest of us because the conventions are unclear. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). languagev. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: language n. the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > give expression to 1628 in R. Gomersall sig. A4 Iove-bred-Minerva challengeth the wit. Mercury flyes, and sweares he languag'd it. 1637 Abp. J. Williams 95 Learn, Doctour, learn to language this Sacrament from a Prelate of this Church. a1652 J. Smith (1660) vi. xiii. 272 The Style and Manner of languaging all pieces of Prophesie. 1655 T. Fuller vi. 333 Predictions..were languaged in such doubtfull Expressions, that they bare a double sense. 1667 E. Waterhouse 185 Seneca has languaged this appositely to us. 1840 J. R. Lowell (1950) 5 Let eye-spoken thoughts be there, That not in words may languaged be. a1861 D. Gray (1862) 41 Speak In false hyperbole, as poets do, When languaging in love the radiance Of maids. 1908 M. J. Cawein I. 298 Laid lips to ears and languaged memories of Now hateful Urience. 1965 15 323 Creation of the Baal type was used to language the exodus. 1994 A. Parry & R. E. Doan iii. 113 Part of your childhood story included not sharing your story with women... Thus you didn't get much practice at languaging it? society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > make gestures [verb (transitive)] > express or accompany by gesture 1824 10 196 'Twas languaged by the tell-tale eye. 1843 E. Jones 87 Oh! do not read my sigh, love, As if it languaged woe. 1999 31 336 In describing what life was like, participants languaged suffering in words, as well as through tears, sighs, and troubled expressions. Derivatives 1702 T. Tryon 66 Was the Stile and Manner of Languaging the work of the Prophets or no? 1875 J. R. Lowell in 120 395 It is very likely that Daniel had only the thinking and languaging parts of a poet's outfit. 1901 W. D. Howells I. 109 The loose, inaccurate and ineffectual languaging of this scene. 1939 6 106 Languaging..is a process or function analogous to the process of chiseling. 1991 12 199 It is from engagement in ‘meaningful’ languaging that all else will flow. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.int.c1300 v.1628 |
