second language


second language

n 1. (Linguistics) a language other than the mother tongue that a person or community uses for public communication, esp in trade, higher education, and administration 2. (Linguistics) a non-native language officially recognized and adopted in a multilingual country as a means of public communication

sec′ond lan′guage


n. 1. a language learned by a person after his or her native language, esp. as a resident of an area where it is in general use. 2. a language widely used, esp. in trade, government, and education, in a region where all or most of its speakers are nonnative.
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