language

1. A systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols (synset 106293304)
   "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"
   domain member category:

   • accent, accent mark - a diacritical mark used to indicate stress or placed above a vowel to indicate a special pronunciation
   • expressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period
   • language, oral communication, speech, speech communication, spoken communication, spoken language, voice communication - (language) communication by word of mouth
   • alphabetize - provide with an alphabet
   • crystal clear, limpid, lucid, luculent, pellucid, perspicuous - (of language) transparently clear; easily understandable
   • well-turned - (of language) aptly and pleasingly expressed
   • uncorrupted, undefiled - (of language) not having its purity or excellence debased
   • synchronic - concerned with phenomena (especially language) at a particular period without considering historical antecedents
   • diachronic, historical - used of the study of a phenomenon (especially language) as it changes through time
   hypernym: communication - something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups
   hyponym:

   • usage - the customary manner in which a language (or a form of a language) is spoken or written
   • dead language - a language that is no longer learned as a native language
   • words - language that is spoken or written
   • source language - a language that is to be translated into another language
   • object language, target language - the language into which a text written in another language is to be translated
   • sign language, signing - language expressed by visible hand gestures
   • artificial language - a language that is deliberately created for a specific purpose
   • metalanguage - a language that can be used to describe languages
   • native language - the language that a person has spoken from earliest childhood
   • indigenous language - a language that originated in a specified place and was not brought to that place from elsewhere
   • superstrate, superstratum - the language of a later invading people that is imposed on an indigenous population and contributes features to their language
   • natural language, tongue - a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language
   • interlanguage, koine, lingua franca - a common language used by speakers of different languages
   • linguistic string, string of words, word string - a linear sequence of words as spoken or written
   • barrage, bombardment, onslaught, outpouring - the rapid and continuous delivery of linguistic communication (spoken or written)
   • slanguage - language characterized by excessive use of slang or cant
   synonym: linguistic communication
2. (language) communication by word of mouth (synset 107123904)
   "his speech was garbled"; "he uttered harsh language"; "he recorded the spoken language of the streets"
   domain category: language, linguistic communication - a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
   hypernym: auditory communication - communication that relies on hearing
   hyponym:

   • words - the words that are spoken
   • orthoepy, pronunciation - the way a word or a language is customarily spoken
   • conversation - the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.
   • discussion, give-and-take, word - an exchange of views on some topic
   • expression, locution, saying - a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
   • non-standard speech - speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community
   • idiolect - the language or speech of one individual at a particular period in life
   • monologue - a long utterance by one person (especially one that prevents others from participating in the conversation)
   • charm, magic spell, magical spell, spell - a verbal formula believed to have magical force
   • dictation - speech intended for reproduction in writing
   • monologue, soliloquy - speech you make to yourself
   synonym: oral communication, speech, speech communication, spoken communication, spoken language, voice communication
3. The text of a popular song or musical-comedy number (synset 107066015)
   "his compositions always started with the lyrics"; "he wrote both words and music"; "the song uses colloquial language"
   hypernym: text, textual matter - the words of something written
   hyponym: love lyric - the lyric of a love song
   part meronym: song, vocal - a short musical composition with words
   synonym: lyric, words
4. The cognitive processes involved in producing and understanding linguistic communication (synset 105816565)
   "he didn't have the language to express his feelings"
   hypernym: higher cognitive process - cognitive processes that presuppose the availability of knowledge and put it to use
   hyponym: reading - the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
   synonym: linguistic process
5. The mental faculty or power of vocal communication (synset 105658665)
   "language sets homo sapiens apart from all other animals"
   domain member category: verbalise, verbalize - convert into a verb
   hypernym: faculty, mental faculty, module - one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
   part holonym:

   • lexis - all of the words in a language; all word forms having meaning or grammatical function
   • lexicon, mental lexicon, vocabulary - a language user's knowledge of words
   synonym: speech
6. A system of words used to name things in a particular discipline (synset 106315049)
   "legal terminology"; "biological nomenclature"; "the language of sociology"
   hypernym: word - a unit of language that native speakers can identify
   hyponym:

   • markup language - a set of symbols and rules for their use when doing a markup of a document
   • toponomy, toponymy - the nomenclature of regional anatomy
   synonym: nomenclature, terminology

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