words, phrases, and grammar that is used by the people who live in a particular country for speaking and writing to each other: "What language do they speak in Brazil"Portuguese." I She can speak four different languages - French, German, English, and Dutch.
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foreign language Children learn two foreign languages in school. official language (=the language used by the government) English is the island's official language, but people also speak French and Creole.
You can also use language before a noun, like an adjective: language teaching ianguoge classes
dialect 'daialekt [n C] a form of a language that is spoken by the people who live in one area of a country, which is different in some ways from the standard form of the language: The people in this part of Germany speak a dialect called 'PlattdeutschI In some northern English dialects, people say 'nowf' instead of 'nothing'.
slang slaei] (n U] very informal words used by young people or by specific groups of people for example soldiers or prisoners or people who take drugs: / was totally confused by the slang that the other kids spoke.
jargon "d3a:rg3n||-g9n, -gain [n U] words
used by people who do a particular job or who are interested in a particular subject, which are difficult for ordinary people to understand: When you first learn about computers, there is a whole lot of jargon to understand.
management/leg al/medical/computer jargon I hate all this management jargon about 'upskilling1 and 'downsizing'.
to change something
from one language into another
translate /traensieit, traenz-- [v I/T] to change what someone has said or written from one language into another. She has translated a number of his books. I Patrice doesn't speak English, so I'll have to translate.
translate stk into Spanish/Japanese/ English Can you translate this fetter into
French?
speak the language (=be able to speak the language of the country you are in) ft's difficult living in a country where you don 'f speak the language.
A
Don't say 'I'm learning the Japanese language', 'Do you speak Italian language?' etc. Say I'm learning Japanese, Do you speak ltalian?etc.
A
translate from English into Japanesei from Spanish into German etc In the
417 LANGUAGE
second exam we have to translate from Italian into English.
interpret /т'п:грф/ [и I] to translate what someone is saying immediately after they say it, so that people who speak different languages can talk to each other: No-one in the tour group spoke Spanish, so we had to ask the guide to interpret. + for My boss doesn't speak any Japanese, but I interpret for her.
translation traens'leipn, traenz-/ In C/U J
a piece of writing or speech that has been changed from one language into another: I have only read the English translation of the book, not the Japanese original. do a translation (^translate something) I have to do a translation for homework, in translation (^translated into a different language) All of Brecht's plays are available in translation.
someone who translates from one language into another
translator .'trans'leitor, trienz- [n C]
someone whose job is to translate what people say or write from one language into another: She works as a translator in Geneva.
interpreter m't^pr^r \n С] someone
whose job is to translate what has just been said, so that people who speak different languages can talk to each other; Both Presidents were accompanied by their interpreters
through an interpreter (=using an inter preter) Speaking through an interpreter he said: 'I'm afraid to go back to my own country.'
the language that you learn first
sb's Jirst language (sbs) f3irst
laei]gwjd3 the first language that you learn as a child - use this when you are comparing someone's first language with other languages that they learn at school or
later: My first language is Dutch.
sb's mother tongue/(sb's) тл<ъг the first language that you learn as a child - use this especially to talk about someone who now lives in a country where a
someone who can speak more than one language
bilingual bai'liqgvol' [adj] someone who is bilingual can speak two languages perfectly: Omar is bilingual - his parents speak Arabic, but he was brought up in France.
sb's second language /(sb's) scksnd
lЈBrjgwid3/ [n C] your second language is a language that you speak well and often use, but not the first language that you learned as a child: Halima was born in Kenya. Her first language is Swahili,
В
and her second language is English.
the use of words to communicate
language /'laei]gwid;s/ [n U] the use of
words, grammar etc to communicate with other people: a fascinating study of the origins of language 1 Every child develops the natural ability to use language.
linguistic /liq'gwistik/ [adj usually before noun] connected with people's use of language
linguistic ability/sfcills/studies/develop- ment a child's linguistic development I She should be able to learn Russian fairly easily - she has plenty of linguistic ability.
LAST
opposite hrst see also end, finish
coming at the end/ after all the others
last /la:st||laest/ [adj] happening or coming at the end, with no others after: What time does the last train leave? I Could you repeat the last number for me
please? I That was the last time I ever saw her. (=1 never saw her again) I the last game of the football season the last That lecture was the last in a series.
the last but oae (=the person or thing
before the last one) Ours was the last car but one to leave the ferry. last [ado] I expect they'll interview me last because my name begins with Y.
come last/finish last/be last клт
ia.'st, ffпг/ 'Ia:st, bi; larstj-'laest/ to finish a race or competition in the last position: Our team came last in the gymnastics competition. I I don't expect to win the race, but I don't want to be last.