词组 | language |
释义 | language /ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/ noun 1. a system of words and grammar used by the people of a particular country or areaadjectivesa foreign language He found learning a foreign language extremely difficult.the English/Japanese/Spanish etc language She had some knowledge of the Spanish language.sb’s first/native language (=the language someone first learned as a child) His first language was Polish.a second language (=a language you speak that is not your first language) Most of the students learned English as their second language.modern languages (=ones that are spoken now) The school has a good modern languages department.a dead language (=one that is no longer spoken) She didn’t see the point of learning a dead language.the official language (=the language used for official business in a country) Canada has two official languages: English and French.a common language (=a language that more than one person or group speaks, so that they can understand each other) Most of the countries of South America share a common language: Spanish.the local language I had learned a few phrases of the local language.the indigenous language formal (=spoken by a group of people living in a country, before other people arrived there) In Guatemala there are more than 20 indigenous languages.an international language English has become an international language.verbsspeak a language Can you speak a foreign language?use a language The children use their native language at home.learn a language It is important to learn the local language when living abroad.master a language (=succeed in learning a language well) She had had a long struggle to master the Russian language.know a language He had lived in Japan, but did not know the language.language + nounsthe language barrier (=the problem of communicating with someone when you do not speak the same language) Because of the language barrier, it was hard for doctors to give good advice to patients.a language student/learner Language learners often have problems with tenses.a language teacher She worked as a foreign language teacher in a secondary school.language teaching The article is about recent developments in language teaching.phrasessb’s command of a language (=someone’s ability to speak a language) Does he have a good command of the language?THESAURUS: languagedifferent kinds of language dialect a form of a language that is spoken in one area of a country, with different words, grammar, or pronunciation from other areas: Cantonese is only one of many Chinese dialects. | She can speak the local dialect. | His books are written in dialect. accent the way that someone pronounces words, because of where they were born or live, or their social class: Karen has a strong New Jersey accent. | The woman spoke with an upper class accent. | I could tell from his accent that he wasn't English. slang very informal spoken language, used especially by people who belong to a particular group, for example young people or criminals: Teenage slang changes all the time. | ‘Dosh’ is slang for ‘money’. jargon especially disapproving words and phrases used in a particular profession or subject and which are difficult for other people to understand: The instructions were written in complicated technical jargon. | ‘Outsourcing’ is business jargon for sending work to people outside a company to do. | The letter was full of legal jargon. terminology formal the technical words or expressions that are used in a particular subject: Patients are often unfamiliar with medical terminology. | He wrote a book about computer terminology.techniques used in language metaphor a way of describing something by referring to it as something different and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that thing: The beehive is a metaphor for human society. simile an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words as or like, for example ‘as white as snow’: The poet uses the simile ‘soft like clay’. irony the use of words that are the opposite of what you really mean, often in order to be amusing: “I’m so happy to hear that,” she said, with more than a trace of irony in her voice. | His stories are full of gentle irony. bathos a sudden change from a subject that is beautiful, moral, or serious to something that is ordinary, silly, or not important: The play is too sentimental and full of bathos. hyperbole a way of describing something by saying that it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is – used especially to excite people’s feelings: His speeches are full of hyperbole. | Journalists love to use hyperbole. alliteration the use of several words together that all begin with the same sound, in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry: Notice the alliteration of the ‘s’ sound in ‘sweet birds sang softly’. imagery the use of words to describe ideas or actions in a way that makes the reader connect the ideas with pictures in their mind: I wrote an essay about the use of water imagery in Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’. | She uses the imagery of a bird’s song to represent eternal hope. rhetorical question a question that you ask as a way of making a statement, without expecting an answer: When he said ‘how can these attitudes still exist in a civilized society?’, he was asking a rhetorical question.2. words in generaladjectivesbad/foul/strong/obscene language (=rude words) There is some bad language in the play.spoken/written language There are some big differences between spoken and written language.formal/informal language The word ‘hitherto’ is used in formal language.plain/simple/everyday language The leaflet is written in simple everyday language.legal/technical language Lawyers often use complicated legal language.suitable language/the right language When you are writing an essay, you need to use the right language.poetic language The author uses beautiful poetic language.verbsuse language Some people were offended by the language he used.learn language also acquire language formal Children mainly acquire language from their mothers.mind/watch your language (=used when telling someone not to use rude words) You’d better mind your language in front of the teacher.Body languageYou use body language about communication using your body, rather than words: If you study his body language, you can see that he is lying. |
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