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What is the difference between

‘language’ and ‘a language’?

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All related (37) Recommended

Andrew Dunbar
my hobby since the age of twelve, and my proffesion
during most of the 1990s · Author has 1.2K answers
and 2.3M answer views · 4y
Originally Answered: What is the difference between language and
a language?

When contrasted in this way, “language” would refer to

the uncountable senses of the word and “a language”
would refer to the countable senses. Let me choose a
random credible dictionary of English. Collins gives us
these senses:

countable noun

A language is a system of communication

which consists of a set of sounds and written
symbols which are used by the people of a
particular country or region for talking or
writing.

uncountable noun

Language is the use of a system of

communication which consists of a set of
sounds or written symbols.

You can refer to the words used in connection

with a particular subject as the language of
that subject.

You can refer to someone's use of rude words

or swearing as bad language when you find it
offensive.

The language of a piece of writing or speech

is the style in which it is written or spoken.

You can use language to refer to various

means of communication involving
recognizable symbols, non-verbal sounds, or
actions.

Other dictionaries will list more or fewer senses but

pretty much split up the same way.
9.8K views · View upvotes

Upvote · 6 1

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531

Casper Lee
I have Native American descendants and relatives… · 6y
Author has 92 answers and 396.6K answer views
Originally Answered: What is the difference between Language and
a language?

Difference between 'Language' and 'a language':

“Language” refers to a system of communication
unique to human beings that makes use of written and
vocal symbols. “A language”, on the other hand is a
subcategory of this type of communication peculiar to a
particular people, region, geographical region or socio-
political background. “Language” refers to the system
of human communication and is a more general term
than “a language” which is a given variety spoken by a
given speech community or country. The distinction is
usually made by capitalizing the 'L' of the more general
term.
Upvote · 34

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44

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Neeraj Mathur
Studied Linguistics · Upvoted by · Updated 4y
Steve Rapaport, Linguistics PhD
candidate at Edinburgh. Has lived in USA,
How do
RelatedSweden, linguists
Italy, distinguish
UK. and Khristy Reibel, between a
language and
Masters ofaeducation
dialect?English & German,
This isUniversity
a questionof often
Nevada, Las Vegas
asked (2011)Au
of many a linguist –
thor has 309 answers and 3.5M answer vi
‘Technically, scientifically, how do you linguists
ews
differentiate between a (real) language and (just) a
dialect?’

Well, I will let you in on a secret: we don’t.

The words ‘language’ and ‘dialect’, when used in

opposition to each other, are basically just social
constructs. We linguists find it convenient to use these
words, so we often do. But they are not defined as
‘terms’ in linguistic jargon. When we want to be
specific, there are other words we prefer instead, which
I will get to below.
Continue Reading
Does this sound odd to you? Well, there are lots of wo
Upvote · 382 48 14

Assistant
Bot · Aug 17

The terms "language" and "a language" can have

different meanings depending on the context in which
they are used:

1. Language (general concept):

- When used without an article (e.g.,
"language"), it refers to the general concept of
human communication systems, including both
spoken and written forms. It encompasses all
forms of communication, including gestures,
symbols, and various languages worldwide.
For example, one might say, "Language is a
fundamental aspect of human culture."

2. A language (specific instance):

- When used with the article "a" (e.g., "a
language"), it refers to Reading
Continue a specific

Your response is private

Was this worth your time?
This helps us sort answers on the page.

Absolutely not Definitely yes

Upvote

ODen
Works in Linguistics & Machine learning · Author … · 4y
s 6.7K answers and 4.3M answer views
Originally Answered: What is the difference between language and
a language?

What is the difference between “sheep” and “a sheep”.

Sheep is a generic term that encompases all

sheep

A sheep is one specific wooly animal

The same goes for language:

Language refers to the generic concept of

human communication trhough articulated
sounds or graphic representations.
=> Language is a unique ability of human
beings

A language refers to a specific language

(English, Japanese)
=> Mongolian is not a language which is often
taught in England.

Upvote · 1 1

Related questions (More answers below)

What is the difference between "English" and a

"language"?
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Brian Collins
BA in Linguistics & Slavic Languages, Univ · Updated 3y
ersity of Washington (Graduated 2014) · U
pvoted by Logan R. Kearsley, MA in
Linguistics from BYU, 8 years working in
What's
Relatedresearch forthe difference
language pedagogy.between
and a
language and a dialect?
Nick Nicholas, PhD in Linguistics from
This isMelbourne University,
not something lectured
people historical
are really investigating
linguisticsAuthor has 13.4K answers and
anymore.
70M answer views

In the early to mid 20th Century, linguists

operationalised it like:

dialects are mutually intelligible

languages are not mutually intelligible

It was easy for armchair linguists to just sit back with

these nice notions and not test them.

The problem is that what is mutually intelligible

depends not only on the similarity between two
languages/dialects, but on factors like motivation,
speaker attitude, and previous exposure.

Voegelin & Harris (1951) came up with a method to

‘test’ mutual intelligibility,
Continuebut did not actually use the
Reading
meth
Upvote · 63 12

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11

Ananthasegaram Rajasegaram
Author has 3.8K answers and 2.6M answer views · 6y
Originally Answered: What is the difference between language and
a language?

Each person had own language, each Group had own

their language, Some time this. Languages Will same or
different, ( may be same country there were different
languages,because different tapes of people or
cultures ) so different people different languages, so
language to Language Different-
Upvote 1

Bernard Delafontaine
Germanic and Romance lang., Latin, Anc. · Updated 3y
Greek · Upvoted by Logan R. Kearsley, MA
in Linguistics from BYU, 8 years working
Relatedin What isfor
research the difference
language between a dialect
pedagogy.Author
and a has
language?
2.2K answers and 6.1M answer views
IN SHORT:

There is no globally accepted standard to

distinguish the difference between language and a
dialect of a language

Difference Between Language and Dialect

Definitions

Language is the method of human communication,

either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words
in a structured and conventional way.

Dialect is a particular form of a language which is

peculiar to a specific region or social group.

Categories

Language can be categorized into two main parts:

Continue Reading
spoken language and written language.
21
Upvote
Dialects can· be
55 categorized into two4main parts:
standard dialects and non-standard dialects.

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Steven Ussery
70-year-old husband, grandfather, and amateur phi · 5y
losopher · Upvoted by Elena Karampatsou, MA
Linguistics (1996)Author has 26.3K answers and 7
What
Related0.2M is considered
answer views a different dialect vs a
different language?
A famous linguist once said that the difference between
a language and a dialect is that first has an Army and
Navy, whereas a dialect doesn’t have those. In other
words, the difference is usually along national and
political boundaries rather than technical ones.

However, most linguists would say that people who

speak different dialects have a higher comprehension
of what each other are saying than those who speak a
different language.

Which reminds me of a couple of stories: My wife and I

were in Barcelona, Continue
Spain about 15 years back. She is
Reading
fluent in Spanish, and in fact even though she was bo
Upvote · 10 3 3

Khalil Sawant
Speaker of Bankoti, a dialect of Konkani · Author … · 10y
as 340 answers and 955.2K answer views
Related What is the difference between a script
and a language?
Language is what you speak
Script is what you write
Period

Now see the following

I am a boy
आई एम अ बॉय
Main Ladkaa Hoon
मैं लड़का हूँ

The above 4 sentences are, respectively

English Language in Roman Script
English Language in Devanagari Script
Hindi Language in Roman Script
Hindi Language in Devanagari Script

A native English speaker with no knowledge of Indian

Languages/Script, will be able to read statement 1 and
3, but not 2 and 4. The speaker will also be able to
understand statement 1 and 2, but not 3 and 4, if you
read them out to her/him
Upvote · 80 9

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29

Mike Evans
Business and English Language Trainer (… · Updated 6y
013–present)
Related Is English just a language?
A lot of people get very upset about the fact that
English has become an international means of
communication in many fields and in many parts of the
world. This is a fact which can’t be denied. They fear
for the future of their own language and some see it as
in some way an insult to their own language. Conversely
I have come across some native English speakers who
believe that, simply because they speak English, they
are in someway superior.

All of these ideas fade away very quickly if you take a

quick look at history. You will
Continue find many other
Reading
languages which were also international means of
Upvote · 15 1 3

Christian R. Vornberg
South Africa-born Austrian language nerd · Autho… · 6y
has 1.4K answers and 3.6M answer views
Originally Answered: What is the difference between language and
a language?

“Language” is the use of speech within a given

language, e.g. English. Such as in Watch your language!
(Don’t use vulgar words!)

“A language” is a specific language. English, German,

Chinese, whatever. When discussed specifically in
whatever context.
Upvote · 2

Luuk Schuring
I speak 5 languages and did a short study on lang… · 5y
age groups · Author has 850 answers and 9.8M an
What
Relatedswer viewsis considered a different dialect vs a
different language?
As someone who speaks a language that until March
this year was considered a dialect, I might be uniquely
able to answer this.

Basically, there is only a very thin line between A) a

language with a very strong dialect and B) to very
closely related languages, and it can actually be hard to
make that distinction.

I come from a province of the Netherlands called

“Limburg”, when the now ex-dialect we spoke used to
be called “Limburgish” (Limburgish - Wikipedia). The
reason this change is not on Wikipedia yet, is because
although the decision to change
Continue the status from dialect
Reading
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Upvote · 9

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