Language

Language is the ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so.

Description

A language is any specific example of such a system.

The scientific study of language is called linguistics.

Etymology

The English word language derives ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s "tongue, speech, language" through Latin lingua, "language; tongue", and Old French language.

Formal languages

The word is sometimes used to refer to codes, ciphers, and other kinds of artificially constructed communication systems such as formally defined programming languages used for computer programming.

A formal language in this sense is a system of signs for encoding and decoding information.

See also

• Anagram
• Code
• Communication
• Computer program
• Formal language
• Glossary
• Lexicon
• Linguistics
• Machine language
• Orthography
• Programming language
• Proto-Human language
• Symbol
• Word
• Writing

External links

• Language @ Wikipedia