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interlanguage

American  
[in-ter-lang-gwij] / ˈɪn tərˌlæŋ gwɪdʒ /

noun

  1. a language created or used for international communication.

  2. (in second-language acquisition) the linguistic system characterizing the output of a nonnative speaker at any stage prior to full acquisition of the target language.

Etymology

Origin of interlanguage

First recorded in 1925–30; inter- + language

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Communication troubles between South Africa's speakers of English and Afrikaans led him to think about an interlanguage.

From Time Magazine Archive

He favors a synthetic interlanguage rather than a simplified ethnic one.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.