language

mother tongue

the first language a person learns as a child; native language

learning strategies

methods or techniques used to make learning more effective

foreign

coming from or relating to another country; not native

native speaker

a person who has spoken a language since early childhood

slang

very informal words and expressions used by particular groups of people

jargon

specialized words and expressions used by a particular profession or group

fluency

the ability to speak or write a language smoothly and easily

accuracy

the quality of being correct and free from mistakes

skill

the ability to do something well, usually developed through practice

bilingual

able to speak and use two languages equally well or very well

global language

a language that is widely used for communication between people from different countries

command of language

proficiency in using a language, including vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and fluency

mind your language

be careful about the words you use; avoid rude, offensive, or inappropriate language

language barrier

difficulties in communication caused by people speaking different languages

dead language

a language that is no longer spoken as a native language

official language

a language recognized by a government for official communication and documents

everyday language

ordinary language used in daily communication rather than formal or technical language

offensive language

words or expressions that may insult, upset, or offend people

to put it in a nutshell

to summarise very briefly, giving only the main points

to get straight to the point

to talk about the most important thing

to hear it on the grapevine

to hear news from someone who heard the news from someone else (gossip, rumour)

to put you in the picture

to give the latest information

to get the wrong end of the stick

misunderstand something

to be on the same wavelength

to think in a similar way and to understand each other well

can’t make head or tail of it

to not be able to understand something

to talk at cross purposes

to not understand each other because of different intentions

to beat about the bush

discuss a matter without coming to the point (to talk about lots of unimportant things because you want to avoid talking about what is really important)

to get our wires crossed

to have a misunderstanding

to chatter

to talk for a long time about things that are not important; to talk to someone informally

to whisper

to speak very quietly, using the breathe but not the voice, so that only the person close to you can hear you

to shout

to speak with a very loud voice, often as lous as possible

to mutter

to speak quitely and in a low voice that is not easy to hear, often when you are worried or complainign about something

to babble

to talk in a quick, confused, excited or silly way

to mumble

to speak quietly and in a way that is not clear (difficult to understand)

to moan

to make a long, low sound of pain, suffering, or another strong emotion

to ramble

to talk or write in a confused way, often for a long time

to digress

to move away from the main subject you are writing or talking about

pace

the speed