Lengua o Idioma
From Latin lingua (the human organ for eating and speaking; language; manner of speaking)
A lengua (language) is the particular way a specific group of human beings communicates. It is a set of sounds, letters, or signs combined to convey ideas. Examples:
Examples
- Lengua francesa (the French language).
- Lengua española (the Spanish language).
- Lengua italiana (the Italian language).
- Lengua guajira (the Wayuu language of Venezuela and Colombia).
- Lengua de señas (sign language).
- Un niño de un año aún no domina su lengua. ("A one-year-old child doesn't yet master their language.")
Note
In Spanish, lengua originally meant the tongue in your mouth (same word in Latin), and was later extended to mean the language spoken with it. English does the same: "mother tongue".