foreign languagen.
/ˌfɒrᵻn ˈlaŋɡwɪdʒ/, /ˌfɒrn̩ ˈlaŋɡwɪdʒ/, U.S. /ˌfɔrən ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/, /ˌfɑrən ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/ A language not widely spoken in one's native country; a language other than one's own.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > [noun] > a foreign language
foreign language1555
uplandish1586
Welsh1598
outlandisha1626
lingo1659
second language1875
the bat1887
target language1965
foreign1971
1555 R. Pownall tr. W. Musculus Temporysour iv. sig. f.viii The ignoraunte aunsweres of the witnesses or godfathers there present in the behalf of the chylde, beynge all together done in a foreyne language [L. en langue latine].
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa i. iii. 87 There is a Press..for all Foreign Languages.
1756 S. Johnson Proposals for printing Shakespeare 4 The reader is therefore embarrassed at once with dead and with foreign languages, with obsoleteness and innovation.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 141 The hesitation incidental to the use of a foreign language.
1837 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 281 Modern foreign languages..should be taught not merely by native teachers, but by Americans.
1949 E. Goudge Gentian Hill (1992) i. ii. 27 There was nothing in her pocket but..a scrap of paper with something written on it in a foreign language that no one could make head or tail of.
1984 E. Bourgoin Foreign Langs. & your Career (ed. 3) iii. 42 A master's degree in applied linguistics with specialization in teaching English as a foreign language.
2016 Economist 24 Dec. 71/1 He picked up foreign languages absurdly quickly. By the end of a long career, he was fluent in nine and could rub along in another dozen.
Compounds
C1. General use as a modifier or with participles and agent nouns, forming compounds in which foreign language expresses the object of the underlying verb, as in foreign-language acquisition, foreign-language learning, foreign-language speaker, foreign-language study, foreign-language teaching, etc.
ΚΠ
1826 D. Ramsay Delineation of Mixed School i. ii. 37 In this round, the Latin and other foreign language classes, translated their lessons into English, after it had been read by them.
1896 P. H. Hanus in Educ. Rev. 12 441 The science of grammar as a guide to the study of his mother tongue and as an instrument in foreign-language acquisition.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. iii. 54 The factor of foreign-language speaking does not lend itself to measurement.
1971 Incorporated Linguist 10 39/1 No one would claim that British foreign-language policy towards Europe is or should be principally determined by the extent to which English is known and used in Europe.
1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 2 Nov. (Review section) 9/1 Foreign language teaching should..encourage positive attitudes to others and promote skills of more general application.
2006 Smithsonian Mar. 112/1 I trawled the Internet, phoned embassies and tracked down foreign-language speakers who could confirm my findings.
2007 Harper's Mag. Sept. 37/1 $900 million..to beef up math, science, and foreign-language teaching in American schools and colleges.
C2. As a modifier designating something, esp. a film, produced in a foreign language.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > type of film > [adjective] > other types
costumed1851
foreign language1904
first run1910
Keystone1912
photodramatic1914
serial1915
coming of age1919
edge-of-your-seat1922
psychodramatic1927
omnibus1928
straight1936
low-budget1937
no-budget1937
screwball1937
Ealing1939
blockbusting1943
private eye1946
film noir1952
white telephone1952
portmanteau1953
uncut1953
anthology1955
three-D1955
Hammer1958
noir1958
co-production1959
kitchen sink1959
kidult1960
docudrama1961
cinéma vérité1963
maudit1963
filmi1965
indie1968
triple-X1969
XXX1969
drama-documentary1970
cheapie1973
gross-out1973
high concept1973
chopsocky1974
hard R1974
buddy movie1975
sci-fi1977
mondo1979
hack-and-slash1981
microbudget1981
hack-and-slay1982
slice-and-dice1982
fly on the wall1983
psychotronic1983
noirish1985
Mad Max1986
stoner1987
bonkbusting1993
straight to DVD1997
1904 School Rev. 12 u6 (advt.) A pamphlet..listing all the important modern foreign language books published by Gunn & Company, will be sent to any address on request.
1923 Methodist Year Bk. 176 The established custom of printing the foreign language editions on mission and other presses on the foreign fields has been continued.
1940 N.Y. Times 30 Dec. 20/2 ‘The Baker's Wife’ was voted the best foreign-language production.
1950 Britannica Bk. of Year 173/1 The New York film critics made the following selections for 1949: best picture of the year, All the King's Men; best foreign-language picture, The Bicycle Thieves (Italian); [etc.].
1959 Encounter Dec. 56/2 The BBC set new standards for foreign-language broadcasts.
2002 Big Issue 17 June 32/1 Aamir Khan's Hindi movie Lagaan..[was] pipped at the post for best foreign language film at this year's Oscars.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2022).
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