monolingualadj.n.
/ˌmɒnə(ʊ)ˈlɪŋɡw(ə)l/, U.S. /ˌmɑnəˈlɪŋɡw(ə)l/ A. adj.
1. Of a person, etc.: that speaks, writes, or understands only one language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > monolingual
monoglot1830
monolingual1855
unilingual1866
monolinguistic1887
monolingual1956
1855 Cardiff & Merthyr Guardian 31 Mar. We are informed by a friend, that one of his last acts of charity was to forward some Welsh books, and also 50 copies of the Cymro, to the Crimea, for perusal by the monolingual Celts.
1879 Littell's Living Age 26 Apr. 250/1 The intelligence..remains as undeveloped in the trilingual child..as in the monolingual one.
1891 Cent. Mag. Feb. 546/1 Millard was equal to a tête-à-tête with the monolingual foreigner.
1953 Use of Vernacular Lang. in Educ. (Unesco) ii. 50 It cannot be denied that the business of government is easier in a monolingual than in a multilingual nation.
1972 Language 48 910 The English translations do not, I think, allow the monolingual speaker of English to get any sense of how a speaker of Japanese feels when he is addressed with -san.
1988 Independent 3 Sept. 15/8 My companions had made friends with two of the families, both mono-lingual Catalans.
2. Of a publication or text: written in only one language.
ΚΠ
1955 E. Wüster (title) Bibliography of monolingual scientific and technical glossaries. (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.)
1968 Amer. Notes & Queries Mar. 109/1 As a monolingual dictionary and a ready reference work..the Larousse has no parallel in any other language.
1993 Bookseller (BNC) 5 Feb. 31 The Macmillan Business English Programme..comprises a core ESP course,..a Trainer's Pack and Self-Study Packs (with planned monolingual and bilingual editions).
3. Of or relating to monolingualism.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > monolingual
monoglot1830
monolingual1855
unilingual1866
monolinguistic1887
monolingual1956
1956 E. I. Haugen Bilingualism in Amer. iv. 77 Any kind of sampling test which adequately measures monolingual skill can be used to make comparisons between monolinguals and bilinguals speaking the same language.
1990 Appl. Linguistics 11 404 Analysis of the available data reveals that some, but not all, aspects of linguistic development follow the corresponding monolingual pattern.
1993 M. Sebba London Jamaican (BNC) 129 Bell goes on to make explicit a relationship between monolingual stylistic variation and bilingual behaviour.
B. n.
A person who speaks only one language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [noun] > monolingualism > monolingual person
monolinguist1858
monoglot1894
monolingual1956
unilingual1956
1956 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xxvi. 9 A monolingual (also called a monoglot or a unilingual) is a person who knows only one language.
1972 H. Kurath Stud. Area Linguistics vii. 112 A few of them have even been adopted by English monolinguals of Pennsylvania.
1991 Appl. Linguistics 12 237 Asian bilinguals accepted the innovations of non-Panjabi monolinguals.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1855