Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The type of language produced by nonnative speakers when learning another language.
  • noun A lingua franca.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A language created by students of a foreign language, incorporating aspects of their own language.
  • noun A common language used by speakers of different languages.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a common language used by speakers of different languages

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

inter- +‎ language

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Examples

  • “What I like about the idea of interlanguage is that it suggests there is a state where there is no “incorrect” language, more like opportunities for development.”

    E is for Error « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • What I like about the idea of interlanguage is that it suggests there is a state where there is no “incorrect” language, more like opportunities for development.

    E is for Error « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • The reason that I like to learn languages is so that I can talk to people in their language and maybe have a chance of understanding something that they could't have told me in an "interlanguage".

    languagehat.com: REPRESSIVE ESPERANTO. 2005

  • Since transfer mistakes arise where the systems of two languages are similar but not identical, they are most common (at least as far grammar and vocabulary are concerned) in the interlanguage of students who speak languages closely related to English.

    E is for Error « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • But the advent of interlanguage studies put paid to that.

    E is for Error « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • Or is ELFL just another way of describing interlanguage?

    C is for Conditional (the Third) « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • I think he argues that this interlanguage has identifiable commonalities across language background and level so it may be argued that it is a linguistic system in its own right, without the need to conform to rigorous NS ‘standards’

    C is for Conditional (the Third) « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • As a footnote to the above, it seems that if the i in i + 1 stands for anything it is interlanguage.

    Z is for ZPD « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • One reason for this is – as I point out in An A-Z - “being pushed to produce language puts learners in a better position to notice the ‘gaps’ in their language knowledge”, encouraging them to ‘upgrade’ their existing interlanguage system.

    P is for Push « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • However, I believe I agree with Nick and what the studies on interlanguage say when it comes to grammar.

    E is for Error « An A-Z of ELT 2010

Comments

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  • The type of language produced by nonnative speakers in the process of learning a second language or foreign language.

    March 31, 2007