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A single word carrying the connotation or literal meaning of either, "real language" or "official language" that is roughly antonymous with the word vernacular.

To provide more context: I am seeking to use this word to describe a "real language" in the same way that English or Danish is a "real language".

The purpose being to describe a language barrier in a nontraditional sense. For example, if we take the concept of a language barrier and apply it to programming languages or any other domain specific language that already has an established vernacular or jargon associated with it. Such that an outsider to that particular domain could feel as though there is something of a language barrier between themselves and a member of that specific domain.

The end goal is that we can make make the assertion that language barriers don't necessarily apply only to languages as we define them in the form of English or Danish but also to a vernacular or jargon used within a specific domain.

Arm the good guys in America
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Rick
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    To me at least, "real language" is already synonymous with "vernacular", meaning the real, actual language that people speak; as opposed to the "official language" which is mandated but hardly anyone actually uses. – Mark Beadles Jan 04 '19 at 01:48
  • Related:Usage of 'vernacular'. – jsw29 Jan 04 '19 at 02:12
  • How did you define language to begin with? – Kris Jan 04 '19 at 07:50
  • @Kris : I'm not offering my own definition of language in and of itself. I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that a consensus on the definition of language such as one that might be found in a dictionary was given. What I am lacking is a word that carries the connotation that English or Danish is more so a language as well as better adhering to what most would consider language than is javascript, for example. One might consider that such a language is a "real language" when comparing it to another language, such as javascript, that is less conforming to the generally accepted idea of language. – Rick Jan 04 '19 at 11:12
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    You obviously have not thought about "natural language (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language)." All that you need to distinguish is call English and Danish "natural languages" and then look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_%28disambiguation%29 ; While at it, look also here: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/language ; https://www.britannica.com/topic/language ; and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language. Good Luck. – Kris Jan 04 '19 at 11:23
  • @MarkBeadles See my comment above. – Kris Jan 04 '19 at 11:25
  • Also @jsw29 See my comment above. – Kris Jan 04 '19 at 11:25
  • @Kris : if you would make your comment an answer I will upvote and accept it. You are right that I hadn't thought deeply about natural versus artificial and or constructed languages. The term fits what I am in search of concisely. Still, I had hoped for an even more concise term that wraps the concept up. It may be that a single word having the same meaning has not entered English yet or will one ever. Thank you for breaking me of my fixation on that particular goal. – Rick Jan 04 '19 at 12:08
  • Rick, it's really the other way round: language, naturally had meant natural language until artificial languages came to be so we needed the distinctive adjective for what was already there. IMHO, even today, language ought to be understood as "natural language" unless the context otherwise requires and specifies. Maybe we should have created a term for "artificial language." Soon we are going to face the same quandary wrt AI: artificial intelligence. – Kris Jan 05 '19 at 08:42
  • As for answering the Q, you can see that my statement was too short to technically qualify for an answer on ELU. It's more in the nature of a comment, so I had to post it as one. Thanks a lot, though. It's always nice to be of help. – Kris Jan 05 '19 at 08:43
  • Hi Rick, welcome to EL&U. You might not be aware that there are strict rules for [tag:single-word-requests]: "To ensure your question is not closed as off-topic, please be specific about the intended use of the word. You must include a sample sentence demonstrating how the word would be used." You can add this using the [edit] link. For further guidance, see [ask], and make sure you also take the EL&U [Tour] :-) – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Feb 03 '19 at 05:50

1 Answers1

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Having been chastised for not answering the Question title I offer the word single word

Idiomacy

as the barrier between languages whatever their locality shape or form.

For prior usage see here https://english.stackexchange.com/a/391117/322168

My original answer to the initial question still holds that in one word any Language is "real language" In a week from now our conversation may appear to some as vernacular, but who knows?

English, double-dutch Esperanto Fortran Basic... in their own right they are all real languages but you can call them vernacular if you wish, that's the beauty of languages they are forever changing without bounds or barriers the only frontier is idiomatic translation.

Language moves on, an'on.

The Moving Finger taps; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

K J
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