monolingual

American  

[mon-uh-ling-gwuhl, -ling-gyoo-uhl] / ˌmɒn əˈlɪŋ gwəl, -ˈlɪŋ gyu əl /

adjective

1. knowing or able to use only one language; monoglot.

2. spoken or written in only one language.

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noun

1. a monolingual person.

monolingual British  

/ ˌmɒnəʊˈlɪŋɡwəl /

adjective

1. knowing or expressed in only one language

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noun

1. a monolingual person

Usage

What does monolingual mean? Monolingual is used to describe someone who can speak or understand only one language. It can also mean written in, spoken in, or involving only one language. Monolingual is often used in contrast with terms like bilingual (able to speak two languages), trilingual (able to speak three languages), and multilingual (able to speak more than two and especially several languages). The ability to speak or understand only one language or the regular use of only one language is called monolingualism. Example: One of my great regrets is being monolingual and not learning another language when I was younger.

Other Word Forms

• monolingualism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of monolingual

First recorded in 1950–55; mono- + lingual

Explanation

If you're monolingual, you speak just one language. If you are monolingual, your chances of landing a job as a translator are pretty darn slim. Your whole family might be monolingual, while your best friend comes from a family that speaks Spanish at home and English at school — in other words, they're bilingual. Being monolingual can be limiting, since you can only communicate clearly with others who speak your language. Learning new languages and becoming bilingual (or even multilingual, speaking several languages) is also good for your brain. The Greek root mono means "one," and the Latin lingua means "tongue" or "language."