language barrier

American  

[lang-gwij bar-ee-er] / ˈlæŋ gwɪdʒ ˌbær i ər /

noun

1. difficulty in communicating due to the lack of a shared language.

   International adoption is not easy, especially when there is a language barrier.

---

Etymology

Origin of language barrier

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Turns out, it wasn’t a language barrier, it was a sound barrier.

From Los Angeles Times

Historically, some U.S. listeners have struggled to embrace K-pop because of the language barrier, or found the genre’s melodic digressions and stop-start rhythms jarring, as if three songs are crammed into one.

From The Wall Street Journal

AI also can be used to clean up grammar and language, helping foreign scammers overcome language barriers that might have made their phishing attempts seem less credible in the past.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yin expects the advantage could eventually shift global patterns of scientific productivity toward regions that have been held back by the language barrier.

From Science Daily

Shame over the condition’s perceived stigma, language barriers and a general fear of expressing oneself add to this cultural dilemma, one that hasn’t been widely explored on the big screen.

From Los Angeles Times