second language

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noun

a language learned by a person after his or her native language, especially as a resident of an area where it is in general use.

a language widely used, especially in educational and governmental functions in a region where all or most of its speakers are nonnative, as English in India or Nigeria.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE 12 TYPES OF VERB TENSES!

Loosen up your grammar muscles because it’s time to test your knowledge on verb tenses!

Question 1 of 6

The verb tenses can be split into which 3 primary categories?

action, linking, and helping

dynamic, static, and auxiliary

past, present, and future

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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Words nearby second language

second home, second-homer, second intention, Second International, second lady, second language, second lien, second lieutenant, secondly, second man, second mate

How to use second language in a sentence

In parts of eastern Germany that feel neglected by Berlin, schools are now teaching Polish as a second language.
Can Germany Lead Without Merkel?|Nick Fouriezos|April 14, 2021|Ozy
Despite the strong language, however, the neither the JPO nor Lockheed could dispute a single fact in either Daily Beast report.
Pentagon Misfires in Stealth Jet Scandal|Dave Majumdar|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Gunshots rang out in Paris this morning on a second day of deadly violence that has stunned the French capital.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And as he adjusted to this change in circumstances, he screamed at himself a second time: Wait!
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

A second document was titled: “Gambia Reborn: A Charter for Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy and Development.”
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some of them already are in Germany taking language lessons.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Perhaps you do not speak my language,” she said in Urdu, the tongue most frequently heard in Upper India.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
In treble, second and fourth, the first change is a dodge behind; and the second time the treble leads, there's a double Bob.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
On his head was the second-hand hat of some parvenu's coachman, gold lace, cockade and all.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The beauty, the mystery,—this fierce sunshine or something—stir——' She hesitated for a fraction of a second.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
I would ask you to imagine it translated into every language, a common material of understanding throughout all the world.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for second language

second language

noun

a language other than the mother tongue that a person or community uses for public communication, esp in trade, higher education, and administration

a non-native language officially recognized and adopted in a multilingual country as a means of public communication

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012