target language

American  

noun

1. the language into which a text is to be translated from another language.

2. a language, especially a foreign language, that one is in the process of learning.

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target language British  

noun

1. the language into which a text, document, etc, is translated

2. a language that is being or is to be learnt

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Etymology

Origin of target language

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Many language learners will tell you that conversing with native speakers is an essential part of learning your target language.

From The Verge • Feb. 15, 2022

If nothing else, it’s a good way to keep your mind on your target language throughout the day and sneak in some practice where you can.

From The Verge • Feb. 15, 2022

Usually, half the day is taught in English and half in the target language, e.g.,

From New York Times • Dec. 26, 2014

Typically on a sentence-by-sentence level, the program translates by finding words in the target language that both make sense together grammatically and are likely to match well with their analogues in the source language.

From Slate • May 11, 2012

MT analyzes the text in the source language and automatically generates the corresponding text in the target language.

From The Internet and Languages [around the year 2000] by Lebert, Marie