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Character vs Language - What's the difference?

character | language |

As nouns the difference between character and language

is that character is while language is (lb) a body of words, and set of methods of combining them (called a grammar), understood by a community and used as a form of communication or language can be a languet, a flat plate in or below the flue pipe of an organ.

As a verb language is

to communicate by language; to express in language.

character

English

Noun

  • A being involved in the action of a story.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 26, author=Tasha Robinson, work=The Onion AV Club
    • , title= Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits , passage=But Pirates! comes with all the usual Aardman strengths intact, particularly the sense that its characters and creators alike are too good-hearted and sweet to nitpick. The ambition is all in the craft rather than in the storytelling, but it’s hard to say no to the proficiency of that craft, or the mild good cheer behind it. }}
  • A distinguishing feature; characteristic.
  • A complex of mental and ethical traits marking a person or a group.
  • * Motley
    • a man of thoroughly subservient character
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=3 , passage=Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.}}
  • Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.
    • He has a great deal of character .
  • A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.
    • Julius Caesar is a great historical character .
  • A written or printed symbol, or letter.
  • * Holder
    • It were much to be wished that there were throughout the world but one sort of character for each letter to express it to the eye.
  • Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
    • an inscription in the Runic character
  • * Shakespeare
    • You know the character to be your brother's?
  • (computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
  • (informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown or raises suspicions.
  • (mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
  • Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.
    • in the miserable character of a slave
    in his character as a magistrate
  • (dated) The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.
    • a man's character for truth and veracity
    Her actions give her a bad character .
  • * Addison
    • This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.
  • (dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to his/her behaviour, competence, etc.

    • Usage notes

    A comparison of character'' and ''reputation'': It would be well if ''character'' and ''reputation were used distinctively. In truth, character is what a person is; reputation is what he is supposed to be. Character is in himself, reputation is in the minds of others. Character is injured by temptations, and by wrongdoing; reputation by slanders, and libels. Character endures throughout defamation in every form, but perishes when there is a voluntary transgression; reputation may last through numerous transgressions, but be destroyed by a single, and even an unfounded, accusation or aspersion.

    Derived terms

    * cartoon character * character actor * character assassination * character class * character encoding * characterise / characterize * characterisation / characterization * characteristic * characterless * character recognition * character set * character theory * Chinese character * control character * dominant character * escape character * fictional character * in character * null character * out of character * player character * round character * staple character * stock character * whitespace character (character)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To write (using characters); To describe

    • See also

    * codepoint * font * glyph * letter * symbol * rune * pictogram

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    language

    English

    Etymology 1

    (etyl) language, from (etyl) language, from .

    Noun

    {{examples-right, The English Wiktionary uses the English language' to define words from all of the world's ' languages .


    This person is saying "hello" in American sign language . }} (wikipedia language)
  • (lb) A body of words, and set of methods of combining them (called a grammar), understood by a community and used as a form of communication.
  • * 1867', ''Report on the Systems of Deaf-Mute Instruction pursued in Europe'', quoted in '''1983 in ''History of the College for the Deaf, 1857-1907 (ISBN 0913580856), page 240:
    • Hence the natural language' of the mute is, in schools of this class, suppressed as soon and as far as possible, and its existence as a ' language , capable of being made the reliable and precise vehicle for the widest range of thought, is ignored.
  • * {{quote-book, page=50, year=1900, author=(w)
    • , title= The History of the Caliph Vathek , passage=No language could express his rage and despair.}}
  • * 2000 , Geary Hobson, The Last of the Ofos (ISBN 0816519595), page 113:
    • Mr. Darko, generally acknowledged to be the last surviving member of the Ofo Tribe, was also the last remaining speaker of the tribe's language .
  • (lb) The ability to communicate using words.
  • (lb) The vocabulary and usage of a particular specialist field.
  • *
    • Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language , he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
  • The expression of thought (the communication of meaning) in a specified way.
  • * 2001 , Eugene C. Kennedy, ?Sara C. Charles, On Becoming a Counselor (ISBN 0824519132):
    • A tale about themselves [is] told by people with help from the universal languages of their eyes, their hands, and even their shirting feet.
  • A body of sounds, signs and signals by which animals communicate, and by which plants are sometimes also thought to communicate.
  • A computer language; a machine language.
  • * 2015 , Kent D. Lee, Foundations of Programming Languages (ISBN 3319133144), page 94:
    • In fact pointers are called references in these languages' to distinguish them from pointers in ' languages like C and C++.
  • (lb) Manner of expression.
  • * (rfdate) Cowper:
    • Their language simple, as their manners meek,
  • (lb) The particular words used in a speech or a passage of text.
  • (lb) Profanity.
  • *{{quote-book, page=500, year=1978, author=James Carroll
    • , title= Mortal Friends, isbn=0440157897 , passage="Where the hell is Horace?" ¶ "There he is. He's coming. You shouldn't use language ."}}
    Synonyms
    * (form of communication) tongue, speech (spoken language) * (vocabulary of a particular field) lingo (colloquial), jargon, terminology, phraseology, parlance * (computer language) computer language, programming language, machine language * (particular words used) phrasing, wording, terminology
    Derived terms
    * artificial language * auxiliary language * bad language * body language * computing language * constructed language * endangered language * extinct language * foreign language * formal language * foul language * international language * language barrier * language code * language cop * language death * language extinction * language family * language lab, language laboratory * language model * language of flowers * language planning * language police * language pollution * language processing * language school * language shift * language technology * language transfer * languaging * machine language * mathematical language * mind one's language * natural language * pattern language * programming language * private language * secular language * sign language * speak someone's language * standard language * vehicular language * vernacular language
    Related terms
    * langue * lingual * linguine * linguistics * tonguage

    Verb

  • To communicate by language; to express in language.
  • * (rfdate) Fuller:
    • Others were languaged in such doubtful expressions that they have a double sense.

    See also

    * lexis, term, word * bilingual * linguistics * multilingual * trilingual

    Etymology 2

    Alteration of (m).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A languet, a flat plate in or below the flue pipe of an organ.
  • * 1896 , William Horatio Clarke, The Organist's Retrospect , page 79:
    • A flue-pipe is one in which the air passes through the throat, or flue, which is the narrow, longitudinal aperture between the lower lip and the tongue, or language'.

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