Skip to main content
object language

object language

8.1
A language that a translator or program creates from another language
  • noun
  • /ˈɑbdʒɛkt ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lenguaje objeto
  • Despite this "noun-thing," Java is not a pure object language anyway in a sense.

Examples

  • C++ is an object language, which means it allows programmers to define and manipulate objects in their code.

  • In programming, Python is often considered an object language because it uses objects to represent data.

  • Many developers prefer using an object language for building applications that require a structured approach to data.

Synonyms

target language
vsobject language
  • Specialized
3.7

The language that you translate a text into

includes translations into computer code as well as human language

Surface Forms

Morphology

object + language

The compound is partially compositional: a learner who knows 'object' (thing/target) and 'language' can guess it refers to a language that is the 'object' of some action, but the specific technical sense 'the language into which something is translated' (or the language under discussion in logic/computer science) is domain-specific and not fully predictable. Because the meaning requires specialised knowledge or context rather than being directly inferred from everyday uses of the constituents, it is best classified as semi-transparent.

Etymology

Object language comes from using object to mean the 'thing acted on' and language as the thing itself, so it is the language that receives a translation. That's why object language refers to the language into which a text or program is translated.