wooden language
- noun
- /ˈwʊdən ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
- Literature
:
lenguaje rígido
- The politician's speech was filled with wooden language, making it hard for the audience to connect with her message.
Examples
-
Briefly, irony has been understood (and practiced) as a language of freedom, as the romantics had said, the opposite of the power's wooden language ("langue de bois").
Academic text (1995) -
Many corporate reports are criticized for their wooden language, as they sound more like legal documents than meaningful communication.
-
In the meeting, his use of wooden language made it difficult for team members to engage and share their ideas.
Synonyms
A way of speaking or acting that sounds stiff and unnatural
A stiff, awkward way of speaking or acting that does not feel natural
Antonyms
- Specialized
2
3.5
A system people use to speak and write to each other rather than computer code
How Natural
- Specialized
2
3.5
- Literature
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'wooden' (stiff, lacking warmth) applied to 'language' naturally yields 'stiff, overly formal speech' so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE. This adjective+noun metaphor is common cross-linguistically and follows normal English semantic blending, making the expression transparent.
Etymology
Wooden language comes from imagining wooden language, like a puppet or a block of wood that cannot move or feel. If words are like wood, they seem 'stiff', too 'formal', and without feeling, so the phrase means speech that is not natural or warm.