natural language
B2Neutral to formal; technical in computing contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A human language that has evolved naturally through use and repetition within a community, such as English or Mandarin, as opposed to constructed or formal languages.
In computing and linguistics, it refers to human language in a form used for communication, which is the subject of analysis, processing, and generation by machines (e.g., natural language processing).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term emphasizes the organic, non-prescriptive development of human languages. It is often used in contrast to 'programming language,' 'formal language,' or 'artificial language.'
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical differences. Spelling of related words may differ (e.g., 'analyse' vs. 'analyze' in 'natural language analysis').
Connotations
Identical. The term carries the same technical and everyday connotations in both varieties.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in American English due to the larger volume of technical literature in computing and AI.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[adjective] + natural languagenatural language + [of + noun phrase]natural language + [verb-ing]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to AI tools that can interpret customer queries (e.g., 'Our chatbot uses natural language processing').
Academic
A core subject in linguistics and computer science, studying the structure and computational properties of human languages.
Everyday
Used to distinguish normal speech from computer code or simplified systems (e.g., 'Just give me the answer in natural language').
Technical
The primary data type in NLP; the object of parsing, tokenization, and semantic analysis algorithms.
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- It's a natural language phenomenon.
American English
- This is a natural language capability.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- People speak natural language.
- English is a natural language.
- Computers find it hard to understand natural language.
- She studies how children learn a natural language.
- The software was designed to interpret natural language commands.
- Linguists compare the grammar of different natural languages.
- Advances in natural language processing have revolutionized human-computer interaction.
- The complexity of natural language syntax poses significant challenges for machine translation.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a 'natural' forest growing wild vs. a 'constructed' park. Natural language grows organically in human societies.
Conceptual Metaphor
LANGUAGE IS A LIVING ORGANISM (it evolves, adapts, and has dialects).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid calquing as 'природный язык,' which is incorrect. The correct equivalent is 'естественный язык.'
- Do not confuse with 'родной язык' (native language), which is a different concept.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'nature language' (incorrect compound).
- Using 'natural' as a noun (e.g., 'He speaks a natural').
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is NOT a natural language?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, sign languages like British Sign Language (BSL) or American Sign Language (ASL) are fully-fledged natural languages with their own grammar and lexicon, evolving organically within Deaf communities.
'Natural language' refers to any human language that has developed naturally. 'Native language' (or mother tongue) refers to the first language a person learns from infancy.
No, by definition. Programming languages are constructed for specific, unambiguous communication with machines. They lack the organic, socially-driven evolution and inherent ambiguity of natural languages.
Because natural language is full of ambiguity, context-dependence, irony, slang, and cultural references that require vast world knowledge and common-sense reasoning to interpret correctly.