literary language

noun

A register of a language that is used in literary writing.

Meanings

nounliterary language (uncountable)
  1. uncountableliteratureA register of a language that is used in literary writing.
  2. uncountablehuman sciencesA language variety used as an institutional norm in a community, opposed to vernacular dialects; a standard language.

    Literary languages have been enriched by dialects and have at the same time assisted the levelling out of dialectical differences which in its turn has contributed to ….

    1977, Magomet Izmaylovich Isayev, National languages in the USSR: problems and solutions, Прогресс, p. 316
    4 more examples

    I would note that almost 12% of the population of the SRCroatia are Serbs and that they are obliged to use the "Croatian literary language" for official purposes even though this is not their native language.

    1990, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on International Operations, Views on the Serbo-Croatian Language Service at the Voice of America

    Gaj argued that the establishment of a common literary language was essential for the development of an Illyrian national consciousness and he attempted to bring together the three main dialects used by the Southern Slavs...

    2003, Alex J. Bellamy, The Formation of Croatian National Identity, page 44

    The Erzya and Moksha population, especially in urban areas, has become increasingly exposed to Russian; within this context, both the literary languages and the dialects have been affected to a considerable extent. In the course of being update the literary languages have experienced radical changes. An abundance of Russian terminology has been introduced in dictionaries; grammars have been prescribing the use of concurrent forms of the native and Russian languages as a norm.

    2013, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, Mémoires de la Société finno-ougrienne, Volume 268 of Suomalais-ugrilaisen Seuran toimituksia, Nimilehti painettu Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran kirjapainossa, →ISBN, page 14

    As they explain, 'the literary language is first of all a collection of expressive habits and customs, and to preserve the purity of the literary language can mean nothing other than to preserve these habits and customs' (Guberina and Krsic/ 1940: 77).

    2014, K. Langston, A. Peti-Stantic, Language Planning and National Identity in Croatia

Translations

Bulgarian литературен език, книжовен език
  • литературен език (literaturen ezik)supraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
  • книжовен език (knižoven ezik)supraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
Finnish kirjakieli
  • kirjakieliregister of a language used in literary writing
French langue littéraire
  • langue littéraireregister of a language used in literary writing
German Literatursprache, Literatursprache
  • Literaturspracheregister of a language used in literary writing
  • Literatursprachesupraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
Hungarian irodalmi nyelv
  • irodalmi nyelvregister of a language used in literary writing
Japanese 書き言葉
  • 書き言葉 (kakikotoba)register of a language used in literary writing
Latvian literārā valoda
  • literārā valodasupraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
Lithuanian literatūrinė kalba
  • literatūrinė kalbasupraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
Polish język literacki, język literacki
  • język literackiregister of a language used in literary writing
  • język literackisupraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
Romanian limbă literară
  • limbă literarăregister of a language used in literary writing
Russian литерату́рный язы́к
  • литерату́рный язы́к (literatúrnyj jazýk)supraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
Tagalog wikang pampanitikan
  • wikang pampanitikanregister of a language used in literary writing
Ukrainian літературна мова
  • літературна мова (literaturna mova)supraregional idiom — see also standard language, standard
Cite this entry
APA

literary language. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/literary%20language

MLA

“literary language.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/literary%20language. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “literary language,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/literary%20language.

Source: literary language on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.