tonguage
English edit
Etymology edit
From tongue + -age modelled after language; or a blend of tongue + language.
Noun edit
tonguage (uncountable)
- Any activity involving the tongue; tonguing.
- (nonstandard, rare) Language; spoken language, as opposed to other forms of language (body language, written language, etc.).
- 1890, Samuel Butler, Essays on Life, Art, and Science:
- Whether the ideas underlying them are expressed and conveyed by eyeage or by tonguage is a detail that matters nothing.
- 1956, Edward Elgar, Percy Marshall Young, Letters of Edward Elgar and other writings:
- I like the French now but can't get on with the Italian tonguage (good word).
- 1961, India. Office of the Registrar General, Census of India, 1961: Maharashtra:
- In all the districts of Maharashtra except Aurangabad and Bhandara, the number of persons who returned Hindi as a subsidiary language outnumber those with Hindi as mother tonguage.
- 1973, Howard Paul Becker, Man in reciprocity:
- We have a language of social relations, even though we're not thoroughly aware of it— but it isn't all "language" in the sense of "tonguage."