言語

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 言語(げんご) refers to a system of language and expression.
• Basic usage: It names languages people learn; in a broader sense, gestural expression may also be described as language.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A system and individual words
  • 言葉(ことば) can refer to individual words or what someone says. 言語 is better suited to discussing an overall system of expression such as Japanese.
• Calling gestures language
  • 身ぶりも大切な言語の一つだ emphasizes that gestures, too, communicate meaning.