Formal language

In mathematics, computer science, and linguistics, a formal language is a set of strings of symbols that may be constrained by rules that are specific to it.

The alphabet of a formal language is the set of symbols, letters, or tokens from which the strings of the language may be formed; frequently it is required to be finite. The strings formed from this alphabet are called words, and the words that belong to a particular formal language are sometimes called well-formed words or well-formed formulas. A formal language is often defined by means of a formal grammar such as a regular grammar or context-free grammar, also called its formation rule.

The field of formal language theory studies primarily the purely syntactical aspects of such languages—that is, their internal structural patterns. Formal language theory sprang out of linguistics, as a way of understanding the syntactic regularities of natural languages. In computer science, formal languages are used among others as the basis for defining the grammar of programming languages and formalized versions of subsets of natural languages in which the words of the language represent concepts that are associated with particular meanings or semantics. In computational complexity theory, decision problems are typically defined as formal languages, and complexity classes are defined as the sets of the formal languages that can be parsed by machines with limited computational power. In logic and the foundations of mathematics, formal languages are used to represent the syntax of axiomatic systems, and mathematical formalism is the philosophy that all of mathematics can be reduced to the syntactic manipulation of formal languages in this way.

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Latest News for: formal language

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Oxford University changes language in 800-year-old Latin ceremony to make it more inclusive for non-binary ...

The Daily Mail 21 Mar 2025
The push for gender-neutral language will also apply to other formal occasions at Oxford ... The language changes ... The push for gender-neutral language will also apply to other formal occasions at Oxford.
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RSS proposes its own ‘3-language formula’, takes aim at those raising ‘North-South divide’

Financial Express 21 Mar 2025
For some people, career language is also needed ... \u201cOur sarsanghchalak ji has often said, in formal and informal interaction, those from Hindi-speaking states should learn a South Indian or Northeastern language ... Ghatkopar's language is Gujarati.
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Govt ‘in touch with’ X over Grok’s responses

Hindustan Times 21 Mar 2025
The aim is to understand why Grok can generate profanity-laden responses in Indian languages, including transliterated Hindi ... No formal communication or notice has been sent to X over the issue yet.
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Brown Filipino Alliance pushes for new Tagalog language program

The Brown Daily Herald 20 Mar 2025
Through a petition launched in early February, the Filipino Alliance has advocated for the addition of a formal language program for Tagalog — one of the primary languages spoken in the Philippines.
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University of Oxford set to make 800-year-old Latin ceremony gender-neutral

The Daily Telegraph 20 Mar 2025
The push for gender-neutral language will not only apply in degree ceremonies, but other formal occasions at Oxford ... Gender pronouns will also be stripped for other formal occasions including for the ...
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Brain scans reveal how drum and bass influence music perception

PsyPost 19 Mar 2025
The researchers recruited 25 participants between the ages of 20 and 29, all of whom were Mandarin pop music listeners with no formal knowledge of the Korean language ... Whole Music Version – included all instrumental and vocal components ... ....
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Spice of Life: Take pride in mother tongue, direct dil se

Hindustan Times 18 Mar 2025
The obvious trail leads to the need of English language and consequently our congregation in this class ... The formal façade falls off instantly as we come across people who share our language ... Language ...
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Tennessee Republicans vote down bill to require driver's license exams in English only

Daily News Journal 18 Mar 2025
We’re not asking them to learn the entire language," Capley said ... State law does formally designate English as the official and legal language of Tennessee, and all state publications, including ballots, are required to be produced in English.
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India's strength's been using technology for masses, AI can help achieve 8% growth: Nandan Nilekani

Beijing News 17 Mar 2025
'We have to do the same with AI and allow people to use AI for education, for health, for language,' Nilekani said ... 'We have a long way to go in terms of formalizing our people,' he said, advocating for more deregulation of businesses.
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Yukio Mishima’s Fallen Heroes

The American Spectator 17 Mar 2025
... the audio quality is poor, and Emperor Hirohito employs a courtly language so formal as to be almost impossible for the average person to understand, the thrust of the address is clear enough.
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Protests, dharnas banned on Osmania University campus, BRS slams move

The Siasat Daily 16 Mar 2025
Additionally, they are not allowed to hold protests or demonstrations, raise disruptive slogans, obstruct officials from performing their duties, or use abusive language against authorities or staff.
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Filipino migrants protest Duterte’s arrest at ICC

Sun Star 16 Mar 2025
The protest followed an earlier rally on March 13, which coincided with Duterte’s arrival at the ICC ... The ICC Chamber confirmed Duterte’s identity, established his preferred language for the proceedings, and formally informed him of the charges.
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‘He nails it on the first take’: how the Beatles helped my autistic son find his voice

The Observer 16 Mar 2025
Autistic people have difficulties with interpreting both verbal and non-verbal language like gestures or tone of voice ... There are two meetings with speech and language specialists.
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The moment Prince Harry scolded Meghan Markle like a 'naughty kid' on the Buckingham Palace ...

The Daily Mail 15 Mar 2025
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, body language expert Judi James said this positioning would have made her feel 'nervous', 'isolated' and as though 'she'd lost her wing man' ... After analysing the awkward footage, the body language expert said.
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Review: This American sound artist’s exhibition bridges auditory divides

Washington Square News 14 Mar 2025
English was never formally designated as the national language until now — the United States never had an official language before President Donald Trump’s executive order on March 1. Language is ...
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