monolingual
monolingual — 形容詞
1. describes a person who can speak and understand only one language, rather than t
單語的
只會說一種語言的人
describes a person who can speak and understand only one language, rather than two or more
Ziad grew up in a small town and remained monolingual until he moved abroad for university.
Ziad 在一個小鎮長大，一直只會說單語，直到他出國念大學。
predicative: remained monolingual + until [event]
Many elderly people in the village are monolingual and have never needed a second language.
村子裡許多長者只會說單語，從來不需要使用第二種語言。
The school's program is designed for monolingual children who have no prior exposure to other languages.
這所學校的課程是為沒有接觸過其他語言的單語兒童設計的。
Darius is monolingual in Farsi, but he plans to study Turkish next year.
Darius 只會說波斯語，但他計劃明年學土耳其語。
Ravindra works in Dubai with colleagues from India, Egypt, and the Philippines, and his monolingual English is no longer enough.
Ravindra 在杜拜工作，同事來自印度、埃及和菲律賓，他只會說英語已經不夠用了。
- unilingual
much less common; used mainly in Canadian English (e.g., unilingual French speaker)
- bilingual
able to speak two languages fluently
- multilingual
able to speak three or more languages
文法句型
monolingual + noun
be + monolingual
monolingual + in + language
用法筆記
Frequently used in contrast with bilingual and multilingual when discussing language education, demographics, or personal language skills.
常見錯誤
2. describes a country, region, or community whose people use a single language for
單語社會
以一種語言為主的群體或地區
describes a country, region, or community whose people use a single language for everyday communication and official business
Japan is often described as a largely monolingual society despite having regional dialects.
日本雖然有地方方言，但常被描述為一個大致上的單語社會。
attributive: monolingual society / community / country
The remote island community remained monolingual for centuries because few outsiders visited.
這個偏遠的島嶼社區數百年來都只使用單語，因為很少有外人到訪。
When a Nagoya car-parts maker signed a contract with Mexican and German suppliers, its monolingual Japanese staff faced communication problems.
一間名古屋汽車零件製造商與墨西哥和德國供應商簽約後，其只使用日語的員工面臨了溝通問題。
The team studied how a once monolingual region gradually became bilingual after the border changed.
研究團隊探討了一個曾經只使用單語的地區如何在邊界改變後逐漸成為雙語區。
- single-language
less common compound adjective, often used before a noun (e.g., single-language policy)
- multilingual
using many languages within a society or region
- bilingual
using two official or main languages
文法句型
monolingual + noun (society / country / region / community)
remain + monolingual
once + monolingual
用法筆記
Subject is typically a collective noun — country, society, region, or community. This sense focuses on the language practice of a group, not of an individual.
3. describes a book, document, or test that is written or given in only one languag
單語版本
僅用一種語言的資料或考試
describes a book, document, or test that is written or given in only one language, with no translations into other languages
The library's monolingual dictionary gave definitions in French with no English translations.
圖書館的單語版本法文字典沒有英文翻譯。
attributive: monolingual dictionary / textbook / exam
Ari sat at the wooden desk in the testing center and opened the monolingual TOEFL iBT reading section.
Ari 坐在測驗中心的木桌前，翻開了只使用英語的 TOEFL iBT 閱讀測驗部分。
The museum created a monolingual guide for visitors who speak only Japanese.
博物館為只說日語的訪客製作了一份單語版本的導覽手冊。
Teachers prefer monolingual textbooks because they encourage students to think directly in the target language.
老師們偏好單語教科書，因為這能鼓勵學生直接用目標語言思考。
- single-language
less common compound adjective used similarly for materials (e.g., single-language dictionary)
- bilingual
containing or written in two languages side by side (e.g., bilingual dictionary)
文法句型
monolingual + noun (dictionary / textbook / exam / guide)
用法筆記
Only sense that typically appears with nouns referring to written or educational materials. Frequently used in language-teaching methodology discussions.