Is math a language?

The language of mathematics is the system used by mathematicians to communicate mathematical ideas among themselves. This language consists of a substrate of some natural language (for example English) using technical terms and grammatical conventions that are peculiar to mathematical discourse (see Mathematical jargon), supplemented by a highly specialized symbolic notation for mathematical formulas. read more

) is a formal language, but not a natural language. A natural language is, by definition, a linguistic system used for communication that evolves from children's immersion in a speech community. read more

Mathematics is not a “first” language; that is, it does not originate as a spoken language, except for the naming of small whole numbers. Mathematics has both formal and informal expressions, which we might characterize as “school math” and “street math” (Usiskin, 1996). read more

However, the language of Mathematics does not consist of formulas alone. The definitions and terms are verbalized often acquiring a meaning different from the customary one. Many students are inclined to hold this against mathematics. read more

Our math education system pays some attention to the idea that math is a language. For example, many math teachers have their students do journaling on the math learning experiences and their math use experiences. read more