lengua vs idioma
Are these words interchangeable when talking about a language or is there a subtle distinction
4 Answers
"Lengua" in Spanish and "linguistics" and many other related words in English come from Latin lingua (tongue), the main responsible organ when it comes to producing sounds in most languages. "Tongue" is a Germanic word that means... surprise, surprise... tongue, the main responsible organ when it comes to producing sounds in most languages.
"Idioma", on the other hand, comes from Greek through Latin. The "idios" part of it means "personal", as in "idiot" (someone whose world is just his own), used to reflect the fact that the sounds and words were our own, a personal thing. English only kept the Roman meaning of "strange meaning that some people own", while in Spanish it became "any group of words spoken by a nation, etc."
The biggest difference is the gender.
Idioma includes more cultural aspects. Lengua is just the language.
Yes there is quite a difference check this link
