Which term describes language understanding and interpretation?

• A. Receptive language
• B. Expressive language
• C. Metacognition
• D. Semantics

Answer: (A)

Receptive language is the ability to understand language you hear or read, including decoding words, following directions, and interpreting meaning in context. This is about comprehension and interpretation, not about producing language yourself, which is why it’s the best match for “language understanding and interpretation.”

Expressive language, by contrast, is about conveying thoughts through speech or writing—the production side. Semantics focuses on meaning within words and sentences, which is a part of understanding, but the broader process of understanding and interpreting language is captured by receptive language. Metacognition is about awareness of one’s own thinking, not specifically about language.