målspråket

Målspråket, literally "the target language," is a term used in linguistics and language education to denote the language that is the goal of learning, use, or translation. The exact meaning depends on the context.

In language education, målspråket is the language that learners are expected to acquire and use in real communication. In bilingual or immersion programs, instruction and assessment are oriented toward developing proficiency in the målspråket. It is usually distinguished from the learners' modersmål (mother tongue) and from the working language used in classrooms.

In translation and localization, målspråket is the language into which a text is translated or adapted. The source language is referred to as källspråk. The concept helps frame quality criteria and linguistic equivalence in the target language.

In computing and programming, målspråket refers to the target language of a compiler or translator—the language that the source code is translated into, such as assembly language or machine code. The term is used to describe the end product of code generation.

The term is primarily used in Swedish-language contexts and is equivalent to "target language" in English. See also: modersmål, källspråk, översättning, kompilering.