List of metaphors for languages
Sometimes a Circumlocution is used to designate the language of other countries. These expressions refer to national literature heroes, which build the basis of a culture, a history and a nation.
| Language | Metaphor | Namesake |
| Arabic | language of the Quran | Quran |
| Chinese | language of Confucius | Confucius |
| Dutch | language of Vondel | Joost van den Vondel |
| English | language of Shakespeare | William Shakespeare |
| Finnish | language of the Kalevala | Kalevala |
| French | language of Molière | Jean-Baptiste Poquelin |
| German | language of Goethe | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe |
| Greek | language of Homer | Homer |
| Italian | language of Dante | Dante Alighieri |
| Japanese | language of Mishima | Yukio Mishima |
| Portuguese | language of Camões | Luís de Camões |
| Russian | language of Tolstoy | Léo Tolstoy |
| Spanish | language of Cervantes | Miguel de Cervantes |