The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SANSKRIT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
A
N
S
K
R
I
T
More clues leading to the result SANSKRIT
- Language once right to be used in hospital burlesque?
- Language without appeal draws in two kings
- Language of a shortened New Testament risks being misconstrued
- Holy woman taking a new risk translated ancient language
- Its ranks need training in an ancient language
- Snark and its strange language
- Snark and its peculiar language
- Hospital sketch involving trace of rude language
- Language without appeal inhibiting two kings
- Dramatic skits ran in old language
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Language" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case language = sanskrit.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.