Abstract:Language is closely related with economy and scholars have approached the relationship between language and economy from different perspectives. Language has become a new form of human capital, system, and industry. This study focuses on the economic attributes of language. In the era of digital economy, data have become a key factor of production, and language data is the most important type of data. Language elements participate in social production and show significant economic attributes which are mainly reflected in three aspects. First, language data act as an important “material basis” for the development of digital technology, promoting the innovation and development of digital technology and the accumulation of digital technology capital. Second, language data serve as the most important “raw materials” for generating information and knowledge for decision-making, optimizing resource allocation and improving total factor productivity. Third, language data are the “booster” for the formation and development of new language occupations and language industries, promoting social division of labor and optimizing industrial structure. To tap the economic dividends of language data, we need to raise the awareness of language data economy, promote the value of language data, and cultivate and develop language data-related occupations and industries.