Asian language, second on distant island (5)
I believe the answer is:
farsi
'asian language' is the definition.
(language of Iran)
'second on distant island' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'distant' becomes 'far' (similar in meaning).
'island' becomes 'i'.
's' after 'far' is 'fars'.
'fars'+'i'='FARSI'
(Other definitions for farsi that I've seen before include "Iranian language, also widely spoken in Afghanistan" , "foreign language" , "Modern Persian lang." , "Iran's official language" , "Language of Iran" .)