Crossword Genius

Like to claim language is expanding (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dilating

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'expanding' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to change as well as being present participle verbs.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'like to claim language' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'language' could be 'latin' (Latin is an example) and 'latin' is found in the answer.
'like' could be 'dig' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'dig' is found within the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dilating that I've seen before include "Becoming expansive" , "Swelling out or enlarging" , "Becoming wider" , "Swelling or expanding" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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