mother tongue

noun

1

: one's native language

2

: a language from which another language derives

Synonyms

• language
• lingo
• speech
• tongue
• vocabulary

Example Sentences

although the anthropologist could speak the local language fairly well, she was always glad to find someone who shared her mother tongue

Recent Examples on the Web

Products that might work for people in languages like English -- like Facebook -- are the equivalent of 4chan (a message board known as a safe haven for hate) in my mother tongue, Tigrinya. —From Cnn Opinion And As Equals, CNN, 27 Apr. 2023

Their kids don’t speak their mother tongue. —Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2023

Each speaks their mother tongue, with the dialogue subtitled in real time for the audience, while the performers themselves are unable to understand one another beyond the sounds of foreign words that become cues for their individual knowledge of the script. —Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2022

Looking at how people process foreign languages, as opposed to their mother tongue, could be an option as well. —Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 4 Sep. 2019

Members of the group—Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Ian Chan, Jeremy Lee, Edan Lui, Keung To, Tiger Yau, and Lo—were mostly brought up in Hong Kong with Cantonese as their mother tongue. —Vivienne Chow, Variety, 9 Mar. 2023

Words and languages are important, especially the mother tongue, because it’s really associated with your body, the physical being. —Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2021

Today, Hebrew is the official language of Israel and the mother tongue of more than five million people — with nine million speakers around the world. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2021

At the chalk clutched in his hand, the letters of her mother tongue like withered bloodstains, but white, distinct on the blackboard. —Han Kang, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

mother tongue

noun

1

: one's native language

2

: a language from which another language develops