as in language
the stock of words, pronunciation, and grammar used by a people as their basic means of communication
although the anthropologist could speak the local language fairly well, she was always glad to find someone who shared her mother tongue
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mother tongue
Japanese is the only language that leaves Li’s mouth, but her occasional inner monologues are in her mother tongue, the most crucial example expressing her growing conflict with the very act of writing itself.
—
Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2025
Many countries offer visas for language learning, which are student visas specifically designed for people interested in studying the mother tongue of a destination.
—Solo Travel, AFAR Media, 14 Aug. 2025
One way is to compare related words in languages arising from a common ancestor, which brings us to the hypothetical mother tongue scholars call Proto-Indo-European.
—Martha Barnette
august 6, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
Advertisement Erdogan lifted the ban on Kurdish language, allowed the Kurds to teach in their mother tongue, and set up radio and television networks to broadcast in Kurdish.
—Ragip Soylu, Time, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2025
Many countries offer visas for language learning, which are student visas specifically designed for people interested in studying the mother tongue of a destination.
—Solo Travel, AFAR Media, 14 Aug. 2025
One way is to compare related words in languages arising from a common ancestor, which brings us to the hypothetical mother tongue scholars call Proto-Indo-European.
—Martha Barnette
august 6, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
Advertisement Erdogan lifted the ban on Kurdish language, allowed the Kurds to teach in their mother tongue, and set up radio and television networks to broadcast in Kurdish.
—Ragip Soylu, Time, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue
Noun
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The series has hit the Netflix Top 10 in all 93 countries that the company measures; Season 4 was the first-ever English-language series to cross 1 billion hours streamed on the platform, and continues to be the streamer’s third-most-popular English-language TV title.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
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Befitting of JJJJound’s minimalist, premium design language, each pair is light on flair, letting the Speedcat’s iconic silhouette and high-quality materials do the heavy lifting here.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There's also critical thinking, vocabulary, and knowledge that books offer students.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
9 Oct. 2025
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Experts at Scholastic say such books help kids gain the vocabulary to describe their feelings, improve self-awareness, and learn strategies for handling negative emotions.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Available in a limited series and priced at 480 euros, the navy unisex design crafted from leather comes with clean lines, a distinctive statement tongue flap with the Puma logo and the Jil Sander one rendered in golden foiling on the side.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
14 Oct. 2025
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Purosangue, Ferrari’s moniker for its four-door SUV, rolls beautifully off the tongue.—
Sean Evans,
Robb Report,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Studies have found regional dialects of birds’ songs and evidence that some birds learn songs from their parents while still in the shell.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Oct. 2025
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For Minha, the biggest challenge was mastering the North Korean dialect.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The history of labor struggle, infused with religious idioms, is a source of identity and values evident in everything from union meetings in churches to prayers on picket lines.—
The Conversation,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
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What began as an idiom of care—protecting vulnerable students—has been used to justify a spectacle of retribution.—
Lula Konner,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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