Thesaurus results for MOTHER TONGUE

mother tongue

noun

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 While many nations have codified their mother tongue—France with French, Japan with Japanese, or Mexico with Spanish—America has always relied on practice and practicality rather than statute. —

Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025 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 About three-quarters of Singapore’s residents claim Chinese descent and, at the same time, English is its mother tongue and business lingua franca. —

Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for mother tongue

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue

Noun

Each class is a one- hour adventure of hearing and speaking another language.

— Kris Slugg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
Its sequel Dhurandhar 2 is scheduled for theatrical release March 19, 2026, in five languages — Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam — expanding significantly beyond the original's Hindi-only strategy.

— Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026