Thesaurus results for MOTHER TONGUE

mother tongue

noun

Definition of mother tongue

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of mother tongue From the start of his career, Fela aimed to reach a larger and Pan-African audience by singing almost exclusively in Nigerian Pidgin English (rather than his mother tongue, Yoruba, which doesn't translate throughout most of the continent). — Ian Brennan, NPR, 15 Apr. 2026 Playing off a six-language broadcast which means it can be viewed by 75% of Europeans in their mother tongue, Arte is still growing. — John Hopewell, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026 The group last delivered a full-length in its mother tongue, Be, in November 2020. — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 20 Mar. 2026 First seen at a night-club table of menacing lowlifes, Ida, whose mother tongue is Brooklynese, suddenly switches to a heavy British accent and dispenses a torrent of highly literary sarcasms. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mother tongue

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue

Noun

The petition argues Mays’ language during the trial revealed something deeper than a poor defense strategy — a worldview that dehumanized the man he was supposed to defend.

— Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
The English-language voice cast features Lenny Henry, while five-time Grammy Award-winners Michael League and Bob Lanzetti of Snarky Puppy contribute to the original score.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of language

Noun

Cantonese uses different grammar than Mandarin, as well as different vocabulary, particularly in the city of Hong Kong, where speakers often switch between English and Cantonese words, sometimes in the same sentence.

— Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
Ruby Hobbs-Leffler felt things with an intensity that even a smart little girl with a big vocabulary couldn’t put into words.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of vocabulary

Noun

But by Friday, and with jurors barely out of the room for a recess, Keffe D couldn’t hold his tongue any longer, accusing the prosecutor’s office and their witnesses of putting his address on the street.

— Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
The sneaker is built around a black suede upper with the spicy red shade appearing on the Air Jordan 5’s signature shark teeth midsole design, the visible Air unit, outsole Jumpman logo and on the inner tongue branding.

— Riley Jones, Footwear News, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of tongue

Noun

With so many speakers in different places, Spanish has developed ten different main dialects.

— BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
Others argued that the characters should be speaking with Greek accents or even in an ancient Greek dialect to honor the source material’s roots in Greek mythology.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of dialect

Noun

There are plenty of idioms to describe Andrean outside hitter Aleece Ehler’s freshman season.

— Noah Poser, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
The Dodgers acquired Skubal in an abundantly predictable bombshell trade with the Detroit Tigers in exchange for a trio of prospects, wanting to test the idiom that a ballclub can never have enough pitching.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026