mother tongue
Americannoun
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the language first learned by a child
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a language from which another has evolved
Etymology
Origin of mother tongue
1350–1400; Middle English moder tonge
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But that authenticity was also palpable in Martin’s performance on Sunday — a vindication for all the years his mother tongue was manipulated in the mainstream.
From Los Angeles Times
The Kenyan's work spanned six decades and two languages - first English, and then his mother tongue, Kikuyu.
From BBC
He dropped his English name, James, and resolved to write only in the language of the Kikuyu people, his mother tongue.
It just created this real, almost, like, subconscious intimacy because it’s the mother tongue.
From Los Angeles Times
At the time, Adamu argued that pupils grasped concepts more readily when taught in "their own mother tongue" - a view supported by numerous UN studies on early childhood education.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
