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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Recent Examples of mother tongue
Miranda is a rare instance of Björk writing her lyrics entirely in Icelandic, and her melodies sound lovely and in some ways more natural in her mother tongue.
—
Al Shipley, SPIN, 22 Jan. 2025
But most also want their children to first gain a strong grounding in their mother tongue.
—Chris Buckley, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Childhood friends in Belfast meet and start making sick beats with their music teacher, and the trio's use of the country's mother tongue fuels a youth movement against the establishment.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
The results were weighted according to age, gender, mother tongue, region, education and presence of children in the household.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Al Shipley, SPIN, 22 Jan. 2025
But most also want their children to first gain a strong grounding in their mother tongue.
—Chris Buckley, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Childhood friends in Belfast meet and start making sick beats with their music teacher, and the trio's use of the country's mother tongue fuels a youth movement against the establishment.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
The results were weighted according to age, gender, mother tongue, region, education and presence of children in the household.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue
Noun
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Republican lawmakers, however, are refusing to include any such language in the funding bill.—
Adam S. Minsky,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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The song has been covered in various languages by more than 30 singers in its 52-year history — including The White Stripes, Olivia Newton-John, Miley Cyrus, Mindy Smith and many more.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In these and the more recent scores at MIT, the semiotic vocabulary of the Lakȟóta shape kit functions as abstract notations for musicians and performers to interpret.—
Christopher T. Green,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
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My mom is an avid (and award-winning) quilter, so quilting terms have always been part of my vocabulary.—
Sam Corbin,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But your tongue isn’t the body part first tempted at House of the Little Pig, an upscale yet approachable new dining destination at Barber Valley’s Barber Station.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Mar. 2025
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Previous research has tried zapping the tongue with electrical and thermal signals, and mixing in colored lights and scents to trick people into thinking a boring old glass of water was a customizable cocktail.—
Michael Irving,
New Atlas,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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That potential exists even moreso in soccer than in most other North American pro sports, given the limitless potential for mixing of languages, accents and even disparity of meanings based on dialect.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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Madison, who won the Oscar for Best Actress, learned Russian, worked with a dialect coach to master the Brooklyn accent, shadowed real dancers, and even installed a pole in her living room for the role.—
Kalia Richardson,
Rolling Stone,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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While often used sarcastically to mock true believers, the idiom reflects Italy’s enduring ambiguity toward Fascism, even 80 years after its fall.—
Mattia Ferraresi,
airmail.news,
1 Feb. 2025
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Knowing the correct four-word idioms is a sign of education.—
Rachel Chang,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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