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
How could someone who’d left China in fifth grade have kept up her mother tongue so well?
—
Shuang Xuetao, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2024
The show opened with songs in Mukherjee’s mother tongue Bengali, that were composed, written and sung by famous Bengali musicians including Nobel Prize awardee Rabindranath Tagore.
—Riddhi Doshi, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
The theme is the conflict between mother tongues and other tongues.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Czesław Miłosz found in himself the heart to give up the terrain of his mother tongue, and to keep writing poems in Polish.
—Robert Pinsky, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Shuang Xuetao, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2024
The show opened with songs in Mukherjee’s mother tongue Bengali, that were composed, written and sung by famous Bengali musicians including Nobel Prize awardee Rabindranath Tagore.
—Riddhi Doshi, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
The theme is the conflict between mother tongues and other tongues.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Czesław Miłosz found in himself the heart to give up the terrain of his mother tongue, and to keep writing poems in Polish.
—Robert Pinsky, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mother tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue
Noun
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As a result of the talks, Sainz will not be reported to the stewards, meaning there will be no action taken against him over his language as there was against both Verstappen and Leclerc.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
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Sainz was spoken to by the FIA’s media delegate over his language on Friday morning in Bahrain ahead of opening practice at the Sakhir circuit.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Ann was ultimately presented with hundreds of sentences, all based on a limited vocabulary of 1,024 words.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
2 Apr. 2025
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Mastering language—with its nuanced vocabulary and conceptual frameworks—amplifies your ability to inspire teams and drive innovation.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Like everyone else, the dog starts out in black and white, only for his slurping tongue to gain some Technicolor.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2025
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But more often than not, the sharp tongue and the sly eye roll serve a deeper purpose: survival.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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To prepare, Reid worked with a dialect coach and learned the specific physicality associated with Natalia's condition.—
Lee Habeeb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
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The interview was conducted in a mixture of English and Low German, a dialect widely spoken within the Christian Mennonite community.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Knowing the correct four-word idioms is a sign of education.—
Rachel Chang,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Feb. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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