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
Help with that one comes from Emery and his coaching staff, who have been asked by Onana to address him in their mother tongue.
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Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 20 Aug. 2024
This suggested, startlingly, that birds could learn a literal mother tongue while still in ovo.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
The font on the album cover is a play on the Geʽez script used in Amharic, her mother tongue.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024
Who among us doesn’t feel — either occasionally or always — like social codes are a chaotic second language that other people were born speaking like a mother tongue?
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mother tongue 
Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 20 Aug. 2024
This suggested, startlingly, that birds could learn a literal mother tongue while still in ovo.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
The font on the album cover is a play on the Geʽez script used in Amharic, her mother tongue.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024
Who among us doesn’t feel — either occasionally or always — like social codes are a chaotic second language that other people were born speaking like a mother tongue?
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mother tongue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongue
Noun
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After graduating from her language studies in 1948, Rosita traveled on a nun-chaperoned trip to London that was designed to improve her English.Luke Leitch, Vogue, 2 Jan. 2025
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The Malayalam feature marks KVN’s entry into the language as the production house continues expanding its pan-Indian footprint.Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Some assert that generative AI is going to slowly but surely change our vocabulary.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024
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Annotated Liz Tracey April 19, 2024 Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language declared Americans free from the tyranny of British institutions and their vocabularies.The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 27 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The rest of the meal tasted like ocean waves dancing across my tongue.Peggy Orenstein, AFAR Media, 6 Jan. 2025
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In addition to overall HNC cases, the researchers looked at the following subtypes: oral cavity cancer (lip, tongue, gum, floor of the mouth, and hard palate), cancer of the oropharynx, cancer of the hypopharynx, and cancer of the larynx.New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Another challenge is the inherent complexity of the Arabic language, including its intricate grammar, different dialects and unique script.Geoffrey Alphonso, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
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Many live in complex social groups, communicate in different dialects, pass on culture through generations, engage in play and even grieve the loss of family and friends as was the case here.Tom Howarth, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But the visual idiom Forrester has developed for these works also plays out, to a great extent, in paintings of unrelated subjects.Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025
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Out of the box, human language is ambiguous and nuanced with idioms, sarcasm or cultural references, challenging LLMs to interpret correctly.Son Nguyen, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near mother tongue
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongue. Accessed 12 Jan. 2025.
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