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mother language

American  

noun

  1. a language from which another language is descended; parent language.


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.

See Examples For:

Chan said he had been running the group to promote the mother language of many Hong Kongers for 10 years.

From Seattle Times Aug. 28, 2023

Letter-writing helps me process my thoughts better than phone calls since I cannot speak their mother language.

From Salon Nov. 12, 2020

"They cannot even identify their own mother language," he adds.

From BBC Aug. 23, 2019

Hymns were initially sung in German because a lot of parishioners didn’t speak English “and because it was their mother language and they felt more comfortable,” said Siewert.

From Washington Times Dec. 15, 2018

She promised to have my text translated into her mother language later on by her mother, because parents know the abandoned language better than the second generation.

From Baron Pál Podmaniczky and the Norwegian Bible by Ilona, Martinovitsné Kutas

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