mother tongue
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.
Though Vargas’ mother was educated in the American school system, she made a point of preserving her family’s mother tongue.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
"So I usually switch between my mother tongue, which is Marathi, and English," she said.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
He dropped his English name, James, and resolved to write only in the language of the Kikuyu people, his mother tongue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
For Esau, not being able to speak her mother tongue was "a wound".
From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025
It was like switching from passively watching a film in a foreign language to actively debating in one’s mother tongue.
From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell
