mother tongues

noun

plural of mother tongue
as in languages
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mother tongues Work with people of different ages, backgrounds, perspectives, and mother tongues. — Rachel Konrad, Time, 9 Dec. 2025 Each actress nails the comedic timing – and the accented English that flows with the cadence of their mother tongues. — Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mother tongues
  1. languages
  2. vocabularies
  3. tongues
  4. idioms
  5. dialects
Noun
  • The expansion will also introduce new catalogs in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish and more, with more than 120 languages in total.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver’s work has been translated into more than twenty languages and has earned a devoted readership.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of languages
Noun
  • Yet a 2023 Stanford study said that Pangram was biased against non-native English speakers, who might have more limited vocabularies, and many AI researchers contend that such detectors are unreliable.
    — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Chinese law schools have accordingly placed greater weight on teaching Chinese students to argue using the vocabularies of foreign legal systems.
    — Mark Jia, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of vocabularies
Noun
  • The President of the United States (John Goodman) and his cabinet of hawkish generals, gargoyle-ish officials, and speaking-in-tongues spiritual advisors gather at the oilman’s house to discuss next steps.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Some Republicans are no longer holding their tongues about their concerns with Collins or his campaign.
    — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of tongues
Noun
  • There are always critics in all idioms whose goal is writing about something much bigger using a review to get there.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Cinema is, after all, a language, and Belgian filmmakers come from a country built on the need to understand language as a bridge—between its regions, its people, and its idioms.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of idioms
Noun
  • Documenting many varieties is a way to not just share the language, but to illustrate how dialects of Pennsylvania Dutch differ and maybe even fill in each other’s gaps.
    — Eythana Miller, The Dial, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Italy is a unique country where every city has its own identity, architecture, traditions, flavors, dialects and even different ways of life.
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of dialects

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mother tongue
mother tongues
mother wit
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Cite this Entry

“Mother tongues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mother%20tongues. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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