1.
mother tongue, native language, first language
The language a person acquires naturally from birth; one's first language. Used in academic and formal contexts to refer to native linguistic competence.
私の母語は日本語です。
My mother tongue is Japanese.
母語の影響で発音に癖がある。
Due to the influence of my mother tongue, I have a quirk in my pronunciation.
母語が異なる人々が共通言語として英語を使っている。
People with different mother tongues use English as a common language.
USAGE:
A somewhat academic term. In everyday conversation, 母国語 (national language of one's home country) is often used interchangeably, though strictly speaking 母語 refers to the language acquired from birth regardless of nationality, while 母国語 refers to the language of one's homeland.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 母語話者: native speaker
- 母語の影響: influence of one's mother tongue
- 母語で話す: to speak in one's mother tongue
- 母語教育: mother tongue education