Mother tongue meaning in English

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Definition

a mother tongue: a language that you learn when you are a baby noun

to speak/talk in tongues: to speak in a way that is difficult to understand; to enter a type of religious trance verb

Exercise 1

'I see you share a common tongue. German.'

From the list below, select the phrases which use the term 'tongue' correctly.

My twelve-year-old daughter wants to have her tongue pierced.

I love learning new tongues. My latest is Japanese.

If we go to the beach this afternoon, I'll wear my tongues because I don't want sweaty feet.

Her mother tongue is Italian, but she grew up in Germany, so she is bilingual.

'I see you share a common tongue. German.'

From the list below, select the phrases which use the term 'tongue' correctly.

My twelve-year-old daughter wants to have her tongue pierced.

This is correct. The term 'tongue' is most commonly used to describe the muscular organ found in the mouth, used to help us speak, eat, and kiss. To 'pierce (a tongue, an ear)' is to make a hole in a part of the body and insert a piece of metal for decorative purposes.

I love learning new tongues. My latest is Japanese.

This is incorrect. Although the term 'tongue' can refer to a 'language', as it does in this conversation, the two terms are not always interchangeable. As a general rule, we use the term 'tongue' to describe the 'dialect' or the 'language' of a specific people. The term cannot be used in this sentence. A better choice would be: 'I love learning new languages'.

If we go to the beach this afternoon, I'll wear my tongues because I don't want sweaty feet.

This is incorrect. The term 'tongue' cannot be used to refer to any kind of footwear. Summer shoes made of two strips of leather, fabric, or rubber which meet between the toes are called 'flip-flops'.

Her mother tongue is Italian, but she grew up in Germany, so she is bilingual.

This is correct. The term 'mother tongue' is used to describe a person's 'native (or first) language'.

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