Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mother language

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.86 in modern English

Syllables: moth-er lan-guage
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

3

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Synonym of mother tongue.

Example Sentences

"Yet neuertheleſſe, the rudenes of common and mother tonges, is no bar foꝛ wiſe ſpeaking. Foꝛ in the rudeſt contrie, and moſt barbarous mother language, many be found can ſpeake verie wiſelie: but in the Gréeke and latin tong, the two onelie learned tonges, which be kept, not in common taulke, but in pꝛiuate bookes, we finde alwayes, wiſdome and eloquence, good matter and good vtterance, neuer oꝛ ſeldom a ſonder."

Etymology

From Middle English modir langage, equivalent to mother + language.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: modir langage

Inflected Forms

mother languages (plural)

Synonyms

mother tongue

Questions

What does mother language mean?: Synonym of mother tongue.
Where does mother language come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce mother language

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “mother language”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “mother language” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.