native 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.

In the same way that learning another language helps us understand our native tongue more deeply, travel forms character through lived experience.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Alhambra was another one of L.A.’s unofficial Chinatowns where everyone still spoke their native tongue.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

She has no background in instruction, and the only language that she and her pupils share is English, which is not a native tongue for any of them.

From New York Times • Nov. 21, 2024

French became my native tongue, even though English is now my strongest language because I've been working in English as a journalist for 25 or 26 years.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2024

If her husband insisted she speak in Spanish to the girls so they wouldn't forget their native tongue, she'd snap, "When in Rome, do unto the Romans."

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez