Muttersprache

German

Etymology

Loan translation and/or phonetic adaptation of Middle Low German môdersprâke, itself possibly a loan translation of Latin lingua materna. Analyzable as Mutter (“mother”) +‎ Sprache (“language”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmʊtɐˌʃpʁaːxə/, [ˈmʊtɐˌʃpʁäːχə]

• Audio:

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Noun

Muttersprache f (genitive Muttersprache, plural Muttersprachen)

1. mother tongue; native language

   Deutsch ist meine Muttersprache.

   German is my native language.

2. (often humorous) the language one has learnt from one’s mother (chiefly in the case of two parents with different languages)

   Türkisch ist meine Muttersprache und Deutsch meine Vatersprache.

   Turkish is my mother’s language and German is my father’s language.

3. (linguistics, rare or archaic) ancestor language (language from which another is derived)

   Latein ist die Muttersprache des Romanischen.

   Latin is the ancestor of Romance.

Synonyms

• (ancestor): Vorläufersprache

Antonyms

• (native language): Fremdsprache
• (one’s mother’s language): Vatersprache
• (ancestor): Tochtersprache; Nachfolgesprache; Nachfolgersprache

Derived terms

• Muttersprachler
• muttersprachlich

Further reading

• “Muttersprache” in Duden online