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 (file)
Noun
Muttersprache f (genitive Muttersprache, plural Muttersprachen)
- mother tongue; native language
- Deutsch ist meine Muttersprache.
- German is my native language.
- (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.
- (linguistics, rare or archaic) ancestor language (language from which another is derived)
- Latein ist die Muttersprache des Romanischen.
- Latin is the ancestor of Romance.
Declension
Declension of Muttersprache
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | Muttersprache | die | Muttersprachen |
| genitive | einer | der | Muttersprache | der | Muttersprachen |
| dative | einer | der | Muttersprache | den | Muttersprachen |
| accusative | eine | die | Muttersprache | die | Muttersprachen |
Synonyms
- (ancestor): Vorläufersprache
Antonyms
- (native language): Fremdsprache
- (one’s mother’s language): Vatersprache
- (ancestor): Tochtersprache; Nachfolgesprache; Nachfolgersprache
Derived terms
Further reading
- Muttersprache in Duden online
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