Antonym(s):

• foreign language

Synonym(s):

• mother tongue
• native language
• native tongue

Source(s):

QUIRK etal. 19853
CRYSTAL 2003256
HARTMANN & STORK 1972149 (= primary language)
MARTINET 1964[trans.]146
RICHARDS etal. 1992140 (also "first language acquisition")
HUDSON 199666
MATTHEWS 1997130
ELL5122

• QUIRK, Randolph, GREENBAUM, Sidney, LEECH, Geoffrey, & SVARTNIK, Jan. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.
• CRYSTAL, David. (2003) A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 5th Ed Oxford: Blackwell.
• HARTMANN, R.R.K. & STORK, F.C. (1972) Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. London: Applied Science Publishers.
• MARTINET, André. (1964 [trans.]) Elements of General Linguistics. Chicago: University of Chicago. 
• RICHARDS, Jack, PLATT,  J. & WEBER,  H.  (1992) Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics. London: Longman.
• HUDSON, R.A. (1996) Sociolinguistics, 2nd Edition. Cambridge: University Press.
• MATTHEWS, P.H. (1997) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• The Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics. (1994) Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Domain:

Sociolinguistics