Term: Mother Tongue

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Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2012-06-21

Definition:

"Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the person at the time the data was collected. If the person no longer understands the first language learned, the mother tongue is the second language learned. For a person who learned two languages at the same time in early childhood, the mother tongue is the language this person spoke most often at home before starting school. The person has two mother tongues only if the two languages were used equally often and are still understood by the person. For a child who has not yet learned to speak, the mother tongue is the language spoken most often to this child at home."

( Source: Statistics Canada Web Page - Mother tongue of person - http://www.statcan.gc.ca/concepts/definitions/language-langue01-eng.htm - accessed February 22, 2011).

Related terms 

• Anglophone
• First Official Language Spoken
• Francophone
• Maternal Languages

References 

• Statistics Canada. Mother tongue of person (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/concepts/definitions/language-langue01-eng.htm. Accessed February 22, 2011). 2009.(View)

Term used in 

• Chartier M, Finlayson G, Prior H, McGowan K, Chen H, de Rocquigny J, Walld R, Gousseau M. Health and Healthcare Utilization of Francophones in Manitoba. Winnipeg, MB: Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, 2012. [Report] [Summary] (View)