Mother tongue (original) (raw)
Mother tongue (native language, first language) is the language a person learns first. Usually a child learns the basics of mother tongue from his family.
Good skills in native language are essential for further learning, as native language is thought to be a base of thinking. Incomplete first language skills often make learning other languages difficult. Native language has therefore a central role in education.
See also: bilingual, language acquisition, literacy, second language, sign language