Mother tongue vs second language
What is the difference between a mother tongue and a second language? Learn how acquisition differs from learning and how your first language affects English.
In this lesson
A mother tongue, or first language, is the language a child acquires naturally from birth by listening to the people around them. A second language is any language a person learns later in life, often at school and through conscious study. The mother tongue usually feels automatic, and it often influences how a second language is learned and spoken.
What is a language?
Language is a way of expressing ideas and emotions through signs and symbols, such as sounds, written letters and hand signs. Merriam-Webster defines language as “an organically developed system of communication used by groups of humans”. Speakers and writers use these signs and symbols to encode information, and listeners and readers decode it.
What is a first language or mother tongue?
The first language that a baby learns is his or her mother tongue. It is the language the child begins to hear from birth (see the Cambridge Dictionary definition of mother tongue). Children learn their first language effortlessly and naturally by listening to the people who speak it around them. For example, a child brought up in a Chinese household, where all members of the family communicate with each other in Chinese, will grow up acquiring Chinese.
However, some children are brought up in families with different linguistic backgrounds. If a child’s father is Spanish and the mother is Portuguese, and each parent uses his or her own native language with the child, the child grows up with two first languages.
What is a second language?
A second language is a language that is usually learned at a later stage of life. It is a non-native language, and there is no limit to the number of second languages a person can learn. Any language can be a second language, as long as it is not the person’s mother tongue or native language. For instance, in many countries where English is not a native language, school students are taught English as a compulsory second language.
Some writers also separate a second language, which is widely used in the learner’s own community, from a foreign language, which is mainly met in the classroom. In everyday use, however, the two terms often overlap.
Acquisition or learning: what is the difference?
Many linguists, following the work of Stephen Krashen, distinguish between language acquisition and language learning.
Acquisition is an unconscious process. Children acquire language naturally and subconsciously, without being aware of grammar rules. This is especially true when they acquire their first language. To acquire a language, children need a source of natural communication, which is usually a mother, a father or another caregiver.
Language learning, on the other hand, is the result of direct instruction in the rules of a language. Second language learning therefore refers to a conscious effort to master a new language, whereas second language acquisition refers to picking up a second language unconsciously or incidentally, in addition to the mother tongue. Whether the age of the learner changes this process is the subject of our essay Does age affect the language acquisition process?
Does the mother tongue influence second language acquisition?
A person acquires the first language from birth, and its influence is difficult to escape. Second language learners tend to transfer patterns from their mother tongue to the new language, such as its sounds, word order or ways of being polite. This is often called language transfer. Sometimes transfer helps, but it can also cause difficulties in learning the target language.
Research led by the linguist Annie Tremblay at the University of Kansas has explored how a person’s native language influences the way the brain processes spoken words in a second language. One interesting finding was that when two languages are similar but still differ slightly, features such as intonation patterns in the second language are harder to master and more likely to be influenced by the speaker’s native language.
These effects are most noticeable when learners speak. Our essays on speaking in an ESL context and speaking as a skill around the globe look at this skill more closely.
Summary
- A mother tongue is the first language a child acquires naturally from birth.
- A child can grow up with two first languages if each parent speaks a different language.
- A second language is any non-native language, usually learned later in life.
- Acquisition is unconscious and natural, while learning is conscious and based on instruction.
- The mother tongue often influences a second language, especially features such as intonation.
Frequently asked questions
Is a mother tongue the same as a first language?
In most cases, yes. Both terms describe the language a person acquires first, from birth. Some people prefer first language because the language does not always come from the mother.
Can a person have two mother tongues?
Yes. A child who hears two languages regularly from birth, for example Spanish from the father and Portuguese from the mother, can grow up with two first languages.
What is the difference between language acquisition and language learning?
Acquisition is a natural, unconscious process, like the way young children pick up their first language. Learning is a conscious process that depends on studying the rules of the language.
Why does my first language affect my English?
Learners tend to transfer the sounds, grammar and patterns of their mother tongue into a new language. This is normal, and regular listening and speaking practice can reduce its effects over time.
