What is the difference between native language, first language, mother tongue and L1?

Question

Note: I'm not a linguist, and I realize I might be treading in a grey area here.

I'm wondering what the differences (and/or similarities) between native language, first language, mother tongue and L1 are. The first three, I find, are often used interchangeably in casual conversation. In academic linguistics though, are there generally accepted differences between these terms? Also, where does that leave L1? I believe it's an academic term, but I often see it defined relative to the other three casual terms.

A quick Google search seems to reveal there is a lot of confusion around these terms, and possibly no straightforward answer. It also doesn't help that the Wikipedia article groups the four terms into one article and has fewer citations than I would like. The only thing I've been able to gather is that the tendency seems to be for "native language" to mean proficient and for "first language" to mean chronologically first.

In particular, I'd like to find out (if possible) what term or terms are applicable to the following scenarios:

• A chronologically first language with which the speaker is no longer fluent or even competent.
• A language learned to fluency in adulthood (with or without a foreign accent - though I realize the latter is rare).
• A language learned to fluency in childhood (within the critical period) that is not chronologically first.

I realize fluency might not be the best word to use...but the words I would normally use are the ones that I'm seeking clearer definitions for!

Answer 1

OK, the fact of the matter is that everybody learns their own languages, in their own ways, in their own times, places, and circumstances. It is normal for kids to have several languages at home, and to pick up others as needed, by playing with other kids. Those languages either flourish through use, or wither and get forgotten by disuse, like any human skill.

Plus, people vary not only in their unique language experience, but in their skill at apprehending and using it. Also like any human skill. That's a vast amount of individual variation.

By contrast, labels like

Native language,
First language,
Mother tongue
L1
L2
.. etc.

are invented by people who need abbreviations for commonly-referenced groups of characteristics, usually characteristics that are common only in monolingual places like the USA, where almost everybody speaks only English, and often finds multilingualism threatening.

They are not terms defined in the Qur'an or the APA Style Manual; they are just abbreviations, which may be useful in certain contexts among certain kinds of professional. That's all, really.

These terms, and others, may or may not be applicable to the situations you mention. Or to others one can easily imagine. I repeat, they're just nonce forms, with localized definition and localized utility.

They are Not Ready For Prime Time, in other words, so you shouldn't take them too seriously. And they certainly don't cover every possibility.

Answer 2

This is a very good question because it highlights the multiple terms used to describe what appears to be similar if not the same phenomena; However, as it has been pointed out above, there are contextual differences in the terms. As far as a clarification for the terms:

First language and L1 are the same. L1 is the abbreviated form of first language. And mother tongue and Native language are interchangeable. Essentially, these two terms are socio-cultural constructs. Meaning, the terms native and/or mother language are a way to conjure a transportation of a language from one culture and geography into another geography/culture. Their use trigger the counterpart, foreign. Thus, in addition to declaring the order of language acquisition, these two terms also reveal an immigration component to the language. In contrast, the term L1/First language are clinical terms to describe language acquisition in individuals who have acquired one or more languages.

As far as the scenarios listed in the original post:

1. I would describe this scenario as a non dominant L1 individual, i.e. underscoring language acquisition and subsequent language shift.
2. L2 adquisition post Critical period.
3. This scenario needs to be further qualified because the critical period may include for some a wide time frame. For example, I would call an individual acquiring a second language up to age 4 or 5 a sequential L2, and/or maybe depending on the input exposure opportunity in both languages, a simultaneous bilingual, known as 2L1.

Answer 3

I wrote a blog post about this very topic last week, on the International Mother Language Day. http://multilingualparenting.com/2014/02/21/mother-tongue/

There is unfortunately no clear-cut answer if you speak more than one language. The different terms are used in different contexts and for varying purposes. For me 'mother tongue' and 'native language' are more or less interchangeable. The term 'first language' is as far as I understand not the chronologically first language, but the one a speaker is fluent in and feels most comfortable to speak. This means your 'first language' can change depending on where you live and which language you speak the most.

Your first question is intriguing and I also wrote about the scenario in my blog. If you no longer speak the language(s) you learnt as a child, based on the monolingual research terminology, you would be "mother-tongue-less" - however you would have a L1.

If you have become fluent in a language later in life, you have a 'native level fluency'. It's difficult to draw the line with regards to accents - different "native" speakers have vastly varying accents as well, so why would an accent from an other area prevent you from being called fluent?

If you have learnt a language as a child and you are fluent in it, it is one of your 'native languages' - the notion that there could only be one 'mother tongue' or 'native language' comes from a monolingual perspective and doesn't apply to bilingual people.

Answer 4

Just take myself for an example. It might be subjective though.

I'm a Cantonese living in Canton(or Guangzhou), China.

Cantonese is my mother tongue and first language. It's a local language in Guangzhou and Hong Kong SAR.

Mandarin is my native language. It's the official language of China. So almost all kindergartens and primary schools in mainland China will teach Mandarin as compulsory. Accents and dialects appear in all different parts of the nation but Mandarin is the only one that used nationwide freely.

English is my 2nd language then.

Answer 5

This is my understanding of the three aspects-

1) Mother tongue- Learnt from birth, usually what is spoken by the parents.
2) Native tongue- Place where you are, have been living; irrespective of the place of your birth & the language spoken by the parents. Native 'of' the place.
3) The first language- It may be either of two, or a completely different, a 'third' language, learning which you grew up (usually in the school) . For example, in almost all the reputed Indian schools the English is the 'first' language.

This is how I interpret these. I am afraid, have no authoritative references for these though.

Answer 6

In my opinion, none of the terms relate to the fluency of the language. The expression 'first language' relates to the vocabulary and linguistic variations (i.e. grammar, semantics) most commonly used by the speaker, which allows the person to practice a particular 'slang' to communicate within the environment they live in, even if they are not fluent using that particular language (in terms of 'academic' language).

Mother tongue/native language, however, involves a brain process - training, which starts when we are born and that includes components, elements and other types of communication (i.e. body language) that we adopt when we are little in order to survive within the context, and that create an specific mental structure - code that will dictate our future languages acquisition.

Answer 7

I think that Mother tongue is a kind of tongue that we learn with our mother or father at home and it is own tongue of some place. Native tongue is the tongue of the colonization or oficial in any country. And the first tongue is a kind tongue that we learn on the first time. Abel Adriano Bambi from Angola

Answer 8

Mother tongue is tribe language of your parents. First language is a language that you learn first in your life.