First language
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A first language, native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term native langu
The monument to the mother tongue (ana dili) in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan
International Mother Language Day Monument in Sydney, Australia, unveiling ceremony, 21 February 2006
Multilingualism
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Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are only two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that
First language
…of the West Midlands in particular). Children brought up speaking more than one language can have more than one native language, and be bilingual or multilingual. By contrast, a second language is any language that one speaks other than one's first language. A related concept is bilingualism. One definition is…
The frontage of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, with text written in eleven of South Africa's twelve official languages
A multilingual sign outside the mayor's office in Novi Sad, Serbia, written in the four official languages of the city: Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, and Pannonian Rusyn
A stenciled danger sign in Singapore written in English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Malay (the four official languages of Singapore)
A bilingual "no trespassing" sign at a construction site in Helsinki, Finland (upper text in Finnish, lower text in Swedish)