Usage of "first language"

Russian

Portuguese

Spanish

Catalan

Language a person was raised speaking from birth.

Usage of first language in English

Today, the first language is English, and the second language is Chinese. 
 The Irish Times 

Children whose first language isn't English have a hard time getting by. 
 Ebony 

I am a South African citizen, and English is my first language. 
 The South African 

Being deaf, I communicate in my first language - Irish Sign Language. 
 The Irish Times 

Phillip switched easily to the French that had been his first language. 
 Iron lace 

Many deaf people continue to use English as their first language. 
 BBC 

English isn't my first language, but I'm certain I have that part right. 
 Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain 

It does, however, involve a constant misuse of our first language. 
 The Irish Times 

TEFL teachers teach English abroad to people whose first language is not English. 
 The Guardian 

And it was the first language that I really learned to write in. 
 The new yorker 

When we drink from it, we emerge speaking the first language we knew. 
 Faefever 

You think it's funny that English wasn't her first language, Andy? 
 The Storyteller 

English may not be their first language, which can cause problems. 
 The Guardian 

Most Darfuri rebels do not speak Arabic as their first language. 
 Reuters 

Fifteen participants had migrated to Australia and English was not their first language. 
 Pubmed 

Are you living in a country where English is not the first language? 
 The Irish Times 

first

Adjective

Noun

Translations for first language

Russian

Portuguese

Spanish

Catalan

First language through the time

First language across language varieties

South Africa

Common

Ireland

Common

United States of America

Rare

More variants

Meanings of first language in English