primary language
First learned speech
A primary language is the language someone uses most or learned first—their dominant means of communication.
The term appears frequently in educational and administrative contexts: English is her primary language.
For multilingual speakers, primary language may shift over time as one language overtakes another through use and immersion.
- native speakerOne who grew up speaking it
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- fluentSpeaking smoothly, effortlessly
- speechOral communication ability
- spoken wordPoetry delivered aloud
words · first words · early childhood · childhood · home · family · accent · grammar · vocabulary · immersion · monolingual · literacy · oral · written · spoken · dialect · communication · fluency
- language educationbiliteracy, immersion, literacy skills, reading, immersion school
- languagesEnglish, Arabic, Chinese, German, French
- translation termstranslation, literal translation, free translation, word-for-word, source text