Does anyone know if there's an actual difference between the terms "native speaker" and "monther tongue"? I'm updating my CV and I was wondering if there's a need to differentiate my languages in these two categories.
Thanks for your help!
Hi everyone,
In my German lessons, the teacher ( herself with Polish origins ) said that even if I was from Australia, my mother tongue after being in CH for some time is actually German.
Therefore: Native speaker: EN etc.
Mother tongue ( Muttersprache ): DE etc.
But this was what I was told to write in the CVs.
Personally, mother tongue for me means the language learnt without formal lessons - first ever language.
Native comes from the word 'born' - so native speaker means that you were 'born' hearing and then speaking that language from birth. Mother tongue means that you have learnt that language from you mother from birth. So the same thing really.
I was born in the French speaking part of Switzerland, so my mother tongue is French, and I am a native French speaker. I lived in the UK for 40 years, and I am fluent in English, even taught English in British schools- but it is not my mother tongue and I am not a native speaker - and neither is your Polish teacher a native German speaker - although I have a UK Degree in teaching languages and possibly have a better grasp of English Grammar and use than many natives
For other languages use this:
level group A B C level group name Basic User Independent User Proficient User level A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 level name Breakthrough or beginner Waystage or elementary Threshold or intermediate Vantage or upper intermediate Effective Operational Proficiency or advanced Mastery or proficiency description Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need. Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices. Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.
I think that your mother tongue and first language both refer to the language you acquire as a child and are most fluent in, whilst a native speaker is one who speaks a language as a first language (even if it technically their second).
And....as we all know....who better to give a definitive ruling on an English expression than a Polish teacher of German in Switzerland
OP - assuming that you are asking about the English terms, no, they are the same to all practical intents and purposes. There is a slight semantic difference where native speaker is sometimes used to denote a racial tongue ie if your mum was Indian from Gujarat, but only spoke English at home....you might say that your mother tongue was English but your were a native Gujarati speaker....but thats stretching a point
That same teacher listed High German as her mother tongue and Polish as her native language
She has been in CH since 4 i.e. 35 years and a citizen. Hubby Spanish German, and all 3 kids list down Muttersprache as DE.
Regardless of what one can justify for oneself, I would warn against making too subtle distinctions in languages on a CV, as the risk is sky-high for it to be read by somebody who has no idea about it or own ideas.
Make it simple when explaining your language skills. If you learned a language as a teenager or even later on but that your level is just amazingly rocking high fantastic, just write C2. The descriptor for C2 is impressing enough on its own. When one had a childhood an upbringing in two languages, one is native in two languages, no need to artificially make distinctions related to identity or emotions.
Just my view on it...
As far as I'm aware, the only difference is that mother tongue is more likely to be used by speakers of non-American English.
Doesn't mean that its right.
In fact, it isn't right if she is using the English terms. Maybe if its a German or Polish CV, the terms are different with different meanings?
The common categories in employment are basically:
‘Muttersprache’ (native speaker)
‘verhandlungssicher’ (business fluent)
‘fliessend’ (fluent) and ‘Grundkenntnisse’ (basic knowledge).
So, my mother tongue is italian but it's not necessarily the language I'm most comfortable speaking. is that ok?
I have the same problem - I have almost forgotten my "Mother tongue" but still put it down as such as advised by the RAV Job Basis workshop consultants and so on.
At interviews, I state that I am at B1 level for both DE and EN. ( fliessend )
My 2rp;
I'd say they were mostly interchangeable, but.
If my parents were English, and I only spoke English with them then my mother tongue would be English.
However, in the same curcumstances, if I'd been born in (or moved to at an early age) Germany, gone to a German speaking school and grown up speaking German, I would contend that my native languages were English and German.
If my dad was Italian, and only spoke Italian, then it'd get complicateder .
In the language industry, that would not be a native speaker, that would be your language of habitual use. Native speaker and mother tongue are, to all intents and purposes, interchangeable. The requirement for professional translators is that they only translate *into* their mother tongue/native language OR their language of habitual use
thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback!
Unless applying for a position as a language teacher, where the B1, C1 etc would be understood, I would not put them on a CV. I don't actually see the point of differentiating between "mother tongue" and "Native speaker." If one is fluent in two (or more languages) just put "fluent in... and ....."
Problem is some people's idea of 'fluency' can vary a great deal. And as said above, some native speakers do not necessarily have great skills in the use of said language. There was an English lady in my village who had got very hesitant in her native tongue, and yet never acquired fluency in her adoptive language, French.
Many language schools will only employ native speakers- which is a shame as many non-natives may well be excellent teachers with great fluency and mastery of the language they'd like to teach.
From a friend who is a Swiss language teacher:
Mother tongue: what you speak at school.
Native speaker: what you speak at home.
So, my kids have Italian as a mother tongue, but are native English speakers.
Tom
Does not quite make sense this - a teacher is not a mother
MOTHERtongue, the language you learn from you mother.
As we see often in replies to EF job ads requiring fluency.