[Lexicog] gendered language references

[Fritz Goerling]

In German we say "Muttersprache"(mother tongue) but "Vaterland"
(fatherland).

 

Fritz Goerling

 

I'm wondering about English terms for kinds of languages:

Why do we speak of a mother tongue but not a father tongue?

Why do we speak of sister languages but not brother languages?

Why are there daughter languages but not son languages?

Why can we refer to both a motherland and a fatherland?

Do other languages use kinship terms to refer to language relationships?

Wayne
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Wayne Leman



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