äidinkielenkielessä

äidinkielenkielessä is a Finnish phrase that denotes situations or actions carried out in the speaker’s native language. The form is built from äidinkieli (mother tongue) in its genitive form äidinkielen and the inessive case of kieli (kieli → kielessä), literally translating to “in the language of the mother tongue.” In usage, the expression functions as a contextual label indicating that communication, instruction, or analysis occurs in the native language rather than in a second language.

Usage and context

The phrase appears in educational, linguistic, and sociolinguistic contexts. It can mark that explanations, discussions, or texts are presented in the mother tongue to facilitate comprehension, assessment, or preservation of linguistic nuances. It may also be used in policy or curriculum texts to describe language-of-instruction choices or research comparisons between native-language use and foreign-language use.

Examples

- Keskustelu käydään äidinkielenkielessä. (The discussion takes place in the mother tongue.)

- Tutkimus vertailee sanavalintojen käyttöä äidinkielenkielessä verrattuna vieraalla kielellä tehtyihin havaintoihin. (The study compares word-choice use in the mother tongue with observations made in a foreign language.)

Relation to related terms

äidinkieli refers to the native language itself, while äidinkielenkielessä is a situational marker describing how language is used within that native language domain. It contrasts with phrases describing use of a second or foreign language and with discussions about bilingual or multilingual contexts.

Notes

The expression is relatively formal and more common in academic or official text than in everyday speech.