kotikieli

Kotikieli is a term used in Finnish to describe the language a person has learned at home during early childhood and uses most naturally in daily communication. It is commonly aligned with the concept of a person’s first language or mother tongue in everyday speech, though in formal contexts äidinkieli and kotikieli may carry slightly different nuances. Kotikieli is not fixed; in multilingual settings it can comprise one or more languages, and the dominant home language can shift across generations or life circumstances.

In sociolinguistics, kotikieli plays a central role in studies of language development, identity, and social belonging. It often reflects family language practices, community background, and personal experiences. For families that maintain several languages, individuals may have multiple kotikielet, and the language used at home may differ from the language used in school or work.

Education and policy discussions frequently address kotikieli in the context of language maintenance and multilingual education. Programs may include mother-tongue instruction, bilingual or dual-language schooling, and support for family language use at home. Research has explored how a strong kotikieli supports literacy, cognitive development, and cultural identity, as well as how it interacts with the acquisition of additional languages.

In demographic and public-service contexts, kotikieli serves as a practical indicator of linguistic background and potential language needs for services, communication, and social integration. See also: mother tongue, first language, bilingualism, language maintenance, language shift.