<p>The Common Application asks the applicant to list the languages he or she knows. There are several boxes one can tick, indicating whether one can speak, write or read in the language, as well as indicating whether it is the first language and whether the language is spoken at home. What is the definition of "first language" in this case? The language one knows best, or the language that one learnt first?</p>
<p>It refers to that language you consider to be your native tongue. It is usually the one you learned first but you can choose to say otherwise. For example, if you were born in France and spent first three years there but then moved to US and now know English but have mainly forgotten any French, you may put English as first language. When you have two languages and you really cannot tell which is which, you can just choose one as neither is a wrong answer.</p>
<p>It’s more or less up to you. I chose to list my first language (not English) as the language I learned first, because after all, that’s what I thought it meant… but I am not exactly fluent in it.</p>