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Who is considered a native speaker of English? I am a little confused by the various answers found online.

MBorg
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    @Bogdan: What's the bounty for? This question appears to have a satisfactory answer. You may add a comment (or even edit the question) to explain what it's there for. – Daniel Aug 12 '11 at 20:29
  • @drɱ65 δ: Maybe Bogdan is just after the Altruist badge! – Hugo Aug 13 '11 at 17:04
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    the given answers just scratch the surface. There were even books about this subject – Bogdan Lataianu Aug 13 '11 at 18:59
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    @Bogdan: How many other answers on this site are book-length, exhaustive screeds? – Robusto Aug 14 '11 at 12:02
  • @Bogdan If you want to hear other answers, this could turn into a subjective discussion. That is not how (at least, how I think) EL&U is set up –  Aug 14 '11 at 21:46
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    @simchona than convince us the answers given are the objective ones.(see this for a start) EL&U is not an exact science-some subjects have thin boundaries. Even if it were exact science, you could approach a problem from various perspectives. – Bogdan Lataianu Aug 14 '11 at 22:20
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    @Bogdan: Us? They're not my answers, not my job to convince. –  Aug 14 '11 at 22:54
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    I didn't say the answers should be book-length, but there are other aspects or points of views-socioeconomic, dialect vs language, etc. – Bogdan Lataianu Aug 15 '11 at 05:37
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    @Bogdan: It seems that the meaning of the word word "native" is pretty obvious in this context. It means you grew up speaking the language. Even if you attain a faultless mastery of the language after you're out of the small-child stage of learning, you are not a native speaker; you are a fluent speaker tips hat to RegDwight. – Daniel Aug 15 '11 at 19:45

3 Answers3

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A "native speaker of English" refers to someone who has learned and used English from early childhood. It does not necessarily mean that it is the speaker's only language, but it means it is and has been the primary means of concept formation and communication. It means having lived in a truly English-speaking culture during one's formative years, so that English has been absorbed effortlessly as by osmosis.

One can have been born and grown up in a country that lists English as one of its official languages and not be a "native" speaker. For example, Canadians from Quebec cannot automatically be considered native English speakers even though many speak English quite well; they were brought up speaking French as a first language and think in French (or Canardien, as I have heard unkind Parisians refer to it). But the rest of Canada does largely consist of native speakers of English.

Speaking "like a native" of any language means more than just knowing vocabulary and grammar. Many educated foreign speakers speak better formal English than, say, many Americans or British or Australians. But formal English is only one aspect of the language. Knowing instantly what slang means, what cultural references mean, how to reduce syntax to a bare minimum and still convey precise meaning — all these things, and more, are what constitute native speech.

Robusto
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    +1 for "canardien". I've not heard it before, but it made me laugh :-) – psmears Mar 05 '11 at 20:04
  • @psmears What does canardien literally mean? – timur Apr 08 '11 at 14:56
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    @timur: Canard is French for "duck" — it implies that the Parisians think Quebecois French sounds like ducks quacking. – Robusto Apr 08 '11 at 15:09
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    I know this question is old but... @Jasper Loy: In his answer, @Robusto said that many non-native speakers speak better than native ones. Now... That doesn't make those people native speakers. You're a native speaker when it's your first language, when you speak it "natively". So no matter what level I will reach with English, I won't never be an English native speaker. – Alenanno May 23 '11 at 16:40
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    Unfortunate to assume / presume that "the rest of Canada" are native English speakers. – Benjamin Aug 16 '11 at 02:10
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    @Benjamin: You're right. I hadn't considered the indigenous peoples. Sorry if I offended. – Robusto Aug 18 '11 at 13:00
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    @Robusto 初夢: don't forget many native French speakers born and living outside Quebec, and large immigrant communities who are also not native English speakers. – Benjamin Aug 18 '11 at 14:20
  • +1 for "it does not necessarily mean that it is the speaker's only language"! One can easily be a native speaker of several languages. – msanford Jan 16 '12 at 20:37
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It's apparent that different people have different notions of what a "native speaker" is. To a linguist, the term generally implies that a speaker has "internalised" the language through "natural acquisition", rather than through deliberate instruction/learning.

A "native speaker", as opposed to an extremely proficient second language speaker, can often make instant judgements about whether sentences "on the fringe" of the language's grammar sound grammatical. So for example, native speakers can probably instantly make judgments about whether the following sentences of English "sound normal":

Which students did you think had done their homework?

Which students did you wonder whether would turn up late?

These are the parents affected by the measures.

These are the parents baked a cake by their children.

It appears that a non-native speaker, even an extremely proficient one, will tend to make a judgement about these sentences much less readily.

There are other, essentially non-linguistic, definitions of "native speaker", e.g. "the language that I speak most and have the most cultural attachment to" or "The language that I acquired first". An issue which I'm actually currently discussing on another forum with fellow translators is that there are people claiming to be "native speakers" of English who write sentences such as "I have experience of translator since 4 years". I personally think this is an unuseful definition of "native speaker", but it shows how much confusion/variability there is.

Community
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Neil Coffey
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  • I expected you to write “of their children”. – Harold Cavendish Aug 12 '11 at 21:08
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    +1 for "I have experience of translator since 4 years". I've just been astonished to find many, many Google hits for "I am native speaker". The ultimate self-contradictory (oxymoronic?) statement, I feel! :) – FumbleFingers Aug 15 '11 at 19:03
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    I've met many native English speakers whose grammar is very poor. You can't automatically assume that someone has a good grasp of a language just because it is their native language. I'm sure there are many non-native speakers of a language who use it better than the natives. – Jay Dec 20 '11 at 16:15
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    Jay - it's important not to mix references here. When you say a native speaker's "grammar is poor", you're referring to their use compared to some arbitrary prescribed usage which you would like them to follow (but which they have absolutely no obligation to do). That's not the same as what range of usage actually defines a "native speaker". – Neil Coffey Dec 21 '11 at 01:33
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Literally, a native speaker of English is somebody that learned English as their first language.

In reality, I would say that a native speaker of English is a speaker of English which also thinks primarily in English and which other native speakers of English would recognize as such. It's certainly a circular definition but I think that that's a key part of any definition. Trying to leave it out caused me to give an incomplete definition earlier.

aaronasterling
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    I often catch myself thinking in English (despite being Swedish) but I would not count myself as a "native speaker". I would reserve that term for someone who learned English as their first language. – PaulRein Mar 01 '11 at 08:56
  • @PaulRein, Yes, I suppose I wasn't clear enough. A native english speaker wouldn't "catch" themselves thinking in English. They might catch themselves thinking in another language but not in English. – aaronasterling Mar 01 '11 at 08:59
  • @PaulRein, Also, you're right. My first definition was incomplete. – aaronasterling Mar 01 '11 at 09:02
  • Does this also imply, that a native speaker can still have worse English skills than a non-native speaker? – Vilx- Mar 01 '11 at 09:10
  • @Vilx No it does not. By definition, the native English speaker is using correct English. A language is defined by its native speakers. So "correct" English is whatever the native speaker uses. – aaronasterling Mar 01 '11 at 09:22
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    I would feel that Native English speakers would have to grow up in a country where the official and main language is English. My English is a strong second language, but it was acquired outside England. A native English speaker at Forest Gate, London once told me "You speak better English than what I do" – mplungjan Mar 01 '11 at 09:55
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    So "correct" English is whatever the native speaker uses. Not sure I agree with you here, just because a native speaker considers something to be correct, doesn't make it so. You'll need some kind of consensus among native speakers. I suppose it boils down to what you consider "correct". And there are constructs often used by native speakers which can't really be considered 'correct English', like 'aint', as in "It aint none of your business", or 'them' when used in "Go pick up them toys". Or even better, 'good' where 'well' should have been used.It may be native English, but hardly correct. – falstro Mar 01 '11 at 12:12
  • @roe "It aint none of your business" is perfectly correct in places where it's used. It's the same for all of your other examples. That's why people use them. On what grounds do you claim that they're incorrect? – aaronasterling Mar 01 '11 at 12:23
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    @roe: most academic linguists avoid the word "correct" in this context for just that reason. "Correct" is usually used to mean "what the authorities or pundits prescribe" even when nobody at all speaks that way. This is a social issue, and not really a linguistic one (though sociolinguistics treats of it). Linguists generally are more interested in what people actually do with their language rather than what some authority says they should do. – Colin Fine Mar 01 '11 at 12:45
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    Consider this, if you, at home, has a word describing something, like a particular form of blanket or whatever, would you consider it 'correct English', even though no other native speaker (except your family) has no way of knowing what this word means? Then by all means, they're correct. So is xcfs sdf' sklj. I consider "aint" a lazy misspelling of "isn't" (pronouncing it differently is fine by me, that's dialect or slang), and 'pick up them toys' just incorrect grammar. I'd still use it, just not consider it correct (and by all means, I'm all for bending languages, don't get me wrong). – falstro Mar 01 '11 at 13:02
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    "Ain't" is not "lazy" and it is not a "misspelling". It is a variant form of speech (probably originally for "haven't" and "amn't" and later for "isn't") which today is not part of the standard language, and is regarded as "incorrect" by those who insist on applying this social judgment to language. In the 1880's it was acceptable in upper-class speech in England, though I don't know whether anybody troubled over whether it was "correct" or not. – Colin Fine Mar 01 '11 at 14:20
  • @aaron, doesn't this definition presuppose that everyone has only one "first language"? – Peter Taylor Mar 01 '11 at 16:29
  • @Peter Taylor: I find it difficult to believe that someone (especially at an early age) would think in two different languages. – Adam Mar 01 '11 at 18:31
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    @advs89, in that case I suggest you read some of the literature on the subject. A book I've found very useful is The Bilingual Family, by Edith Harding-Esch and Philip Riley, published by Cambridge University Press. – Peter Taylor Mar 01 '11 at 21:33
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    @Colin, interesting, I stand corrected on that point, I guess I have been taught incorrectly. I still disagree that whatever an English native speaker says, it must be correct English (I did note your objection to 'correct', and I definitely agree, but that's what Aaron is claiming). Especially if two of them start to disagree on the meaning if things, don't you think? Or would you say that two native English speakers who cannot understand each other, could still both be using "correct English?" :) – falstro Mar 01 '11 at 22:20
  • @roe What I am saying specifically is that what English speakers use defines what is correct English. If two native speakers can't understand each other, then it's probably because they're using distinct dialects. – aaronasterling Mar 02 '11 at 01:03
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    Yes, English speakers, not speaker. An English native speaker could be speaking Chinese, and that wouldn't make it English. At some points dialects become different languages, and for that to happen, there must be a definition what that language is. If there's a definition of the language, you can, as a native speaker, learn and use something which does not fall within those bounds, thus it must be possible for an educated non-native speaker to have better English language skills than a native speaker. At least in theory. – falstro Mar 02 '11 at 07:53
  • @roe. Why do we need a definition of what language is for languages to evolve and speciate? This has been happening since before linguistics was a field or any formal definition of language had ever been considered. That's only the first logical error in your response. Pretty much everything after that just doesn't follow. – aaronasterling Mar 02 '11 at 07:58
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    I don't think it's a logical error. I just question that "correct English" is what any one native speaker speaks. Because if there are no boundaries to a language, there's no reason to call them by different names at all (English, German, Spanish), if they've evolved from the same source. When does a language become a different language, and stop being "correct English"? (or Latin, or German) If that never happens, then you are correct. No native speaker can have be incorrect, then again, everyone is a native speaker in that case, and we're not speaking English at all. – falstro Mar 02 '11 at 09:11
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    And to add, the original question was "[can] a native speaker can still have worse English skills than a non-native speaker?", and this is definitely true, or wouldn't you say two native English speakers can have different levels of command of English? Neither of them being incorrect, just different levels. If that's the case, then you may certainly wedge a non-native speaker in between. – falstro Mar 02 '11 at 09:13
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    @roe: Nearly all native speakers have a better command of English than nearly all non-native speakers. However it is quite common for a non-native speaker to have a better command of one variety (especially if it is a standard or prestigious variety) than a native speaker whose native dialect is significantly different from that variety. Since people who talk about "correct" almost always mean a standard or prestigious variety then in that sense many non-native speakers of English speak more "correctly" than many native speakers of English – Colin Fine Mar 02 '11 at 14:26
  • @Colin; no argument there. I was contesting that Aaron's statement No [...]. By definition, [...]. is a correct answer to the question [can] a native speaker still have worse English skills than a non-native speaker?. And the way you put it, "nearly all...nearly all", answers the question a lot more accurately in my mind (this holds for pretty much any language of course). I like your style, thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me! – falstro Mar 02 '11 at 17:30
  • @PeterTaylor: Good point. Don't people in certain regions, such as Alsace-Loraine, grow up speaking more than one native language? - French and German in the case of Alsace-Loraine. Also, by now, there are a fair number of people who grew up natively speaking both Esperanto and the ethnic language of the region. – Hexagon Tiling Mar 17 '12 at 12:05
  • Even if I learn English as my first language, it doesn't make me a native speaker because I might have been surrounded by non-native speakers since birth. – elwc Nov 21 '17 at 02:52