Heritage speaker

Question

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a precise translation of the term "native/heritage speaker" to Spanish. It's related to a school questionnaire about languages. Would it be "hablante nativo/hablante por herencia"? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

"Hablante nativo" for any language, "hispanohablante" for only Spanish.

Answer 2

I think I know what he or she is talking about, but he or she needs to explain better.

Edit:

I had never heard or read about "heritage speaker" but I would understand that to be for example in this country, someone who was born here but his or her first language is their parents native language.

There is a difference there, even if it is their first language. For those that speak exceptionally good the language there are still certain words, usage etc that you can say with certainty that they were born here or brought into the country being babies...

So, naturally "heritage speakers" would certainly fit well to differentiate those that were born outside the US.

Somebody giving atalk about their language, in their language, or just about their culture? I've never heard this term. - annierats, Jan 6, 2016

I mean heritage speaker, native speaker is in common usage. - annierats, Jan 6, 2016

Heritage speaker is just "educationalese" for native speaker. ¡Qué lata! I never heard of it until I saw it in one of my college textbooks. - Daniela2041, Jan 6, 2016

Some more Politically Correct Poop! :) - Daniela2041, Jan 6, 2016

:) Native speaker: someone who speaks the language of a certain country, having been born in that country. - faremoto, Jan 6, 2016

Heritage speaker: someone who speaks the language of a certain country, not necessarily having been born in that country, but instead having learned it from their native parents. - faremoto, Jan 6, 2016

I need either an exact term for 'heritage speaker', or a term that encapsulates both the meanings. - faremoto, Jan 6, 2016

That is not the definition in my College textbook. --A literal translation wold be "hablante de herencia" but that doesn't make sense in Spanish. - Daniela2041, Jan 6, 2016

Like Daniela, I have never heard of "heritage speaker" and I don´t think it is possible to combine it with "native speaker". Most people who learn their parents´ language but in a different country do not speak that language with a lot of fluidity ....... - 005faa61, Jan 6, 2016

.... because they speak it only in the home. The rest of the time they speak the language of the country in which they live and are fluente in that language and not their parents´ language - 005faa61, Jan 6, 2016

Julian, where exactly does that leave people like myself (apart from being confused that is lol) I was born in a Spanish-speaking country: Peru, of British parents. I seem to not neatly fit into either definition. - FELIZ77, Jan 6, 2016

Also, Iam not a typical British person. For example: I love learning and speaking many languages; Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, a bit of Japanese and more recenotly Swedish.My tastes and attitudes are not typical of British people. - FELIZ77, Jan 6, 2016

I love wearing bright coloured clothes eg yellow, blue, green and turquoise (I am not gay ) not the conservative, boring dark colours men normally wear even in their social lives. - FELIZ77, Jan 6, 2016

Feliz, it doesn't have to leave you awywhere. Never allow people to catagorize you for we are all individuals - 005faa61, Jan 6, 2016

Yes, we are, Julian and thank you for reminding me not to allow people to categorize me. However, I really meant: how do either of these definitions affect me if I was born in a country speaking a different language from my parents' native language? - FELIZ77, Jan 7, 2016

Am I native speaker simply by being born in a country speaking that language or can you only be a native speaker if at least one of your parents speaks that language as their mother tongue> - FELIZ77, Jan 7, 2016

Pst! All of you! Please read my edit... lol! - chileno, Jan 7, 2016