Native Speaker

It’s an important distinction. The true meaning of “native speaker” is often debated, but it’s generally accepted to mean someone who learnt the language as a small child in a natural setting, usually through hearing their parents speak. That means a child growing up in a bilingual or even multilingual household could have several “native” languages.

Non-native speakers learn the language as older children or adults. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they speak the language any less accurately than a native speaker. It is often said that the best way to learn is with a native speaker, and there’s no denying that chatting with native speakers has great advantages. But so does speaking with fluent speakers who aren’t native!

C@ Tandem