heritage speaker

[ her-i-tij spee-ker ]

noun

1. a person whose knowledge of a language is characterized by having spoken the language with family, without having any formal instruction in its spelling, grammar, literature, etc.:

   Spanish classes in high school were pretty easy for me as a heritage speaker.

Word History and Origins

Origin of heritage speaker¹

First recorded in 2000–05

Example Sentences

The innovative tool is designed by a Harvard undergraduate in Computer Science, Mr Matthew Nazari, himself a heritage speaker of Aramaic.

From Science Daily

In past years, when students have proposed to conduct research in a language they already know, the department has required them to identify as either a “native” speaker or a “heritage” speaker.

From New York Times

It defines a native speaker as an applicant who has “spoken the language in question from earliest childhood and remains fluent” and defines a heritage speaker as a student “raised in a home where a non-English language is spoken” who “lacks native-level fluency.”

From New York Times

One of the “heritage” speaker applicants represented by the alliance, Samar Ahmad, had originally lost points on her application to conduct research in Arabic because she grew up speaking the language.

From New York Times