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heritage speaker

American  
[her-i-tij spee-ker] / ˈhɛr ɪ tɪdʒ ˌspi kər /

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.

Etymology

Origin of heritage speaker

First recorded in 2000–05

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.