Who Counts as a “Native Speaker”... and Who Doesn’t? 

Many people would imagine a middle class white American as representing a "native speaker."

"Nativeness" and social inequity

People not perceived as “native” face discrimination through...

• citizenship barriers

• misdiagnosis of learning disabilities

• social & systemic racism

• loss of access to resources

... and various other avenues of life.

How does this work?

1. People think that “native speaker” is a natural category of language user who learned a language from birth.

2. They label others as “(non-)native.”

3. They make judgements and assumptions based on these labels, ignoring differences in how people identify and use language.

These processes are tied to race, nationality, (dis)ability and more.

What can we do?

Everyone can:

• Be accepting of differences in culture, language, & speech style

• Advocate for institutional change in policies that hinge on percieved “nativeness” (e.g. English language requirements)