A heritage speaker is someone who learned a certain language in childhood, but has subsequently used it only in a limited set of contexts (often only with family). While the heritage language would be considered an L1, the person often falls short of the full range of abilities one would expect from a native speaker. Children who immigrated before they began formal education in their native country, and children who are exposed to their immigrant parent or parents' native language at home are likely to become heritage speakers.

"Heritage language" is a synonym to the more widely used term home language.

Different degree of competency

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Heritage speakers lack one or more abilities one would expect from a native speaker. On one end of the spectrum, some individuals have a passive understanding of the heritage language, but are unable to communicate in it themselves. Others may be able to use the language in common family situations, but not in respect to all aspects of their life. Another possibility is complete oral fluency (potentially with an accent) but illiteracy. It must be noted that illiteracy is not inherently a sign of a heritage speaker, particularly when the language does not have a strong written tradition. Even a heritage speaker who can speak, read, and write fluently is not necessarily equal to a native speaker in terms of language competency; growing up in a different country, the heritage speaker may be unfamiliar with cultural references, which play a role in pragmatics. Keeping close ties with the heritage country, particularly through frequent visits, can help reduce this deficiency.

Because the heritage speaker has a greater degree of base knowledge than a person with no familiarity with the language, some universities offer language classes specifically tailored to the unique needs of the heritage speaker.

See also

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• Child of Deaf Adult
• First language
• Second language acquisition
• Bilingual
• Language interference