native speakers

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

Could you please kindly explain which is correct:

English native speakers or native English speakers?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

 

[emsr2d2]

Dear teachers,

Could you please kindly explain which is correct:

English native speakers or native English speakers?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

There was a brief discussion here a couple of months ago about this, but I can't find the thread!

Native English speakers is the generally accepted correct phrase.

That describes them as native "speakers of English".

If you say "English native speakers" then I would understand that to mean that the people are 1) English by nationality (yes, I know it's not a nationality before anyone points it out, but...!) and 2) native speakers, but speakers of what?

You could always simply call us "Anglophones"!

 

[bertietheblue]

You could always simply call us "Anglophones"!

Except most English people wouldn't know what you meant! And if they guessed, I bet they'd either say "I haven't got a clue!" or "Someone who likes English people." (The latter is 'Anglophile'.)

In any case, anglophone simply means English-speaking. Although the word often suggests you are a native speaker, this is not necessarily the case. For example, in places where 2 languages are spoken, one of which is English (eg Quebec), anglophone means a person who uses English to communicate, whether they are native or not.

 

[Allen165]

Except most English people wouldn't know what you meant! And if they guessed, I bet they'd either say "I haven't got a clue!" or "Someone who likes English people." (The latter is 'Anglophile'.)

In any case, anglophone simply means English-speaking. Although the word often suggests you are a native speaker, this is not necessarily the case. For example, in places where 2 languages are spoken, one of which is English (eg Quebec), anglophone means a person who uses English to communicate, whether they are native or not.

I think the word "anglophone" implies that your mother tongue is English.

See Anglophone - definition of Anglophone by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

 

[Offroad]

Dear teachers,

Could you please kindly explain which is correct:

English native speakers or native English speakers?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

I's correct to say:

Native speakers of English.

Therefore, English Native speakers sounds good to me.

 

[bertietheblue]

I think the word "anglophone" implies that your mother tongue is English.

See Anglophone - definition of Anglophone by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

Yeah, I checked that as well as the OED (where it's simply defined as 'English-speaking') before I posted.

As I said, that's true in most cases. But if you live in Quebec you are an anglophone if your day-to-day language is English; a francophone if it's French. Whether you would have to live there for sometime to consider yourself an anglophone or francophone I couldn't say, but the point is you don't have to be a native speaker.

 

[bertietheblue]

I'd also add it's a word very rarely used outside linguistics in reference to individuals, although you do see it (usually as an adjective) in reference to particular communities or regions where more than one language is spoken.