AEE 2378: Are You Making this Mistake When You Refer to Native Speakers?
17:02 Share

This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2378. Are you making this mistake when you refer to native speakers? Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host,

Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe.

There is a common mistake that we've heard when it comes to talking about native speakers. Find out what it is today, plus get important updates on how to refer to Native Americans in the United States.

It's perfectly brown, it's melty, it's sweet. It's the s'more you just cooked over the fire at AutoCamp. That's right, Hilton brings you new ways to stay. But you don't just get nightly s'mores. You also get clubhouse happy hours to gather under the stars. All while staying in custom-designed airstreams, cabins, and tents. And insanely cool outdoor destinations. If AutoCamp sounds like a dream, it sounds like it's time to redeem those Hilton Honors Points at Hilton.com. Hilton for the stay.

Hey, Aubrey, how's it going today? I'm great. How are you, Lindsay? Good. I'm glad to be recording on the microphone, but I have a question for you today. Okay, perfect. Okay, so what do you think, what comes to your mind when someone says the word native? Oh, that is an interesting question because not just one thing.

I definitely think of Native Americans. I think of the restaurant Native New Yorker. I think of native English speakers. I think of someone saying they're a native of Boston. We use this word so many ways in English. Yeah, we really do. It's all over the place. But today we're going to hone in on one interesting aspect of this word native. Tell us what we're talking about today, Aubrey. Yeah, so there's a very common mistake in English.

by English learners to call all native English speakers in the U.S. Native Americans. Often, if they mean to say native English speakers, then they'll say Native Americans, just sort of thinking all English speakers in America. This is tricky because we do call them native speakers, but Native Americans has a very specific meaning.

Yes, I love that. So we want to draw attention to this and make sure that we kind of stop this mistake right here and get really clear on the terms for when we're talking about, again, native speakers of English. And then, Aubrey, we're going to go into another area, which is super important in our culture, right? What are we going to get into? Yes, the terms have really evolved.

for Native Americans, the terms that they prefer that everyone use, and especially that non-Native Americans use. So we're going to go into that, the evolution of language, respectful terms. This is very important in U.S. culture. So not only are you learning about the differences in all the ways that we use native, but also some of these very important language changes.

Yes, great topic today. Super important topic today. So guys, hit the follow button. We cover all kinds of topics here on All Ears English. Idioms, slang, vocabulary, grammar, culture. This is what you need to connect directly with people in English. So hit follow on the show. All right.

All right, let's dive into native. Yes. So of course, we use this term to talk about people whose first language, whose mother tongue is English or Spanish, right? Native Spanish speakers, native English speakers. That's just if it's your first language.

Yeah. So you could also say native speakers of English. You could also say native speakers of American English. I suppose you could say that as well. What do you think, Aubrey? Right. Or native speakers of British English, right? Exactly. Or native British English speakers. A lot of options.

Here you might ask someone, "Are you a native speaker?" This just means, is this your first language? Is this your mother tongue? Yeah, but the key takeaway here, guys, is we don't want to say Native Americans when we mean to say native speakers of English. Okay, different thing. All right, good. Yeah, Native Americans, let's go into that next. This refers to indigenous peoples in the United States.

So you might say, my best friend is Native American. She's Cherokee. Right. So this has a very different meaning than native English speakers. Right. Anyone whose first language is English, you can refer to that is. But if you say Native Americans, you are specifically referring to these indigenous people.

Yes. And historically, we've used a term which we don't want to use anymore. And what is that term to talk about Native Americans that we used to use? Yes. So they used to often be referred to as American Indians or just Indians. This is because when Christopher Columbus came, he thought he was landing in India.

He was very wrong. And so this mistake just sort of was passed down through time, through language. But we now know that the preferred term is either Native Americans or Indigenous people or natives.

Yeah, important to know. Love this. Super, super important to know. And Aubrey, you brought some information from a panel. There was a panel that happened. When and where did this happen? So this was May 2021 in Mississippi. And what's really interesting about this panel is the contributors were from many different Native nations.

So what's tricky when it comes to Native Americans is there are 574 federally recognized Native nations, all with their own unique history, language, government. And so there is no set rule book or guidebook for the terms that all of these governments, these nations would prefer. So this panel was great because it had

People from a lot of different nations that could share sort of generally use these terms. Generally, these terms are what we would prefer. But then they made a really good point that you should definitely ask if you know Native Americans, ask them what terms they would prefer, because we can't assume that every one of them would prefer these terms.

Absolutely. 100%. So always ask the question. I mean, that's a good, that's a best practice, no matter who we're talking with. How would you like to be addressed? Right? Those conversations actually build connection and build respect. Right? Exactly. It's the same with someone's name, right? If we ask someone if they go by a nickname or for pronouncing their name correctly, we want to know as much as possible, just like you said, Lindsay, to build that connection to make sure we're being respectful.

Yeah, so we have a direct quote from the panel, which we can glean a lot of insight from here, Aubrey, right? Yeah, do you want to read it? Yeah, okay. Here's what they said on the panel. In terms of the term Native American, if you're talking about groups of people from multiple nations, use Native American, Native, or Indigenous. Ideally, if you can, check with the group to determine how they'd like to be referenced.

You may see the term American Indian used too. Native Governance Center does not recommend that non-native folks use the terms American Indian or Indian. However, this is a matter of preference. You may find that another native organization recommends something different.

So again, you just you need to ask, right? Yeah. On an individual level. Yeah. Best to ask on an individual level, but in general, best to avoid the term Indian or American Indian, right? Native Americans is safe here. But there were some other really interesting language terms.

terms, evolution of terms that I used and was familiar with as a young person, as a young adult that I saw from this panel that I think we should share. I think it's really good to know all of these terms and make sure that we're using the most respectful terms possible. Yeah, exactly. So when we were kids in school, we always learned the word reservation, right? Right.

at least in the 80s and the 90s, we learned that. But now we want to say something different. What is that, Aubrey? What is the better term to use? Yeah, native lands. So this is land owned by Native Americans. You might say, you know, there are a lot of native lands in Arizona. There are a lot of native lands just north of where I live. And this is a hard habit to break for a lot of

a lot of us in the States, because we're used to saying reservation, like you said. But I can definitely understand why, right? There is a very important reason for these language changes. If some of these terms really are reminders of language,

atrocities and colonial colonization, I can understand wanting the terms to be changed. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And the way to show that respect and build the relationship is to adhere to these and respect them. So number three, actually, I hadn't... This is interesting, right? So the word tribe is what we originally learned in school...

But what has happened with the word tribe? Yeah. So this panel was saying that most Native Americans would prefer that we use the term nation instead of tribe. And this is because globally we have sort of trivialized the term tribe. We'll say I've found my tribe, which means like I found people that are like me or bride tribe. You've heard probably. Right. So they would prefer the term nation. This shows respect for sovereignty and the fact that Native nations each have their own system of government.

Yeah, I think what's happened is, you know, marketing has gotten its hands on the term tribe, marketing, psychology and marketing. And it's used to create communities, right? I don't think we use that term here at All Ears English, but I've seen other, you know, brands, podcasts, communities that do use that term. And, you know, it's marketing, right, to bring together a group. Really interesting.

So I understand. Yeah. I understand. They're not saying, you know, how dare you don't call yourselves tribes. They're saying, you know, we would actually prefer you not use that term to refer to us, right? We are native nations. And good to know because that is also a big change from the language I used as a young adult. Yes. Super interesting. Love it.

Do you ever feel like a broken record repeating the same basic English words over and over again? The words are safe, you know what they mean, but sometimes you just need more precise words to have a more profound conversation. Nuanced and complex vocabulary is one of the many things that you get in our B2 English Fluency Course.

And now you have new ways to practice your English live, like fluency parties, open conversation club, and even weekly Q&A at the personal coach level. This week only, you get a special offer on our B2 English fluency course. But the offer does end on Sunday. Save up to $50 and get a free bonus course.

Expires March 30th at midnight. Go to allearsenglish.com slash B2. That's allearsenglish.com slash letter B number two. See you there.

Okay, Aubrey, we have a role play. So this will be interesting as a role play. Let's see what this looks like. What's the scenario here? So you and I are acquaintances that have run into each other at a party and we have been just getting to know each other better. Want to start us out? Yes. I heard you're learning Spanish. Is that right? Yes. My goal is to be able to speak as well as a native speaker, but I've got a long way to go.

Same. I've been learning Spanish off and on for a long time, but getting to that native speaker level is no joke. You're a native of Boston, right? No, actually, I was born and raised in New Hampshire. What about you? I'm from Idaho, but I've lived in Arizona for over 20 years. Are there a lot of native lands in Idaho? Yes. The Shoshone-Bannock Nation is not far from where I grew up. It's the largest in Idaho.

Hmm. Interesting. In Colorado, we also have a lot of native lands. Super interesting and important to kind of get to know the cultures, right? And learn about it. Yes, absolutely. Really interesting. I don't know. Have you ever watched the show Yellowstone, Lindsay? No, I missed that. It was really hot for a while, wasn't it? Yeah. A lot of people really loved it. I watched some of the first season with my parents and I feel like it

There are a lot of Native American actors, a lot of Native American characters in that show. And I thought it was interesting about getting into like the current culture and the native lands and some of the politics and the, you know, some tricky things about like farmers who are trying to rent native lands. And so that might be an interesting show to learn more about U.S. culture. Yeah.

Yeah, super interesting. Or there was a really good movie that came out a few years ago. It was a long movie, but it was really good. It had Leonardo DiCaprio in it. I'm trying to think of what the name was. Do you remember that? Revenant is the one where he's attacked by a bear? No, no, no, no, no. It's much later than that. It was just a few years ago. That was a good one too. I'm trying to... Oh, yes. And it won like an Academy Award.

What was that called? I'm going to look it up really quick because she, I think, was the first Native American to win Best Actress. It's not Wind River. That's a different movie, which was also really good, by the way. We will

come up with that and we will add that to the show notes. Killers of the Flower Moon. Killers of the Flower Moon. And it was about the murders of the Osage Native Americans in the 1920s. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Really, really good stuff. Good movie. I highly recommend it. Yeah.

Okay, let's go through this role play. All of these terms here and a bonus that we threw in, I first said, you know, I want to be able to speak Spanish as well as a native speaker. So I just mean someone who their first language is Spanish. Yes. And then I said, same. I've been learning Spanish off and on for a long time, but getting to that native speaker level is no joke. That native speaker level.

Okay. Now, where you are as fluent as someone whose first language is Spanish. I love this expression, no joke. It means like extremely difficult. Yeah, I love it too. I remember I had a friend who used to always refer to hiking specific mountains as no joke. That mountain is, you're going to hike that this weekend? That is no joke. That is no joke. That is perfect, right? If it's extremely difficult, okay, it's no joke. Take it seriously. Yeah, absolutely.

bring some shelter or something, you know? And then we have our bonus here. I said, you're a native of Boston, right? This is another way we use native to ask someone where they're born and raised. If you're, I'm a native of Idaho, right? Southeast Idaho. That's where I was born and raised. Yes. Perfect. And then you said, I said, are there a lot of native lands in Idaho?

So now we're talking about Native American lands, right? Yes, exactly. And if you hear someone use the term reservation, it means the same thing. This is historically what was used. But hopefully this message will be getting out to help people know that the preferred term is Native lands.

Yes, very good. And then the last one, Aubrey, what did you say? Yeah, I said the Shoshone-Bannock Nation is not far from where I grew up. So this is the way we would now say it rather than the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation. That's what I would have said as a teenager. Instead, we would say nation.

All right. Super interesting. Really important. Also, because our listeners, our students are using the term, you know, native speaker all the time. And it is okay. And we've shown you kind of how these overlap a little bit and gone into a really important topic about how to connect with communities. Yes. And really helpful to know more about the culture in the U.S. and to know what you are, who you are referring to if you say Native Americans. Yes.

Really good topic. Thanks for bringing this to the show, Aubrey. Good stuff. Awesome. Thanks. See you next time. All right. Talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two-minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

Check engine light on? Take the guesswork out of your check engine light with O'Reilly Veriscan. It's free and provides a report with solutions based on over 650 million vehicle scans verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we can recommend a shop for you. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today. O-O-O'Reilly Auto Parts.