heritage language

English

Noun

heritage language (plural heritage languages)

1. The language of one's ancestors, especially a language one would like to learn.
2. (linguistics) One's former native language, lost during childhood or early adulthood, or underdeveloped in favor of a more dominant majority language.

   Coordinate terms: community language, home language

   Spanish is considered a heritage language in the United States.

Related terms

• heritage speaker

Translations

the language of one's ancestors

• Hungarian: származási nyelv, örökségnyelv
• Spanish: idioma ancestral m, idioma patrimonial m, idioma hereditario m

one's former native language

• French: langue d’héritage f
• Hungarian: származási nyelv, örökségnyelv
• Portuguese: língua de herança f
• Spanish: lengua heredada f, idioma hereditario m, idioma patrimonial m
• Swedish: arvspråk (sv) n

Further reading

• Heritage language on Wikipedia.Wikipedia