How to say "native speaker" in Chinese?

[tooironic]

I know that "He is a native speaker of English" can be translated as 他是以英語為母語的人 (or just simply 他的母語是英語).

 

But is there an official or fixed translation for "native speaker" in Chinese, that is, the term by itself?

 

I suspect not, but I thought there's no harm in asking.

 

Here's a few I have come across in dictionaries, but do any of them sound even remotely natural?

 

說母語的人
說本族語的人
母语使用者
 

Cheers.

[Demonic_Duck]

I normally translate "native speakers of X" as "X母语的人" (I think this must have been what one of my teachers told me at some point), and I've never been corrected on it. Not sure if there's a more elegant way to say it though.

[imron]

I've always used 母语为X语的人 or sometimes 母语为X语者.

[Tamu]

Interesting question. Made me wonder if I've been saying it wrong all the time lol, so I asked around today among a few native Chinese speakers who come from different areas. Here's their take to throw into the discussion:

 

英文是母语的人 - natural-sounding expression, consensus favorite choice

母语为英文的人 - natural-sounding expression, good choice

 

英文为母语的人士 - ok, slightly more official-sounding

 

英文母语者. - Some see it as good spoken variant, while others saw it as not-bad but not really used.

 

母语为英文者 - One person likes this as the best written variant, but most see it as slightly odd.

 

說本族語的人, 說母語的人, 母语使用者 - Everyone agreed I should avoid these phrases. "Strange" was the unanimous view on these lol.

[Lu]

I like how Chinese forces one to specify the language. The phrase 'not everyone in the audience is a native speaker' is valid English even though it doesn't make any sense (almost everyone is a native speaker of something), but in Chinese you can't even say this.

[tooironic]

I think some of you have misunderstood my OP. I was asking if there was an equivalent for the term "native speaker" in Chinese, not the phrase "native speaker of English" (the latter is easily expressed as 以英語為母語的人, or its variants).

 

I like Lu's point. Obviously everyone is a native speaker of some language, yet in English "I am not a native speaker" or "I am looking for native speakers" are both correct and plausible sentences, and neither necessarily has to refer to a specific language depending on the context.

[gato]

Maybe this:

I am looking for a native speaker of English = I am looking for an English native speaker = 我在找个英语是母语的 = 我在找个母语是英语的

I am looking for a native speaker = 我在找个是母语的 (Both assume that the person listening already knows the language of the native speaker being sought.)

In future, maybe you could give more example sentences in your translation questions. It'd make it easier to understand the context of what you are trying to translate.

[siledouyaoai]

I always used to use 母语者 when writing essays and have seen it used a lot in academic articles. I think 英语母语者 works as well.

[ABCsOfChinese]

I've had a person say I "sound very local" or "speak like a local". They used the term 當地人.