Yes, the main problem is not just the terms themselves, but the fact that they're used to discriminate. The idea that a "native" / "EFL" speaker is superior to a "non-native" / "ESL" speaker is still extremely widespread. Like Elizabeth mentioned, "native speaker" is still found in a lot of job requirements.
I've seen it beyond editing, translating, and teaching, although it wasn't for English but Japanese. When I was looking for a job in Japan, there were very few ads that didn't specify that being a native speaker was a requirement. And those jobs were on websites for people living outside of Japan (with an English version literally saying "native"). And again, there was no language level requirement beyond that, which means the problem wasn't the proficiency but discrimination. If memory serves, the few jobs that didn't require a "native" Japanese speaker required an EFL speaker instead.
Technically, English is my second language, but I'm much more proficient in it than in my first language (French) at this point in my life. It's mind-boggling to me that I could be favoured for a French teacher or editor position over someone with a much better handle on the language just because I'm native and they're not. I don't have the language skills to do those jobs in French.
Original Message:
Sent: 05-20-2026 06:52
From: Deborah Cecere
Subject: What's your clients' native tongue
Morning to all,
This is a great discussion! I see the sense of many of the points that have been shared. I see now that my first comment was too general. My apologies for that.
I'd like to add one very important group of professionals that in my experience (with the CIEP, in particular) do indeed take offense to the dichotomy of the terms native and nonnative: professional editors working in the English languages(s) whose first language is not English. (Boy is that a mouthful!) So please let's consider those individuals in this discussion as well.
Yes, the conflicting appointment is a real inconvenience and I only wish I could change it to accommodate the EFA international meetings.
Best, Deborah
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Deborah A. Cecere
www.deborahcecere.com
deborah.cecere@online.de
Original Message:
Sent: 05-20-2026 05:54
From: Elizabeth Salmore
Subject: What's your clients' native tongue
Jill, I completely agree with you that there's a lot of debate around how "native"/"non-native speaker" can be problematic, and it's still perfectly common and acceptable in everyday usage in many contexts.
It becomes a much more heated issue where people do take offense in certain contexts, such as language teaching and translation. There's been a long-standing bias in favor of "native-speaker" teachers, especially in countries where English is considered a foreign language, even when the local teachers are better trained and more knowledgeable. The same often goes for translators. Even in editing it can be controversial. For example, the CIEP made an official decision to retire the terms (https://www.ciep.uk/resource/ciep-terms.html).
Just to be clear, I don't mean to dismiss or negate any of what you described--quite the contrary! I just would keep in mind that there may be certain situations where it might indeed cause offense.
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Elizabeth Salmore
Academic and non-fiction copy and line editing
Translation (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian-->English)
Zagreb, Croatia
Original Message:
Sent: 05-20-2026 05:22
From: Jill Mazzetta
Subject: What's your clients' native tongue
Deborah, I'm sorry to hear you won't be able to make the meetings!
You bring up an interesting point about the use of "native" and "non-native." I've been in the field of international Englishes for about a decade at this point, and the academic department where I did my master's degree was entirely dedicated to the study of international and postcolonial Englishes, and I've never heard the notion that the terms "native" and "non-native" are in any way offensive. They can absolutely be problematic, and the problems surrounding them were a frequent topic of our coursework and discussions. But I've got to say the idea of anyone taking offense to them is new to me, and I suspect it would be new to many of the experts I spent time around, virtually all of whom are L2 or higher speakers of English. π
While I support the use of conscious language to ensure we're not furthering biases, even inadvertently, I think it's important to keep in mind that in this context, the conscious-language terminology is out of step with everyday pragmatic usage, even among people who are in these circles. I've encountered plenty of self-described "native speakers" who've never set foot in an English L1 country, plenty of self-described "non-native speakers" who can talk and write circles around me, and everyone in between. The idea that I would correct someone who spontaneously self-identifies as a "non-native speaker" and tell them that they're not using the "right" terminology seems more offensive to me than the use of the term in the first place.
If we as a group want to make an effort to use the conscious language terminology for this topic going forward, I of course support that.
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Jill Mazzetta
Writer, Editor, Proofreader
US & Canada: +1 978 326 9272
EU & International: +39 06 93570 747
jill@jillmazzetta.com
https://www.jillmazzetta.com
Original Message:
Sent: 05-19-2026 01:13
From: Deborah Cecere
Subject: What's your clients' native tongue
Good morning all
I generally have a conflicting appointment at 10 on Fridays, so sadly I'll be able to attend this meeting only sporadically. (The last weeks of July and August and first weeks of September, for example.)
I'm one of the attendees that lives in Germany (northern Germany, in vicinity of Hamburg).
My first clients (around 8 years ago) were local academics whose first language was not English. I soon found this not to be a promising market (for me, and for various reasons, including low hourly pay levels for the work that was required).
A conscious language reminder: It's generally considered offensive in international English circles to refer to "native" and "nonnative" speakers and writers.
Best wishes,
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Deborah A. Cecere
www.deborahcecere.com
deborah.cecere@online.de
Original Message:
Sent: 05-18-2026 10:26
From: Jill Mazzetta
Subject: What's your clients' native tongue
It was great to meet you on Friday!
As I was mentioning during the meeting, I currently live in Italy, and right before I moved here, I also lived in Germany for several years.
Ever since leaving the United States and moving to Europe, I would say the vast majority of my local clients are non-native English speakers. When I was in Germany, non-natives were nearly 100% of my local clients; here in Italy, it's probably closer to 75%, but that's because I work with a couple of local organizations that employ a sizeable amount of native speakers.
However, my online marketing is still primarily focused on clients based in English-native countries. Many, but not all, of these clients are English natives; I'd say around 50%.
I should probably also mention that the proportion of my native to non-native clients shifted massively after I left the US. Before, I'd say I had about roughly 80% native-speaker clients and colleagues (when I worked in-house); now, I'd say the proportion is more like 50-50.
I also want to note here that I specialize in helping non-native authors write English nonfiction (and I market myself as such), so that may be skewing my numbers somewhat.
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Jill Mazzetta
Writer, Editor, Proofreader
US & Canada: +1 978 326 9272
EU & International: +39 06 93570 747
jill@jillmazzetta.com
https://www.jillmazzetta.com
Original Message:
Sent: 05-18-2026 08:57
From: Ariela Marks
Subject: What's your clients' native tongue
Before getting to my main question in this thread, I want to say re Friday's Zoom meeting, the part about what other editors who work in non-English-speaking countries use for their site and marketing language, has prompted me to dive into bilingual sites again. I forgot that way back in the beginning I had started to set up my site for that (I built it using Wix) but quickly saw I wasn't nearly ready to take that on. And I don't even mean the intimidating aspects of the reversed language directions for Hebrew, as I have it now, and English. I've already talked to one professional here, who seems to have a lot of experience with that.
What I'm interesting in finding out now is if other editors in non-English-speaking countries can tell me roughly how many of their clients are non-native speakers?
And, could the editor in Germany who was in the Zoom meeting write me offlist to tell me her name? I'm sorry, I wasn't quick enough to get it on Friday during the meeting.
Thank you very much, everyone.
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Ariela Marks
Academic copyeditor and line editor
Haifa, Israel
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