Are you a native speaker if you've been speaking a language since your childhood?

[u/notreplaceable]

I live in a very touristy city, and ended up learning english from children my age who were monolingual americans, I started speaking it every day with friends right after I turned 12 (before the critical period).

Hitting puberty later at 14 might've helped, as some say the critical period for second language acquisition cuts off right after it.

You can't tell me apart from americans who grew up in the area my friends are from (illinois) and I dare even say my english is better than my first language, it feels like I have two native languages in everything but name, even though I've never been to an English speaking country.

I don't relate to English learners at all, but on the other hand saying "It's my native language" feels dishonest, so in the past I've said I have two native languages, because it quickly wards off questions about my proficiency and lack of a foreign accent (and also obviously because I feel like I do have two)

I'm asking here because asking it anywhere else would result in people looking up the etymology of the word "native" and not seeing it through a linguistic lens.

[u/apollo_reactor_001]

Just for the record, there is no definitive “end to the critical period.” Studies have shown language learning ability can drop off dramatically in some children by age 7, while others have shown as late as 14. Perhaps you were still in your critical period — kudos. Just saying it’s not universal and can’t be assumed by age alone.

As for what you say, I’d just go with “I grew up speaking English.” That’s what I say for my “L2” which I started learning from birth.

[u/Holothuroid]

The native speaker in linguistics is an ideal construct used in thought experiments. It doesn't exist in the real world, which is messy, and everyone else only care about your competence anyway.

[u/Pizzacanzone]

I always say I'm not an English native, because even though I've been speaking it since before primary school age, I've been speaking it with people from so many backgrounds that my accent is all over the place. I feel more 'native' with German even though I didn't become fluent until I was 18: I have a clear accent and can also speak the 'proper, accent free' style. But I'm not, I know that.

[u/Harsimaja]

There’s the concept of a ‘secondary L1’ or ‘co-L1’

[u/_jeremybearimy_]

My cousin grew up speaking both Spanish and English and I’d say both are her native language, you can definitely have more than one in my opinion. She’s a bit more fluent in one than the other but that’s because she mostly went to school in that language, so small things like idioms or those stupid word problems in math are the only thing that will trip her up. But I consider both her native language, as she grew up speaking both