This is definitely a bit of a stupid question… but methinks this happens to a good number of immigrants. Asking because there is a bit of a funny philosophical debate here:
- Technically the second language is not “native” by virtue of you not growing up with it
- But you speak it better than your native language, so skill-wise it is “native”
So do you have “native” language skills, or would you consider yourself simply highly “fluent” at the second language?
I imagine they’re saying that they speak/write over a 6th grade reading level for example, making them “better” at the language than those who read below their level