You'll meet these words from your pediatrician, your child's speech therapist, and across this blog. Here's what each one actually means — minus the academic weight. Short version: "bilingual" does not mean perfectly fluent in two languages, and most of these terms are far more generous than they sound.
Bilingual
A person who uses two or more languages in daily life — at any level of proficiency. It does not require equal fluency; most bilinguals are stronger in one language, and which one can shift across a lifetime (Grosjean, 1989). If you use two languages, you and your child qualify.
L1 and L2
L1 is a first language, acquired from birth or earliest infancy. (Researchers increasingly prefer "L1" to "native speaker," which implies a fixed, idealized standard few people actually meet.) L2 is any language added after the first is established — in childhood, the teen years, or adulthood.
Simultaneous vs. sequential bilingual
A simultaneous bilingual learns two languages from birth (or before about age three); both function as first languages. A sequential bilingual builds one language first, then adds a second — typically after age three, with the first already forming a foundation (McLaughlin, 1978).
Heritage language
A language spoken in the home or family that differs from the dominant language of wider society. Heritage speakers have a family connection to the language but may have had limited formal exposure — they often understand more than they say, and are usually stronger in the societal language (Valdés, 2001). Spanish, for many Birdsong families, is the heritage language.
Receptive bilingual
Someone who understands a language but doesn't actively speak or write it. Very common in heritage contexts: a child who grew up hearing Spanish but answers in English. Receptive ability is real, valuable, and a foundation that can be activated into speaking later.
Target language
The language a family is working to develop or maintain — in our world, usually Spanish as the home or heritage language.
No single label has to define your family. Most homes are a blend that can change over time, and that's normal.
- Grosjean, F. (1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and Language, 36(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(89)90048-5
- McLaughlin, B. (1978). Second-language acquisition in childhood. Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Valdés, G. (2001). Heritage language students: Profiles and possibilities. In Peyton, Ranard & McGinnis (Eds.), Heritage Languages in America. Delta Systems/CAL.