| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| native (adj., n.) |
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| The noun, used in the plural to mean “the people, especially of nonwhite races, who are indigenous to a place,” and in the singular to mean “someone born and living in a place,” is now considered racially or ethnically offensive in sentences such as The natives are restless tonight or A native came rushing into the compound. In the designation Native American the adjective is still appropriate and Standard, as it is when used to identify a person’s native language, and so also is the noun when it is used to say that someone is a native of a place, meaning that he or she was born there. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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