Hablante

Hablante is a Spanish noun derived from the verb hablar (to speak). It refers to a person who speaks, or more specifically to a speaker of a language. In linguistic and sociolinguistic contexts it is used to designate members of a language community, as in “los hablantes de español” or “una comunidad de hablantes de quechua.” The term is commonly used to distinguish native, fluent, or non-native speakers, with expressions such as “hablante nativo” or “hablante no nativo.”

Etymology and usage: Hablante is formed by the verb plus the agent suffix -ante, indicating “one who speaks.” It has been part of Spanish for many centuries and is widely used in education, language-teaching, research, media, and everyday speech. It tends to refer to people rather than to languages themselves.

Hablante en distintos ámbitos: While it clearly denotes a person who speaks, the word is not typically used to name audio devices. For the latter, Spanish generally prefers altavoz or parlante, depending on regional usage; hablante may appear in informal or regional expressions but is not the standard term for hardware.

See also: hablante nativo, hablante no nativo, comunidad de hablantes, sociolingüística, lingüística de contacto.