Resources
'Former Native'
Going Native
By Evan Jenkins
The caption described a woman living in New York's suburbs as "a former native of Kosovo," but unless she was literally born again, that can't be. A "native" of someplace is someone who was born there, and the places where we're born never change. The woman was a native of Kosovo and always would be; she was a former resident. We can use "native" loosely, distinguishing, say, between natives and tourists, but the looseness has to be instantly apparent. "Former native" is illiterate and, alas, all too common.
CJR
