The Metapragmatic Regimentation of Heritage Language Use in Hispanic Canadian Caregiver–Child Interactions

Abstract

This article investigates the linguistic tools employed by Hispanic Canadian families in their language socialization efforts of fostering sustained heritage language (HL) use. The article is based on data collected during a 1½-year ethnography, and focuses on the metapragmatic devices used in daily interactions. Utilizing analytic tools from the ethnography of communication and conversation analysis, the research uncovered various explicit and implicit directives, including commands, requests, clarification requests, and a form of recasts herein termed cross-code recasts. The article suggests that certain language-regulating practices in this context may produce undesired communicative effects as a result of the rhetorical force used in their deployment. This indicates that some processes of metapragmatic regimentation of heritage language use may have, for instance, the effect of unwittingly oppressing children by silencing them. The article concludes with methodological recommendations for HL development theory and research.