Abstract

This talk explores the linguistic landscapes and ideologies of LatinU communities in Metro Vancouver across multiple sites. Drawing on data collected from Latina mothers, youth, seniors, and multilingual community groups, it examines how Spanish language socialization practices, English immersion, and heritage language community teaching intersect with broader narratives of identity, migration, and belonging.

Fieldwork conducted from January to June 2026 encompassed community events, book clubs, Saturday Spanish classes, and citizen sociolinguistic workshops, complemented by innovative narrative elicitation tools such as language portraits and multilingual trees. 

These engagements reveal dynamic language practices and the negotiation of linguistic ideologies across home and community spaces. Participants’ experiences highlight both tensions and synergies between English-dominant educational environments and eSorts to sustain Spanish as a heritage language, oSering insights into intergenerational transmission, language socialization, and the construction of LatinU identity within a multicultural city.

Incorporating a decolonial applied linguistics perspective (De Fina et al., 2023; Rosa & Flores, 2021; Motha, 2020), the talk emphasizes the importance of valuing participants’ knowledge and practices, foregrounding their voices in the analysis. Attendees will engage with key data that illustrates how LatinUs in Metro Vancouver navigate language, identity, and belonging across diverse sites.