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This qualitative study aims to explore the loss and maintenance of Spanish in Hispanic children in Vancouver from the perspective of parents. It focuses on the experiences of Hispanic parents of children either developing bilingually (Spanish-English) or monolingually (English). The primary method of data collection is the semi-structured interview. Data collected in this study support the notion that first language (L1) cultural identity is crucial to heritage language maintenance in the context of a dominant second language (L2). However, the data contradict previous findings that a narrow linguistic community and the input of one parent are not sufficient for L1 maintenance. The bilingual (i.e., L1 maintenance) children in the present study had L1 input from only one parent and limited L1 contacts outside the home. The data also show that the type of encouragement parents give to their children to speak the L1 can have a facilitating or a detrimental effect. Therefore, this article urges parents committed to L1 maintenance to promote a positive attitude in their children and to address their affective needs accordingly.

There exists a wealth of research in the areas of heritage languages in the United States. Over the last two decades, the rapidly growing work on Spanish, particularly, is making important strides in the understanding of this research area. Yet, there is only minimal work focusing specifically on language socialization and Spanish maintenance in Canada. In this article, I describe qualitative research examining the contextual factors of the linguistic socialization of Spanish-speaking families and their children in Vancouver, Canada. Analysis of the data indicates that cultural awareness and identity, familism, and home language practices are key factors that cut across a variety of aspects of first language maintenance, both as agents and outcomes. Il existe une riche base de recherche sur les apprenants de langues d'origine aux Etats-Unis. Lors des deux dernières décennies, des études sur l'espagnol en particulier, ont permis de grands progrès dans ce domaine d'étude. Néanmoins, le nombre de recherches examinant la situation canadienne vis-à-vis de la socialisation linguistique et le maintien de l'espagnol reste infime. Cet article rapporte les résultats d'une étude qualitative, laquelle examine les facteurs contextuels de la socialisation linguistique de familles et de leurs enfants de langue espagnole à Vancouver au Canada. L'analyse des données indique que la conscience culturelle et l'identité, le famillisme, et les habitudes linguistiques au foyer sont des facteurs critiques qui affectent une variété d'aspects du maintien de la langue maternelle, autant comme agents que comme conséquences.

This article, part of a larger ethnographic study, examines how a family's affective ties to the country of origin and to relatives still residing there supported their Spanish language development and maintenance efforts in Vancouver, Canada. Drawing on data from participant observation and interviews, the article analyses the parents' diverse heritage language development (HLD) strategies and ideologies and the children's affective connections to family members in Perú. The analysis draws attention to the positive implications of these factors for the success of the HLD activities in which the family members participated. The article concludes by highlighting the symbiotic nature of language socialisation strategies, familism, and affective factors for HLD in this home. Implications for pedagogy, theory, and research are presented.

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