ABSTRACT
While traditional communication research focuses on South to North immigration (Moreman, 2008; Moreman & Calafell, 2008; Santa Ana, 1999), much of the world’s immigration patterns are South to South (Gindling, 2009). Through observations and in-depth interviews, I examine how “White” Costa Ricans and “non-White” immigrant Nicaraguans discuss and understand immigration in Costa Rica. I interrogate this data through the lens of language ideology (Blommaert & Verschueren, 1998; Hansen-Thomas, 2007; Hill, 1998; Irvine & Gal, 2000; Schieffelin & Doucet, 1998; Silverstein, 1998b; Trenchs-Parera & Newman, 2009) to investigate the phenomenon and hear from both the marginalized Nicaraguan immigrant population as well as the host culture in Costa Rica.
