Perceptions of impoliteness in Twitter interactions: Evidence from Spanish Heritage speakers

Abstract

This study investigates U.S. Spanish Heritage speakers’ perceptions of impoliteness in the Twitter feed of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua. By combining first- and second-order approaches to (im)politeness, I argue that heritage speakers’ perceptions of impoliteness must be studied at the individual level to understand their expectations of how particular behaviors should occur in digital communication settings. I collected 28 reactive tweets representing either on-record or off-record impoliteness strategies. Using a five-point scale survey, 20 participant-evaluators rated the impoliteness of each tweet and provided metapragmatic comments to support their ratings. A mixed-methods analysis of the data revealed commonalities within groups regarding politeness norms (e.g., on-record strategies) and highlighted heritage speakers’ varying levels of tolerance to impoliteness in this medium. This variation revealed participants’ orientations and expectations at the individual level, especially when confronting off-record impoliteness. Focusing on Spanish Heritage speakers, the findings suggest that analyses of perceptions of politeness norms in social media interactions must incorporate both lay understandings and researchers’ conceptualizations to reflect expectations of impoliteness at the individual level, which are likely influenced by community norms.