Hablo pocha, ¿no?: divergent language ideologies of pocho and mocho at the U.S.–Mexico border

Abstract Language ideologies of linguistic purism in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands have long produced pejorative labels for bilingual practices used among Mexican Americans, including pocho and mocho. Although these terms appear frequently in research on U.S. Spanish, little is known about how bilinguals themselves use and interpret them. This study provides the first corpus-based analysis of pocho/mocho across two border regions—South Texas and Southern Arizona—drawing on 184 sociolinguistic interviews. Monoglossic stances frame pocho/mocho as speaking a language improperly, as incorrect or aesthetically undesirable, or as harming the language(s). In contrast, heteroglossic stances revalue these terms as markers of solidarity, identity, linguistic pride, and culturally meaningful communicative practices at the border. Using a raciolinguistic and stance-based framework, the analysis shows that speakers mobilize these labels to index multiple, sometimes contradictory ideologies. These findings demonstrate that pocho/mocho operate as dynamic ideological tools through which speakers police, negotiate, and reclaim bilingualism. The study also highlights implications for education, Spanish for the professions, and language-access efforts in the borderlands.