Triadic directives in Navajo language socialization

This article argues that certain aspects of language use may be more resist ant to change than is language code. In communities undergoing language shi ft, researchers have noted ways in which indigenous patterns of interaction may be retained after the language used has shifted to English. It is argu ed that aspects of a speech community's interaction that are most tacit are also the most resistant to change, and are maintained through mundane rout ines and forms of everyday interaction. Such contexts for language use typi cally are the focus in studies of language socialization, which bring the t heoretical perspectives of both practice theory and Bakhtinian dialogicalit y to bear on the question of how interactional and linguistic routines are maintained and transmitted across generations. Analysis here focuses on one particular interactional routine: the giving of directives involving a tri adic participation structure, between caregivers and children in a Navajo c ommunity.