This paper discusses the concept of genericity often used in algebraic specification languages and how this concept can be simulated in a meta level in languages with purely initial semantics, as it is the case for ELAN and ASF+SDF. This proposal is being integrated into the FERUS tool, in development for ELAN, and will have the effect of providing in the meta level better modularity features without any changes to the language itself, as long as all manipulations are done through the operations available in the tool.