El voseo: another way to speak Spanish (I).
ú, usted… vos. Yes, there is another pronoun for the second person singular in Spanish. El voseo is the linguistic phenomenon that involves the use of the pronoun "vos" instead of "tú", generally accompanied by changes in the verb conjugation for certain tenses. Although it is a phenomenon currently found in Latin America, encompassed under the name "Voseo dialectal americano", it has historical origins in what is known as "Voseo reverencial", a phenomenon that emerged in Spain as a respectful form of address. However, voseo in the Americas generally represents a form of familiarity. The phenomenon occurs in multiple countries and is part of the formal standard in some, a highly colloquial form in others, and even considered vulgar or stigmatized in some regions. Furthermore, voseo can be pronominal—where the pronoun "vos" is used but the verb conjugation remains unchanged—verbal—where the verb is conjugated in the voseo form but the pronoun "tú" is used—or complete, where both the pronoun "vos" and the voseo verb conjugation are used. Let’s take an example: the expression “tú comes” can become “vos comes” (pronominal), “tú comés” (verbal), or “vos comés” (complete). This depends on the region and, in some cases, on the linguistic register the speaker is using at any given moment.
A bit of History.
We must go back to the 4th century AD to begin to understand why “vos” is currently used in the second person singular. In classical Latin, the personal pronouns for the first and second person plural were, respectively, nōs and uōs. At that time, emperors and other high-ranking dignitaries used nōs to refer to themselves, that is, the plural, instead of ego, which means “I”. This is known as the plural mayestático (royal plural). In response to this plural used by them, people began to address them with uōs, i.e., to respond to that plural with a plural as a form of respect.
This use of “vos” persisted as the Spanish language began to evolve from Latin. During the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries), for example, when the Spanish language had not yet consolidated, this pronoun was already used to address kings, nobles, and figures of power instead of the singular pronoun “tú”, which likely marks the birth of voseo reverencial. During the reign of Alfonso X the Wise in the 13th century, the so-called escuelas de traductores de Toledo (Translation Schools of Toledo) were institutionalized, from which a standardized version of medieval Spanish emerged. In the literature of that time, such as in the emblematic work El Cantar del Mio Cid, examples of voseo reverencial can be found.
As the centuries passed, the use of the pronoun “vos” shifted from being a form of respect or courtesy to being used among equals and even to address someone of lower rank. By the 14th century, another form of courtesy was needed, specifically vuestra merced, which over time evolved into usted. This change in the use of the pronoun meant that by the time of the Spanish conquest in the Americas, the Spanish language had two informal second-person singular pronouns: tú and vos. After the conquest, with the establishment of Spanish trade routes in the Americas and the formation of the viceroyalties, some regions of the Americas remained in closer contact with Spain, while others became more isolated. The pronoun vos gradually lost usage in Peninsular Spanish and in the regions of the Americas that had closer contact with it, but it persisted in more isolated areas.
Today, as mentioned earlier, the prestige of voseo forms of the language varies by region: in some places, it is integrated into the formal standard, while in others, it is considered vulgar. And although when one thinks of voseo, the Rioplatense variety of Spanish comes to mind, the phenomenon extends to many other countries. In the next article, we will explore the geographical distribution of voseo and attempt to answer something that even those of us who use this form have asked ourselves: Is it wrong to say vos?
Leave a Reply