El voseo: another way to speak Spanish (II).
he superlatives of bueno and fuerte are, according to the RAE dictionary, bonísimo and fortísimo. However, in contemporary Spanish, the norm is to say buenísimo and fuertísimo. In fact, these last two words don’t even appear in the RAE dictionary, but they are the ones used, at least, by all the people I know who speak Spanish, and that includes many people from various countries. Now, what does this have to do with voseo? A lot. I wanted to give an example to illustrate the point that people don’t speak how one “should” speak, but how people actually speak. Because speaking isn’t just about transmitting a message in a code that another brain “programmed with the same code” can decipher. No. Speaking has many levels, and one of them is social integration, for example. Another is the closeness with our peers. In part, we learn to speak as people speak where we live, but also, for instance, we adapt our linguistic register to our interlocutor. So, if one day, speaking with the people around me, I said that something is bonísimo... No, no one would tell me that I speak cultured Spanish. The most likely reaction is that they would make fun of me.
I want to give another practical example. In Uruguay, my country, the use of the language is extremely informal. I have a coworker who addresses people higher up in the hierarchy using usted. This is the form of courtesy or respect, as taught in all Spanish as a foreign language manuals. But in Uruguay, it doesn’t work that way. While usted is used in extremely formal contexts, it’s normal, even in professional settings, not to use it. In fact, and this is why I wanted to bring up this specific example, this habit of this person creates more discomfort than the sense that he’s addressing others respectfully. As I mentioned earlier: in Uruguay, people speak very informally.
So, is it wrong to say vos? The answer is NO. From what we saw in the previous article, the “fault” lies with the evolution of the Spanish language, a living entity like all languages that have speakers, and from what we’ve seen in the previous paragraphs: people speak how people speak. In fact, unlike buenísimo and fuertísimo, vos is even accepted by the RAE. Even so, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, voseo was criticized by different academics and linguists as being a horrible deformation of the language. And those of us who use this form today, often think that we are deforming the language, that we speak poorly. But in reality, we simply speak how people speak in the places where we were born and acquired Spanish as our mother tongue. This discussion, in fact, is not exclusive to the Spanish language: which English is more correct, the one from the US or the UK? Which French is more correct, the one from France, Canada, or Africa? Which German is more correct, the one from Germany or Austria? I mention these languages because they are the ones I speak or try to speak, and even so, I generalize. In none of the places I mentioned is the language spoken exactly the same across their entire territorial extent.
Geographic extension
When thinking about voseo, people usually think of Argentina and Uruguay, but this is an incomplete view. In fact, it is estimated that two-thirds of the population of Latin America use voseo. In different linguistic registers and, in some cases, it is still seen as an uncultured form, while in others it is fully integrated into the educated norm of the country. In Argentina and Uruguay, to give the example I am most familiar with, it can be seen in the press, contemporary literature, advertising, and so on. So, in what parts of the Spanish-speaking world is this linguistic variety used?
Argentina
Distribution: Voseo is present throughout the entire territory of Argentina, being the country where the phenomenon is most widespread and deeply rooted.
Generalization: It is a generalized phenomenon across all social classes and regions of the country, used both in colloquial and educated language.
Educated norm: Voseo is fully accepted in the educated norm. The media, literature, and even official documents reflect its use, although in very formal contexts tú can be used in protocol situations.
Uruguay
Distribution: Voseo is widespread throughout the country, similar to the Argentine case.
Generalization: It is used daily across all social classes and regions.
Educated norm: It is also integrated into the educated norm, although in very formal registers tú may be used.
Paraguay
Distribution: Voseo is widespread in Paraguay, although in some rural areas tú is still more commonly used.
Generalization: In urban areas, it is widely used in daily life. Guaraní, co-official in Paraguay, influences the sociolinguistic situation of Spanish.
Educated norm: Although its use is common, in the educated norm tú is more typical, especially in formal education and the media.
Chile
Distribution: In Chile, voseo is used partially and is mostly restricted to informal situations.
Generalization: It is a sociolectal and generational phenomenon. Vos is used mainly among friends and young people and is often considered more vulgar or colloquial.
Educated norm: It is not accepted in the educated norm of Chilean Spanish, where tú is the standard. Its use is highly informal.
Bolivia
Distribution: Voseo is widespread in some regions and more restricted in others. It is mainly used in the western part of the country, in departments like La Paz, Oruro, and Cochabamba.
Generalization: It is more frequent in daily life in these areas, although in some urban areas it coexists with tú.
Educated norm: While voseo is used, the educated norm prefers the use of tú, especially in formal and educational contexts.
Ecuador
Distribution: In Ecuador, voseo is found in some rural areas of the Sierra (Andes) region, particularly in provinces like Azuay and Loja.
Generalization: It is a sociolectal and geographically limited phenomenon. The use of vos is associated with rural speakers and informal registers.
Educated norm: It is not accepted in the educated norm, where tú is the standard pronoun.
Colombia
Distribution: Voseo in Colombia is regional and mainly occurs in the southwestern part of the country, in departments like Valle del Cauca, Nariño, and Antioquia.
Generalization: It is used daily in these regions, although tú is preferred in most parts of the country.
Educated norm: In the areas where it predominates, its use is more accepted in formal contexts, although the national educated norm favors tú.
Venezuela
Distribution: Voseo is found in some areas of the states of Zulia and Falcón, in the northwest of the country.
Generalization: It is a regional phenomenon, limited to these areas, where it coexists with tú.
Educated norm: It is not integrated into the national educated norm, where tú predominates.
Honduras
Distribution: In Honduras, voseo is widespread throughout the country, although in some urban areas tú is preferred in more formal registers.
Generalization: It is used in everyday speech across all social classes.
Educated norm: While voseo is very present in daily life, the educated norm uses tú.
El Salvador
Distribution: Voseo is widespread throughout the country and is widely used in daily life.
Generalization: It is commonly used across all social levels and in almost all informal situations.
Educated norm: While it is very common in colloquial speech, the educated norm favors tú, especially in formal education.
Guatemala
Distribution: Voseo is widespread in the country, although in the capital and in formal media it tends to be replaced by tú.
Generalization: It is used in informal and familial contexts but not so much in formal situations.
Educated norm: It is not present in the educated norm, where tú is preferred.
Nicaragua
Distribution: Voseo is widespread throughout the country and is part of daily life across all social classes.
Generalization: It is common in everyday speech, although tú is more typical in formal registers.
Educated norm: While tú is used in highly formal situations, voseo is quite integrated into the educated norm, even in the media.
Costa Rica
Distribution: Voseo is widely used in Costa Rica, though in some urban areas tú is gaining ground.
Generalization: It is common in everyday speech, although tú is more typical in formal registers.
Educated norm: In the educated norm, tú tends to be more accepted in formal settings, but vos is still used in informal communication.
In the next article, we’ll look at the grammar of voseo. As mentioned: voseo can be pronominal, verbal, or complete, and in the cases of verbal and complete voseo, we add yet another set of verb conjugations to the already extensive options in Spanish.
¿Y vos? ¿Qué pensás? I’d love to read your comments!
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