Vos and Voseo

Term Paper # 104117

Language
Latin-American Studies

Vos and Voseo

An analysis of the use of voseo in Central and South American countries.

1,117 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the voseo is an archaic Spanish way of addressing another person using the vos instead of the tu. The use of vos in its formal and aristocratic use has been lost mostly in America but it survives in its family and casual use in some countries in South and Central America. In particular, the paper examines how, although the vos and its use have changed over the centuries, it has experienced different developments depending on the historical and geographical context of the particular country's political and social events. The paper also looks at how today the voseo is the more popular way of addressing somebody in the southern cone and countries in Central America such as Nicaragua.

From the Paper:

"In certain regions of Colombia and Venezuela, the vos is used only in contexts of great trust and familiarity. The tu is used in Bogota and it is spreading over the province. In South America, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, people talk using vos on a daily basis. Among these countries, there are not many differences in the way that people use it. It is the typical and characteristic talk and address of the Rio de la Plata. Parents and children address one another using the vos. Young people, even not knowing each other, will talk using vos. However, two adults who don't know each other use the usted. There is not a class differentiation, its use is related to knowledge and age. Sometimes, elderly friend will talk to each other using the usted even in Buenos Aires. The use of vos has a loving and approachable element: it creates an instant trust specially when pronounced from older adults to young people. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Benavides, Carlos Osvaldo. The Evolution of Voseo (spanish), Thesis Dissertation, Universiyt of Texas, El Paso, 1993.
De Gregorio De Mac, Maria Isabel. El Voseo en la Literatura Argentina, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, 1967.
Paez Urdaneta, Iraset. Historia y Geografia Hispanoamericana del Voseo, La Casa de Bello, Caracas, 1981.