It takes tú and vos to tango: Informal second person subject variation in Uruguayan Spanish
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3189-4417
Document Type
Paper Presentation
Presenter Language
English
Research Area
Variation and change
Location
MBSC Dodge Room 302A
Start Date
18-10-2024 2:30 PM
End Date
18-10-2024 3:00 PM
Abstract
Informal address variation distinguishes Uruguayan Spanish from other Río de la Plata varieties in two ways. First, regional tuteo is documented in the eastern seaboard, especially Rocha (Albertoni 2016, Rona 1967, Weyers 2014). Second, even in voseo areas, tú/vos subject and prepositional pronoun mixing is common (e.g., tú tenés, Bertolotti 2011, Fontanella de Weinberg 1999, Mendoza 2005, Steffen 2010). A survey of reported usage (AUTHOR 2023) in the capital, Montevideo, found age to be the only statistically significant factor in informal second person subject pronoun selection. The present study expands the analysis to the rest of Uruguay.
The data comes from answers to the abovementioned survey by a sample from across the country (n=718). Participants chose address forms for hypothetical informal situations, four of which are analyzed here, namely, a request and a recommendation to male and female addressees (2 x 2) (see Appendix 1). Items had no verbal variation, obviating the need to consider hybridization. Responses (tú, vos, usted) were classified by sociolinguistic factors (addressee gender, speaker age, gender, region, educational level, type of schooling, occupation) and analyzed in Rbrul.
Vos was favored in all situations (64.5-76.5%), while tú was chosen in a quarter of responses (19.9-31.3%), with few respondents selecting both tú/vos (~3%) or usted (≤1%). One-level multivariate analyses (tú vs. non-tú) run separately for requests and recommendations found that regional provenance and age were statistically significant. Participants from the east preferred tú between two and three times more than those from the center, south, and west (requests: E: 59.5%; C: 30.9%; S: 27.8%, W: 17.8%; recommendations: E: 56.5%; C: 22%, S: 15.9%, W: 13.3%). Tú was also twice as likely among participants 50 or older than among younger age groups (request: A3: 50.9%; A2: 31.2%; A3: 26.3%; recommendation: A3: 40.9%, A2: 20.2%; A1: 19%). No other factor (school type, educational attainment, addressee gender, occupation) was statistically significant.
In sum, results confirm findings from smaller studies regarding tú preference in the east (Weyers 2014), while intergenerational differences support the retreat of tú (Weyers 2009). Moreover, they provide fresh evidence that the west is closer to Argentine varieties.
It takes tú and vos to tango: Informal second person subject variation in Uruguayan Spanish
MBSC Dodge Room 302A
Informal address variation distinguishes Uruguayan Spanish from other Río de la Plata varieties in two ways. First, regional tuteo is documented in the eastern seaboard, especially Rocha (Albertoni 2016, Rona 1967, Weyers 2014). Second, even in voseo areas, tú/vos subject and prepositional pronoun mixing is common (e.g., tú tenés, Bertolotti 2011, Fontanella de Weinberg 1999, Mendoza 2005, Steffen 2010). A survey of reported usage (AUTHOR 2023) in the capital, Montevideo, found age to be the only statistically significant factor in informal second person subject pronoun selection. The present study expands the analysis to the rest of Uruguay.
The data comes from answers to the abovementioned survey by a sample from across the country (n=718). Participants chose address forms for hypothetical informal situations, four of which are analyzed here, namely, a request and a recommendation to male and female addressees (2 x 2) (see Appendix 1). Items had no verbal variation, obviating the need to consider hybridization. Responses (tú, vos, usted) were classified by sociolinguistic factors (addressee gender, speaker age, gender, region, educational level, type of schooling, occupation) and analyzed in Rbrul.
Vos was favored in all situations (64.5-76.5%), while tú was chosen in a quarter of responses (19.9-31.3%), with few respondents selecting both tú/vos (~3%) or usted (≤1%). One-level multivariate analyses (tú vs. non-tú) run separately for requests and recommendations found that regional provenance and age were statistically significant. Participants from the east preferred tú between two and three times more than those from the center, south, and west (requests: E: 59.5%; C: 30.9%; S: 27.8%, W: 17.8%; recommendations: E: 56.5%; C: 22%, S: 15.9%, W: 13.3%). Tú was also twice as likely among participants 50 or older than among younger age groups (request: A3: 50.9%; A2: 31.2%; A3: 26.3%; recommendation: A3: 40.9%, A2: 20.2%; A1: 19%). No other factor (school type, educational attainment, addressee gender, occupation) was statistically significant.
In sum, results confirm findings from smaller studies regarding tú preference in the east (Weyers 2014), while intergenerational differences support the retreat of tú (Weyers 2009). Moreover, they provide fresh evidence that the west is closer to Argentine varieties.