Topic > The reasons for the popularity of voseo in Argentina

The moniker “vos” is applied disproportionately in Hispanic America. While in Central America and Argentina the denomination “vos” has become very widespread, in other regions such as the Spanish Caribbean and in countries such as Mexico, its use is severely limited or non-existent… these are the reasons why the denomination “vos” ” has spread to its current extent controlled by historical, sociocultural, economic and geographical factors. The title vos or “voseo/voceo” is the linguistic system that uses the form vos in verb tenses. This term is equivalent to "you" in the formal context, distinguishing a superior from his subordinates. Many linguistic experts have tried to decipher the phenomenon of voseo's popularity among the masses in Argentina, the conclusions of which are linked to socioeconomic, historical and geographical factors. From the time of the conquistadors in the 15th century, Spain exported its linguistic system with all its complexities and ambiguities. It is up to Spanish speakers to carefully research the culture before traveling so as to reduce grammatical missteps and, better yet, avoid them entirely. In any case, unlike many other Latin American countries, Argentines prefer “el Voseo” to “el tuteo”. Although globalization has begun to undermine the authority of voseo, introducing tuteo, Argentines have used systems such as politics, media, and education to ensure that voseo remains inherent in the Argentine vocabulary and remains a source of national pride. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Colonialism and immigration during the late 1800s play an important role in the linguistic authority of voseo in Argentina when under the viceroyalty system. “Both the virreinatos founded by the Spanish in Hispanoamérica as the level and the social dynamics of the conquistadors and colonizers were critical elements that… determined the present” (Benavides). Voceo's address system promotes Argentine patriotism. It is one of the few countries in the world that actively employs voice on such a large scale and in all its institutions, regardless of class, region or race. Historians report that it was in the Rio de la Plata region that the form vos was born and grew in popularity. The peninsular Spanish inhabitants (those who emigrated from Spain or those of pure Spanish blood) popularized and laid the foundation for the strong Vosean language system. When the first explorers set foot in Argentina, Spain was already divided between Tuteo and Voseo. Starting from the courtly and royal designation to the crown and nobles of high position, the voseo was considered deferential and respectful. However, as time passed, the voseo began to decline in Spanish use and prestige. Documents dating back to the colonial period testify to the mixture of both these verbal forms. Geography has a powerful influence on the predominance of voseo as a linguistic form. The distance between Madrid, Spain and Buenos Aires, Argentina is approximately 6,200 miles. In Spain's golden age, the journey involved a passage of several months between the motherland and the colony. Due to the limited interaction between the countries, Voseo remains almost unaware of Spain's disavowal of Voseo. Newall also agrees that “in areas where communication and contact with Peninsular Spanish was less constant, or where colonization (if by voseo users) began in a later period, the use of voseo became extensive and the influence of tuteus was not present until later. This is an explanation of why voseo still exists today in places like… Argentina” (Newall). The Peninsular Spaniards, recently minedfrom Spain, were not in contact with the gradual displacement and progressive elimination of the Vos in Spain. Consequently, the isolation and total embrace of the voseo, once become a colonial trademark representative of Spain's ownership, is a sign of Argentina's nationalistic peculiarity. “Argentina's stable voseo is not a recent phenomenon; its roots must be sought in the colonial period and archival research has revealed that it was well rooted in early 19th century Buenos Aires usage... and retains 15th century Peninsular usage may have been the model main if not uniform throughout Latin America (Harris 97). In Andean countries such as Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia, it is not uncommon for vos to be conjugated with the familiar second person singular, for example Vos teners, Vos eres. These differences present a problem since Argentina borders both Chile and Bolivia and eventually some merger will be expected. Socio-ethnic distinctions lead to a wide spread of vocio in Argentina when examining the origins and use of voseo. Since the time of the entry of the Spanish conquistadors onto Argentine soil, the vos was used to distinguish common people and aristocrats. The Argentine social class was more rigid and hierarchical, so much so that the address of a nobleman had to contain the form vos. The caste system, the Spanish caste system, was a racial and segregationist system that included españoles, peninsulares, criollos, castizos, meticcios, mulatos, indios, negros etc. In regular social interaction, vos is preferred when a lower caste person holds discourse with someone who occupies a higher complexion or socio-economic position. Outside Argentina and other Andean countries, “voseo… is identified with an uncultured language. In others it coexists with tu where tu is characteristic of upper class usage” (Cotton 148). Voseo declined social prestige in Spain until inferiority was linked to address. Another sociolinguistic study concluded that the social and prestige link with the Voseo is almost erased. Those living in rural and urban areas use voseo, while the upper-middle classes prefer tuteo (Moyna). Further age analysis on voseo users led to the discovery that older people in Argentina would use tuteo while the younger age group would adopt and apply voseo more easily. The competition and confusion of tu and vos results from the mixing of cultural identity, history, and position. “According to Lipski, while the use of vos instead of tu is widespread and practically the norm in spontaneous speech in countries particularly Argentina, the coexistence of the prestige norm tu and its predominance in all but regional literature leads to a certain amount of linguistic insecurity” (Stewart 123). The blurring of the boundaries between both tu-singular forms is understandable in the face of globalization, generational linguistic changes, immigration, education, and living standards. Due to the overwhelming influence of American imperialism and the American media's preference for the form you, confusion encroaches as new approaches to addressing the problem are adopted and adapted. After enjoying a stronghold in Argentina for a few centuries, the winds of change have shaken the linguistic foundations of Vos. However, despite external influences, to preserve the legacy of voseo in Argentina, Argentines educate their children that tu is equivalent to vos. Furthermore, the faithful and consistent use of vos by the mainstream media has prevented the voseo address from becoming obsolete. The Hispanic usage voseo defines the grammatical application of the pronoun of the second person singular, commonly used in reference to the pronoun vos. The distinction between vos and.