El uso del 't?' en Costa Rica

This is an interesting article (blog entry) written by a Costa Rican about the usage of 't?' and how one individual feels about it over vos or usted. Costa Rica is one of the 'voseo' speaking countries and apparently with pride. According to the author of the article it identifies them and the usage of 't?' among Costa Ricans is rare unless one of the speakers is a foreigner.

Sea cual sea la raz?n, me niego a hablar en ?t??, a tutear a la gente. Mi mam? y mi abuela me inculcaron el amor por el vos y el usted. Es mi forma de proteger la resquebrajada identidad costarricense.

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One aspect that was mentioned that I thought was very interesting was the incorrect conjugation when Costa Ricans use 't?' forms of verbs. They are not familiar with the proper conjugation of verb forms with 't?'.

Y lo peor de todo es que quienes hablan en t? conjugan mal los verbos y los tiempos. ?Terrible! Es lo mismo como cuando alguien emplea un anglicismo para sustituir una palabra en espa?ol.

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The influence of 't?' is coming from the media and typical of countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela.

El uso del ?t?? est? tan extendido en nuestro pa?s que he escuchado a algunos faranduleros y gente del espect?culo hablar con este pronombre, tan ajeno de las ra?ces costarricenses, pero tan propio de pa?ses como M?xico, Colombia y Venezuela.

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... In my opinion, this is just one example of cultural identity via language. Los ticos are proud of their usage of 'vos' and usted instead of 't?'. Other Latin countries have their identity and pride regarding the way they speak meaning an aspect about language that sets them apart from other speakers.



El uso del 't?' en la far?ndula, la televisi?n y la publicidad - El rinc?n de la far?ndula - Blogs nacion.com


--LDG.

Forms of register in Spanish-

My commentary

Forms of address, aka register in linguistic terms are one of the prime examples of how formality differs from one language to another. In languages where forms of you change depending on the level formality is usually a struggle for English speakers. As mentioned in this thread and others in Spanish tutear, tratar de usted, and vos (depending on the country) are the forms of address. In French, tutoyer and vouvoyer are the norms and there are other languages that have varying forms. Using the wrong one sometimes can change the tone of a conversation although I think Spanish speakers need to take this into account if it?s a foreigner and not a Spanish speaker from another country. It?s very easy to use t? when one should use usted and even more difficult would be the usage of vos. Depending on who a person is speaking to it can be a grand offense to use the incorrect form of address. Linguistic diversity varies from one speech community to another and the incomer needs to be aware of the norms of the community in which s/he interacts. There is clearly a relationship between language and society.

For those who have taken the academic route to learning Spanish, many textbooks now have the voseo verb forms as part of the verb charts. Whether this is meant that Spanish students should learn them or not is to be determined however, I think the intent is to show that these forms are used and will be heard in the Spanish-speaking world although they were only made official two years ago. I know I would have difficulty using the voseo forms, as commented by the blogger, Sergio Arce, when people use 't?'. My verbs forms using 'vos' would be most likely incorrect.

It?s important to keep in mind this is only one aspect about register in Spanish. The variations in formality are required in writing as well. Degrees of formality are required when addressing people in certain professions, in business letters, informal letters, journalism, age, profession etc, and one will see the varying degrees of formality that may be required. Some examples would be Estimado se?or vs. Querido amigo, Le presento al se?or licenciado don Miguel Vargas vs. le presento a Juan, Don Pedro, Do?a Luisa etc. One becomes familiar with these registers as one becomes more advanced in the language. In my opinion, to not take this into consideration when speaking and writing in Spanish is a faux-pas. One has to be aware of the norms and incorporate them accordingly into one?s daily speech and writing.

The challenge lies in Latin America when it comes to register because it varies from country to country and vos is only used in a few.Therefore one has to know what the norm is and how it is used. In Costa Rica one may get a feel for the usage or the importance of vos, how widespread it is, meaning in all segments of society, I don?t know. In the rest of the Spanish-speaking world it?s archaic, and considered incorrect therefore the difficulty in knowing where and when to use it (if you choose to) is a challenge. I think the distinction by the blogger is clear, if you are a 'tico', why address me with 't?'. In other words he?s not expecting a foreigner to use vos.

This is a complicated dynamic and IMO further complicated by foreigners who adopt dropping the /s/ when they speak. T? sabe (if you drop the /s/), has the same form as Usted sabe, so how does the speaker distinguish levels of formality? Try going to Colombia or Peru or any of the older colonial cities of Latin America and speak that way when usted should be used. All I will say is bonne chance.


-LDG.


PD. 'pyratt's' post was an intereting read just observation nothing based on academics.


If you choose to respond, please no full body quotes. Thanks.

En pocas palabras-

You may get varying responses here based on personal experiences but in a general sense the DR is tuteo country. Familiar address is very common and usted is used out of respect but can give a negative perception depending on the scenario, situation and the reaction of the person being address with usted. Using usted usually implies distancia (or distancia afectiva) or in my experience some people may think you are implying that they are old as in 'viej@'. IMO, ask your b/f how you should address his Mom, the rest of family can be addressed in familiar form IMO.


--LDG.