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In:It’s not all about you: New perspectives on address research
Edited by Bettina Kluge and María Irene Moyna
[Topics in Address Research 1] 2019
► pp. 191–220

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Variation in polite address in contemporary Uruguayan Spanish

Published online: 28 November 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tar.1.08moy
Abstract
This chapter explores formal address pronoun usted in Uruguayan Spanish (USp), by ascertaining the extent of its use and the influence of social and pragmatic variables. The study is based on a questionnaire that included situations of social distance or power difference (n = 579). For each situation, respondents chose among possible answers, including one formal (usted = U), and two informal (tú = T; vos = V) options, or filled in their own response. It was found that usted was preferred in most situations, but there was considerable variation. For example, informal choices were more frequent in long-term hierarchical relationships than in sporadic encounters; polite use was highest with older addressees. There were also differences in usted use by geographical region, with the west and south of the country exhibiting more informal patterns of use than the east and center. Speaker age mattered in some circumstances, with older speakers favoring more formal usage. Education was also significant, with speakers who had attended elite schools and were university graduates more likely to prefer informal address. The results confirm the retreat of usted from all but the most formal contexts in USp, in agreement with pan-Hispanic trends.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background: Origin and evolution of usted
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Questionnaire
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Quantification of responses
    • 3.4Limitations of the study
    • 3.5Statistical analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Overall use of address forms
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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