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In:Beyond Binaries in Address Research: Politeness and identity practices in interaction
Edited by Víctor Fernández-Mallat and María Irene Moyna
[Topics in Address Research 6] 2025
► pp. 69–95

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Chapter 4
Implicit language attitudes toward polymorphism of second person singular forms of address in Medellín, Colombia

Published online: 17 July 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/tar.6.04den
Abstract
Polymorphism of second person singular forms of address (2sg) is the usage of more than one 2sg directed toward the same person during the same interaction. Participants from Medellín (N = 32), Cali (N = 24), and Bogotá (N = 24) completed a matched-guise task and a soap opera perception task. The matched-guise task included recordings of four speakers from Medellín who read three versions of sentences containing polymorphism and unimorphism. Results showed that when there are significant differences, Paisas rated polymorphism higher than Bogotanos and Caleños in terms of intelligence and socioeconomic class. Furthermore, Paisas were the least aware of polymorphism. Findings suggest that polymorphism is characteristic of Paisa speech and will continue to be part of Medellín Spanish, as its use is not stigmatized.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Review of the literature
    • 2.1Second person singular forms of address in Paisa Spanish
    • 2.2Polymorphism of Spanish 2sg
    • 2.3Language attitudes
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Tasks
      • 3.1.1Matched-guise task
      • 3.1.2Soap opera perception task
    • 3.3Analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Implicit language attitudes toward polymorphism
      • 4.1.1Friendliness
      • 4.1.2Intelligence
      • 4.1.3Socioeconomic class
    • 4.2Awareness of polymorphism
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (37)
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