| Language: | Spanish |
| Feature: | Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns by Johannes Helmbrecht |
| Value: | Binary politeness distinction |
|
tú |
2nd sg. fam. |
- 2nd pers sg familiar in European Spanish; - in American Spanish (Argentine, Paraguay, Urugway, Central America) the Old Spanish ('Siglo de oro') polite form vos (= 2nd pl) has replaced tú and is used for a familiar address of a single addressee; - in Mexico, Peru, and Caribbean Islands, vos has been disappeared as a form of address (the same developement as in European Spanish) |
|
usted |
2nd sg. hon. |
- 2nd sg polite address; it is a phonological reduction of vuestra merced ‘Your honour’; - there is no comparable form of polite address in the object pronouns |
|
ustedes |
2nd pl. hon. |
|
|
vosotros |
2nd pl. |
- 2nd person pl familiar pronoun in European Spanisch; - in American Spanish this pronoun is lost, the politeness form ustedes is used instead neutralizing the familiar-politeness distinction in the plural category |