Countries that feature voseo. In blue, countries that use vos as the primary spoken form. In green, countries that feature voseo as a regionalism or non-mainstream practice.

In Spanish, voseo is the use of the second person singular pronoun vos instead of tú. It can also be used in the context of using verb conjugation of vos with tú as the subject pronoun^[1], as in the case of Chilean Spanish. Image File history File links Mapa_-_Paises_voseantes. ... Image File history File links Mapa_-_Paises_voseantes. ... For other uses, see Point of view (literature). ... For other uses of number, see number (disambiguation). ... In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase with or without a determiner, such as you and they in English. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Vos is used extensively as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular predominantly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and in the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ...

Vos is generally not used in writing, except in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
This phenomenon is also gradually taking place in Central America, where the most prestigious media are beginning to use the pronoun vos instead of tú; Nicaragua, where the dialect is known as Central American Spanish, is a perfect example of this. In El Salvador, newspaper comics employ voseo, but it is hardly ever found in narrative articles outside of quotations. Increasingly, billboards and other advertising media are using voseo. In the dialect of Argentina and Uruguay (known as Rioplatense Spanish) vos is also the standard form for use in television media. For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... This FSLN logo is an example of the voseo form used in Nicaraguan media. ... Main urban centers of Rioplatense Spanish. ...

Vos is present in other countries as a regionalism, for instance in the Maracucho Spanish of Zulia State, Venezuela (see Venezuelan Spanish), in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico, in various departments in Colombia, and in parts of Ecuador (Sierra down to Esmeraldas). In Peru, voseo is present in some Andean regions and Cajamarca but the younger generations have ceased to use it. It is also present in the Ladino dialect of Spanish, spoken by Sephardic Jews throughout Israel, Turkey, the Balkans, Morocco, Latin America and the United States. Estado Zulia is one of the 23 states (estados) into which Venezuela is divided. ... Venezuelan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Venezuela. ... Location within Mexico Municipalities of Chiapas Country Mexico Capital Municipalities 118 Largest City Tuxtla Gutiérrez Government  - Governor Juan José Sabines Guerrero ( PRD)  - Federal Deputies PRI: 7 PRD: 5  - Federal Senators PRI: 1 PRD: 1 PVEM: 1 Area Ranked 8th  - Total 74,211 km² (28,653 sq mi) Population (2005... Esmeraldas is the Spanish word for emeralds. It is a toponym that may refer to the following: Brazil Esmeraldas, Brazil Ecuador Esmeraldas River Esmeraldas Province Esmeraldas (city) Esmeraldas Canton This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... This article is about the city of Cajamarca. ... This article deals with the Judaeo-Spanish language. ... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄áraḏ / Səp̄āraḏ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...

History

Vos was the formal second-person singular pronoun in Old Spanish (like ye in earlier forms of English), while vosotros was the formal second-person plural pronoun. Nevertheless, both are now informal pronouns, with vos being somewhat synonymous with tú in regions where both are used. During the Middle Ages, the second person formal became vuestra merced ("your grace"), and vos became an additional second person familiar, along with or replacing tú. This was the situation when Castilian was brought to the Río de la Plata area (around Buenos Aires and Montevideo) and to Chile. In time, vos lost currency in Spain but survived in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, while Vuestra merced evolved into usted (vuestra merced > usarced > usted, in fact, "usted" is still abbreviated as either Vd or Ud). Note that the term vosotros is a combined form of vos otros (meaning literally "you others"), while the term nosotros comes from nos otros ("we others"); otros was added to avoid confusion (in a manner similar to the formation of y'all in the English of the southern United States). This corresponds with youse in Scottish English, Hiberno-English and Australian English. At first just one of many dialects of Iberian Romance spoken in Iberia, the dialect of Castile eventually became identified as the Spanish language (called español or castellano in Spanish). ... Look up ye in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... This page is about the South American estuary. ... For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Montevideo (disambiguation). ... Water tower in Florence, Kentucky featuring the word yall. ... Historic Southern United States. ... This article is about the country. ... -1... Australian English (AuE, AusE, en-AU) is the form of the English language used in Australia. ...

Usage

Vos as a replacement for other forms of tú

The independent disjunctive pronoun ti is also replaced by vos. That is, vos is both nominative and the form to use after prepositions. Therefore para ti "for you" becomes para vos, etc.
The preposition-pronoun compound contigo "with you" becomes con vos.
The direct and indirect object form te remains the same, unlike in the case of vosotros, where it becomes os. The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun, which generally marks the subject of a verb, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with adposition. ...

The possessive pronouns of vos also coincide with tú <tu(s), tuyo(s), tuya(s)> rather than with vosotros <vuestro(s), vuestra(s)>. The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun. ... Template:Wiktionarypar objective Objective may be: Objective lens, an optical element in a camera or microscope. ... The Ouroboros something reflexive refers to itself. ... See subject (grammar) for the linguistic definition of subject. ... The accusative case of a noun is, generally, the case used to mark the direct object of a verb. ... The dative case is a grammatical case for nouns and/or pronouns. ... In grammar, a preposition is a word that establishes a relationship between an object (usually a noun phrase) and some other part of the sentence, often expressing a location in place or time. ... WordNet gives four main senses for the English noun object: a physical entity; something that is within the grasp of the senses; an aim, target or objective — see Object (task); a grammatical Object — either a direct object or an indirect object the focus of cognitions or feelings. ...

Conjugation with vos

"¿No querís más guerra?" (meaning "can't you hold on any more?") Voseo used in Chilean media. In this country, the conjugation varies from the ones in Argentina and Central America. Voseo in Chile is informal, hence it is used to attract young people

Below is a comparison table of the conjugation of several verbs for tú and for vos, and next to them the one for vosotros, the informal second person plural currently used only in Spain. The accented forms (vos and vosotros) and the infinitives are stressed in the last syllable; the tú forms are stressed on the penultimate one. Note the alternations (caused by stress shift) in the roots of poder and venir. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. ... In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word. ... Spanish verbs are a complex area of Spanish grammar, with many combinations of tenses, aspects and moods (up to fifty conjugated forms per verb). ... The root is the primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. ...

General conjugation is the one that is most widely accepted and used in various countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, parts of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia, as well as Central American countries up to Mexico's southern states.

Some Uruguayan speakers combine the pronoun tú with the vos conjugation (for example, tú sabés). Conversely, speakers in some other places where both tú and vos are used combine vos with the tú conjugation (for example, vos sabes).

The verb forms employed with vos are also different in Chilean Spanish:
Instead of deleting the -i- from the final diphthong -áis (and -ois), Chileans with voseo delete the final -s (vos/tú soi/erís; vos/tú estái).
In the case of the ending -ís (such as in comís, podís, vivís, erís, venís), the final -s is not totally dropped. Rather, in most cases, especially before a consonant, an aspiration similar to the h sound in English is still audible.

Venezuelan Maracucho Spanish, on the other hand, is notable in that it preserves the original plural verb forms, as still used with vosotros in Spain.

In Ladino, the -áis, -éis, -ís, & -ois endings are pronounced /aʃ/, /eʃ/, /iʃ/, & /oʃ/.

It should also be noted that in Chile, it is much more usual to use tú + vos verb conjugation (tú sabís). The use of pronominal vos (vos sabís) is reserved for very informal situations and may even be considered vulgar in some cases.

Present Indicative

1. General conjugation: The final -R of the infinitive is replaced by an -S, and an accute accent is added to the final vowel, the one preceding the final -S, to keep the stress. The acute accent (´) is a diacritic mark used in written French, Portuguese, Catalan, Greek, Welsh, Faroese, Icelandic, Swedish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, Irish Gaelic, Croatian, Navajo and other languages. ...

2. As for the Chilean voseo, the -AR ending of the infinitive is replaced by -ÁI, whereas both -ER and -IR are replaced by -ÍS, which sounds more like -ÍH.

Unlike tú, which has many irregular forms, the only verbs that are conjugated irregularly in their voseo forms in the indicative present are ser (vos sos), ir (vos vas), and haber (vos has...).
The Chilean forms are tú/vos soi/erís, tú/vos vai, and tú/vos hai....

Affirmative imperative

Vos also differs in its affirmative imperative conjugation from both tú and vosotros. Specifically, the vos imperative is formed by dropping the final -r from the infinitive, but keeping the stress on the last syllable. The only verb that is irregular in this regard is ir; its vos imperative is not used, with andá (the vos imperative of andar) being used instead. In linguistics, many grammars have the concept of grammatical mood, which describes the relationship of a verb with reality and intent. ...

Again, the conjugation tú has far more irregularities, whereas vos has only one irregular verb in the affirmative imperative.

In Chile, the general vos conjugation is not used in the affirmative imperative.

Subjunctive

The areas where voseo is used in Central America, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay, have practically the same conjugation. A main exception is the subjunctive (subjuntivo) in the Río de la Plata region, where the tú-conjugation is more common. Although it should be noted that in this region, the vos-form in the subjunctive has not completely disappeared. It is still used to show emphasis or emotion. For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... This page is about the South American estuary. ...

In other voseo areas, it's normal to use the subjunctive form of vos For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... This page is about the South American estuary. ...

Estado Zulia is one of the 23 states (estados) into which Venezuela is divided. ...

Geographical distribution

Countries where voseo is predominant

In South America

1. Argentina* (pronominal and verbal voseo, the pronoun tú is practically not used)
2. Paraguay* (pronominal and verbal voseo, the pronoun tú is practically not used)
3. Uruguay* (both pronoun+verb and pronoun "tú" + verb conjugated in the "vos" form.)

In Central America

1. Guatemala
2. Honduras
3. El Salvador
4. Nicaragua*
5. Costa Rica*

* In Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, voseo is used in most of the written language. In El Salvador and Honduras, voseo is replacing tuteo in the written language and the mass media.

Countries where both forms are used

In the following countries, voseo is used in certain areas:

1. Bolivia in La Paz, Cochambamba, Tarija, Santa Cruz, Pando and Beni
   
2. Chile verbal voseo is spreading north- and southwards from the center, whereas the pronominal voseo is reserved only for very intimate situations or to offend someone
   
3. Colombia, in the departments
   1. in the west (Pacific Coast)
      1. Chocó
      2. Valle del Cauca
      3. Cauca
      4. Nariño
   2. in the center, primarily Paisa Region.
   3. in the (North)East
      1. North Santander
      2. Guajira
      3. Cesar
         
4. Ecuador in the Sierra, the center, and Esmeraldas
   
5. Mexico in the south (Chiapas)
   
6. Panama in the west along the border to Costa Rica, and in the interior of Azuero Peninsula
   
7. Venezuela in the Northwest (primarily in the Zulia state)
   

Motto: Los discordes en concordia, en paz y amor se juntaron y pueblo de paz fundaron para perpetua memoria Location of La Paz within Bolivia Coordinates: , Country Departament Province Pedro Domingo Murillo Province Founded October 20, 1548 Incorporated (El Alto) 20th century Government  - Mayor Juan Del Granado Area  - Total 470... Look up choco in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Valle del Cauca is a department of Colombia. ... Cauca may refer to: Cauca Department, an administrative division of Colombia Cauca language Cauca River Cauca Valley Coca, Segovia, Spain, Latin name was Cauca Cauca Guan, a bird Category: ... Nariño is a department of Colombia named after Antonio Nariño. ... Paisa (pl. ... Guajira is a style of Cuban acoustic music. ... Cesar (Spanish, French and Portuguese - as César - for Caesar) may refer to: Cesar Department, Colombia César Award people: César Pelli César Chávez César Baldaccini aka. ... Location within Mexico Municipalities of Chiapas Country Mexico Capital Municipalities 118 Largest City Tuxtla Gutiérrez Government  - Governor Juan José Sabines Guerrero ( PRD)  - Federal Deputies PRI: 7 PRD: 5  - Federal Senators PRI: 1 PRD: 1 PVEM: 1 Area Ranked 8th  - Total 74,211 km² (28,653 sq mi) Population (2005... Estado Zulia is one of the 23 states (estados) into which Venezuela is divided. ...

Countries where vos is out of use

In the following countries, the use of vos has disappeared completely in the daily speech. It is used only rhetorically or in old or liturgical writings.

1. Spain
2. Dominican Republic
3. Puerto Rico
4. Peru*
5. Cuba*

* The use of vos is disappearing, in Cuba it is heard in some region in the east, in Peru, some elderly people still use vos, but it has gotten out of use among the younger population.

Attitudes

Voseo on El Salvador Billboard "Order your cold one here!"

The pronoun vos is usually informal, like tú in other varieties of Spanish, and contrasts with the formal usted, but appropriate usage varies by dialect. In Central America, vos can be used among those considered equals, while usted holds its formal employment. In Ladino, the pronoun usted is completely absent, so the use of vos for formal situations is the standard. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 558 pixelsFull resolution (1010 × 705 pixel, file size: 174 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 558 pixelsFull resolution (1010 × 705 pixel, file size: 174 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Voseo was long considered a reprehensible practice by prescriptivist grammarians (with the idea that only Castilian Spanish is good Spanish), but it is now regarded simply as a local variant. In linguistics, prescription is the laying down or prescribing of normative rules for the use of a language. ...

See also

• Spanish dialects and varieties
• Spanish verbs

Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Spanish verbs are one of the most complex areas of Spanish grammar. ...

References

Sources

• Voseo Spanish Site dedicated to teaching Argentine Voseo usage
• (Spanish) Voseo at the Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas. Real Academia Española (2005).
• (Spanish) El voseo at Spanish Wikibooks.
• (Spanish) Norma Beatriz Carricaburo (2003). El voseo en la historia y en la lengua de hoy - Las fórmulas de tratamiento en el español actual.
• (Spanish) Hotta Hideo (2000). La estandarización y el regionalismo en el voseo del español argentino.
• (Spanish) Ángel Rosenblat (2000). El castellano en Venezuela.
• (Spanish) Luis Alberto Roca (2007). Breve historia del habla cruceña y su mestizaje.