Sunday, September 29, 2013

On Assimilating in Argentina, Point 006.

006. When speaking to Argentines, use el voseo, not el tuteo.

What sets the people of Argentina apart, in a language context, from the rest of Latin America (save Uruguay and a few other South American countries) is el voseo - a verb conjugation unique to these select countries.

For a quick explanation:
English
me
you
he/she/it
we
they

Spanish (el tuteo)
yo
tu
Usted/el/ella
nosotros
ellos/ellas

Spanish (el voseo)
yo
vos
Usted/el/ella
nosotros
ellos/ellas


In basic Spanish courses in the States, we learn el tuteo - mostly because it is the most widely used.
EX: Where are you from?
     (el tuteo): ¿De dónde eres?
     (el voseo): ¿De dónde sos?

The difference between el tuteo and el voseo shows up every time you address someone directly, which is fairly confusing when first attempting to speak like the locals. Pero no pasa nada, te acostumbrás (Don't worry, you get used to it)! I'll keep this brief introduction as-is and leave it to you to visit Argentina to learn the rest! ;)

Finalmente, from my dear roommate, who has encouraging me from the beginning to use el voseo and drop my tuteo ways, a little song to go along with the lesson.


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