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T/V Pronouns in L2 Acquisition of Spanish

Received: 6 May 2015     Accepted: 15 May 2015     Published: 26 May 2015
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Abstract

Many languages display a pronominal system in which there are both formal and informal forms to address others. In the L2 Spanish classroom, many English-speaking students unfamiliar with the T/V pronoun system (which is no longer present in English) often are only exposed to a generic set of rules (in the text and by the instructor) governing their usage. The system is a highly complex pragmatic phenomenon and can vary significantly based on factors such as dialect, familiarity, solidarity, emotion, and dispensation right. Lambert (1976) surveyed the phenomenon in Spanish and French and took into account familiarity, solidarity, and dispensation right. This study reports on a survey which tested the validity and reliability found in Lambert (1976) and furthered the study by examining the knowledge L2 Spanish students have about the use of the system of informal and formal pronouns and in addition to the parameters examined by Lambert, took dialect and emotion into account. The purpose of this study was to show that while a general rule governing T/V usage in L2 Spanish is sufficient to begin with, exposure to the natural language, explicit awareness of the phenomenon on the part of the instructor, and study abroad can all improve students’ mastery of this pragmatic phenomenon. This information can be useful to language educators of all levels.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 3, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.21
Page(s) 182-186
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Spanish, T/V Pronouns, Pragmatics, Language Acquisition, Teaching Methodology

References
[1] Almasov, A. (1974). " Vos" and" Vosotros" as Formal Address in Modern Spanish. Hispania, 304-310.
[2] Braun, F. (1988). Terms of address: Problems of patterns and usage in various languages and cultures (No. 50). Walter de Gruyter.
[3] Brown, R., & Gilman, A. (1960). The pronouns of power and solidarity.
[4] Dickey, E. (1997). Forms of address and terms of reference. Journal of linguistics, 33(02), 255- 274.
[5] Giglioli, Per Paolo (1972). Language and Social Context: Selected Readings. Penguin Books.
[6] Helmbrecht, Johannes (2005). "Politeness distinctions in pronouns". In Martin Haspelmath et al. The World Atlas of Language Structures. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 186- 190.
[7] Lambert, W. E., & Tucker, G. R. (1976). Tu, Vous, Usted. A Social-Psychological Study of Address Patterns.
[8] Uber, D. R. (2011). Forms of address: The effect of the context. The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics, 244-262.
[9] Uber, D. R. (2004). Spanish forms of address in the workplace in Latin America. Journal of Language for International Business, 15(1), 90-99.
[10] Uber, D. R. (1984). The pronouns of address in the Spanish of Bogotá, Colombia. The SECOL review, 8, 59-74.
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  • APA Style

    Christopher D. Sams. (2015). T/V Pronouns in L2 Acquisition of Spanish. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3(3), 182-186. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.21

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    ACS Style

    Christopher D. Sams. T/V Pronouns in L2 Acquisition of Spanish. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2015, 3(3), 182-186. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.21

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    AMA Style

    Christopher D. Sams. T/V Pronouns in L2 Acquisition of Spanish. Int J Lang Linguist. 2015;3(3):182-186. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.21

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.21,
      author = {Christopher D. Sams},
      title = {T/V Pronouns in L2 Acquisition of Spanish},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {3},
      number = {3},
      pages = {182-186},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.21},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.21},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20150303.21},
      abstract = {Many languages display a pronominal system in which there are both formal and informal forms to address others. In the L2 Spanish classroom, many English-speaking students unfamiliar with the T/V pronoun system (which is no longer present in English) often are only exposed to a generic set of rules (in the text and by the instructor) governing their usage. The system is a highly complex pragmatic phenomenon and can vary significantly based on factors such as dialect, familiarity, solidarity, emotion, and dispensation right. Lambert (1976) surveyed the phenomenon in Spanish and French and took into account familiarity, solidarity, and dispensation right. This study reports on a survey which tested the validity and reliability found in Lambert (1976) and furthered the study by examining the knowledge L2 Spanish students have about the use of the system of informal and formal pronouns and in addition to the parameters examined by Lambert, took dialect and emotion into account. The purpose of this study was to show that while a general rule governing T/V usage in L2 Spanish is sufficient to begin with, exposure to the natural language, explicit awareness of the phenomenon on the part of the instructor, and study abroad can all improve students’ mastery of this pragmatic phenomenon. This information can be useful to language educators of all levels.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
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    AB  - Many languages display a pronominal system in which there are both formal and informal forms to address others. In the L2 Spanish classroom, many English-speaking students unfamiliar with the T/V pronoun system (which is no longer present in English) often are only exposed to a generic set of rules (in the text and by the instructor) governing their usage. The system is a highly complex pragmatic phenomenon and can vary significantly based on factors such as dialect, familiarity, solidarity, emotion, and dispensation right. Lambert (1976) surveyed the phenomenon in Spanish and French and took into account familiarity, solidarity, and dispensation right. This study reports on a survey which tested the validity and reliability found in Lambert (1976) and furthered the study by examining the knowledge L2 Spanish students have about the use of the system of informal and formal pronouns and in addition to the parameters examined by Lambert, took dialect and emotion into account. The purpose of this study was to show that while a general rule governing T/V usage in L2 Spanish is sufficient to begin with, exposure to the natural language, explicit awareness of the phenomenon on the part of the instructor, and study abroad can all improve students’ mastery of this pragmatic phenomenon. This information can be useful to language educators of all levels.
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Author Information
  • Department of English, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, US

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