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Home » Central and South America » Do Colombians use Vos or Tu?

Do Colombians use Vos or Tu?

December 14, 2021 by Bridget Gibson

If you do hear any sort of informality, it’s a toss up whether you’ll hear the rare Colombian tú or the more common vos, which lies in a nebulous area between informal and formal speech. In some parts of Colombia, vos is thought of as more appropriate to use than tú in most social situations.

Contents

Do they use vos in Colombia?

‘Vos?I quickly learned that using “vos” (referred to as voseo) instead of “tú” (also called tuteo) to say “you” is a common practice in many Latin American countries, including some parts of Colombia. In Colombia, voseo sits somewhere between “tú” and “usted” in formality, and can often be used with friends or family.

What countries use vos instead of tu?

Vos is a form used mainly in Latin America: Paraguay, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Panama, etc. In Argentina and Uruguay, vos has replaced tú completely. Remember that your choice of tú, vos, or usted will make a difference in the verb form (conjugation) you use.

Is vos the same as tu?

Originally a second-person plural, Vos came to be used as a more polite second-person singular pronoun to be used among one’s familiar friends.Today, both vos and tú are considered to be informal pronouns, with vos being somewhat synonymous with tú in regions where both are used.

How and when is TÚ used in Colombia?

So, most Colombians will tell you that, in Colombia, people mostly use “tú” when addressing each other (“tuteando”, the custom of using “tú”), in an informal and relaxed way that is supposed to reflect the easy-going way of Colombians.

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How is TU used in Colombia?

It’s not that Colombians don’t ever use the tú form. They do use the second person singular, and they use it a whole lot. What they don’t like is the word tú itself.

Which countries use Tuteo?

South America countries like Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina use “vos”. In Colombia vos is used mostly in the pacific coast states to talk with friends and relatives, but tuteo is also very common. Voseo predominates in the states of Antioquia, Risaralda, Caldas and Quindío.

Why do some countries use vos instead of tu?

In the Americas, vos is an informal “you” like tú. It originated in the 1500s when the Spanish colonized Latin America and imposed a strict hierarchy of social classes. The indigenous people referred to members of the Spanish nobility as vuestra merced, meaning “your grace”.

Why do Central Americans use vos?

“Voseo acts as a distinguishing feature of Salvadoran and Honduran Spanish, one that allows Central Americans in the United States to establish a sense of solidarity. But it may also be suppressed to achieve out-group recognition from the Mexican-American community.”

Why do they say vos in Argentina?

One of the key grammatical differences between the Spanish of Argentina and other varieties of the language is in its use of vos as the second-person singular personal pronoun.In these areas, vos completely or partially replaces tú. In some places where vos is used, it takes the same verb forms as does tú.

Do Argentines use vos or Tu?

We use both “tú” and “vos” in informal contexts, but you will only hear the latter in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and some countries in Central America.

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Is vos slang?

So what in the world is VOS? “VOS” is the second-person singular pronoun – it replaces the more common pronoun “TÚ” that is used in most other Spanish-speaking countries. It is the equivalent of the English “YOU” when used to address a single individual.

Is Tu used in Spain?

In Spain, the singular second-person subject pronouns are tú (informal “you,” one person) and usted (formal “you,” one person). The plural forms are vosotros/vosotras (informal men or mixed groups/a group of all women) and ustedes (formal, group). Latin America is the same, except that vosotros typically isn’t used.

Where is El Voseo used?

Voseo is primarily used in Argentina, Paraguay, and parts of Uraguay, as well as a few other parts of Latin America. Here we will talk mainly of the form used in Argentina, where voseo is both spoken and written.

Is Vos used in El Salvador?

El Salvador, like most of Central America, uses voseo Spanish as its written and spoken form, similar to that of Argentina. Vos is used, but many Salvadorans understand tuteo. Vos can be heard in television programs and can be seen in written form in publications.

Are there other forms of address in Colombia?

“Tú” is the most common form of address in the northern coastal regions (e.g. Cartagena, Santa Marta), but “usted” is probably the predominate form of address in Colombia in general, though I’ve found “tú” more common amongst younger people.

How do you say cute in Colombia?

Cute=Linda/o, mono/a [monada] creo que es muy colombiano.

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Do Colombians talk fast?

Colombians (from the center of the country at least; less so along the coast) tend to be speak slowly and clearly. Even with only a limited knowledge of the language, you’ll have a much better chance of understanding Colombian conversation than you would of deciphering the rapid-fire chat of Spaniards or Chileans, say.

How do Colombians pronounce yo?

Colombians pronounce the double-L and y as a soft j sound, like the j in “jay”, e.g. “llegar” = “jay-gar”, “yo” = “joe”, etc.

Does Peru use tu?

However,Mexico and Peru, among others, use tú rather than vos, because they were the locations of the old viceroyalties and therefore kept in contact with the current language in Spain.An exception is the verb ser (to be); the tú form is eres and the vos form is sos.

Is vos used in Costa Rica?

Moreover, Costa Rica is not the only country to use vos. Much of Central America, parts of Colombia and most notably Argentina, among others, also use it. Mexico and Peru, however, do not.

Filed Under: Central and South America

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About Bridget Gibson

Bridget Gibson loves to explore the world. A wanderlust spirit, Bridget has journeyed to far-off places and experienced different cultures. She is always on the lookout for her next adventure, and she loves nothing more than discovering something new about life.

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