Linguistic attitudes in Argentina between 1700 and 1850

Abstract

This paper analizes linguistic attitudes in three meaningful moments of Argentine social history, which allows us to appreciate people’s ideologies, beliefs, social and cultural prejudices which would determine their use of vocabulary and forms of address, thus enabling us to notice their preferences concerning forms of «voseo» or of «tuteo», courtesy or atenuation in their interaction. Considering the first moment —between 1700 and the end of Spanish domination—, we took into consideration the behavior of the colonials when interacting within a variety of human groups coming from different extraction (Spaniards, Creoles, Blacks and Indians). Whenever these contacts take place, what is most noticeable is the attitude of superiority and power of the Spaniards towards the other members of the colonial society. In the second period we can appreciate linguistic attitudes connected with a feeling of patriotic identity which becomes the trademark in the Argentine intelligentsia within their socio-cultural atmosphere in order to mark a difference from Europeans, trying to adopt linguistic practices which show lexical acquisition of Illuministic terms, approximately until 1830. Finally, the third moment, which ends in 1850, we are faced with linguistic attitudes which favor the «americanization» of Spanish. This stage allows us to register how the Argentinian lingüistic traits reach a definition within a context in which Romanticism helps to emphasize what belongs to us, what is natural for us, as it happens with the acceptance of the seseo.