The tuteo of Rocha, Uruguay

Although Uruguay is generally considered voseante, its easternmost department of Rocha is known for its seemingly stable tuteo (T-T). The evidence of a stable tuteo in Rocha to date has been anecdotal. Weyers (2014) studied teenagers’ attitudes toward second person singular forms and found that young speakers in Rocha have a strong sense of pride in their tuteo and link it to their identity. At the same time, they demonstrate openness toward the voseo of Montevideo. The current study builds on Weyers (2014). Here, 55 informants participated in a two-part survey. The first part includes Weyers’ (2014) linguistic attitudes survey in part, the results for which are corroborated by this more heterogeneous sample. The second part was an elicitation task for which speakers produced second person singular imperatives or present indicative forms. The findings show that while tuteo forms are generally preferred, nearly half of the informants preferred the voseo form of ser in an elicitation task. Younger speakers, primarily male, were more apt to prefer sos over eres, citing its sense of informality to the tuteo’s formality. The data from the current study suggest that Rocha’s tuteo might not be as stable as commonly thought. This study provides a foundation for subsequent research on the potential for a future shift from tuteo to voseo.

Published online: 25 May 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.8.13wey