I discovered something fascinating Like Spanish speakers in Philadelphia Address one another and communicate through public signs.
The discovery is a component of My research About language patterns in Philadelphia – and it seems what many students learn in Spanish class.
Do you remember the teachings wherein you will have learned to make use of the formal “US -Sted” with strangers and “Tú” with friends? Well, the signs on the streets of Philadelphia show that Spanish spokesman use pronouns in another way.
In Spanish, in contrast to modern English, the speakers have to make a choice from differing types “they” after they address someone. Some Spanish dialects use as much as 4 different forms – “Tú”, “Usted”, “Vos” and the Colombian “Sumercé” – however the Spanish speakers only write signs in Philadelphia: “Tú” and “Usted”.
But here it gets interesting: In Philadelphia, the selection between these forms doesn’t follow the normal rules that all of us considered.
What the signs tell us
According to evaluation of 250 characters in three districts with a substantial variety of Spanish speakers – the Golden Block in Northern Philadelphia; Olney in Northern Philadelphia; And the Italian market corridor of South Philadelpha – and online rooms resembling social media from various Hispanic organizations in town I discovered some surprising patterns on the right way to use these forms.
Bilingual signs, which were written in each Spanish and English, use the verb form related to formal “Usted” normally a store window wherein it’s announced: “Please wear a mask / porgunst, Uilice una mascarilla.” But only the informal “Tú” is commonly utilized in Spanish characters, even in the event that they cope with strangers. This questions the common assumption that we must always all the time use a proper language with those that we have no idea.
My study suggests the aim of the message that’s more necessary than formality. If you ask signs, you normally use “Usted”. But if you happen to attempt to persuade or invite people to do something, “Tú” is more common. An indication with the inscription “Please wait to sit” normally uses “Usted”, while one said: “Make us to our opening!” used “tú”.
The changing voice of a city
Philadelphia Spanish -speaking story extends to the late nineteenth century, whereby waves of migration bring different varieties of the Spanish language into town.
Puertorican communities arrived within the Nineteen Forties and 50s, followed by Colombian within the 70s and 80sand in recent times, Mexican and Central American immigrants In the early 2000s.
The lack of “VOS” in these signs is especially remarkable despite Philadelphia's significant Salvadoranian population that traditionally use this manner. This indicates that newer communities adapt their language in signs to town's more established Spanish -speaking groups.
Why is that necessary
These findings tell us something necessary about language in immigrant communities.
Instead of making a very latest dialect, the Spanish spokesman for Philadelphia find similarities in the best way they impart. It is a memory that language rules are sometimes more flexible than we expect, shaped by real use and never by textbook guidelines.
The next time you undergo Philadelphia's Spanish -speaking districts, listen to the signs around you. They not only give instructions or promoting services – they show us how language develops when different communities come together in a brand new home.
image credit : theconversation.com