[Lexicog] The Irony of Thou

[Fritz Goerling]

Maybe there can be different ways of addressing a dog, witness the
Tunisian/Moroccan proverb:

"To the dog who has money, men say: my lord dog."

 

Fritz Goerling

 

Chaz Mortensen wrote:

 

In Colombia, where I consider the best Spanish in the world to be 
spoken, the forms of address pretty much follow what you learn in the 
textbooks: "usted" for formal, "tu" for informal. In some regions 
"vos" is used instead of 'tu'. The explanation? Colombia is very 
regionalized and stratified. Some interesting observations:
-Colombians address their dogs with "usted".



Mike Maxwell wrote:


A broad generalization is that in Costa Rica, which I would say in some 
ways is the most democratic of Central American countries, the formal 
form (Usted) is ousting the familiar form (tu). The actuality is 
perhaps more complex, but I've heard that many Costa Riquences even use 
Usted with their pets.
-- 




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