Story, style, and structure

This study analyses variation and change in Uruguayan Spanish address between formal (usted) and informal variants (tú, vos). It focusses on address representations in children’s literature written between 1918 and 1973 – foundational texts that helped consolidate national identity. Our study answers the following questions: (a) What were the most frequent pronominal and verbal address forms employed in early Uruguayan children’s literature? (b) What were their pragmatic and stylistic contexts of use? And (c) To what extent did those forms and uses differ from their contemporary counterparts? The second-person pronouns and verbs from eleven children’s books were analysed quantitatively to establish frequencies. We found that early children’s literature presented usted and tú as the urban norm. Vernacular vos was practically absent until the 1940s, and afterwards it was found only in specific constrained contexts. This differs markedly from contemporary literature for children, which favours voseo and reflects orality quite accurately.