Proposta de análise estilística para o estudo da variação entre as formas de tratamento tú e usted

Abstract

Pointed out by several authors, among them Hora (2014), the stylistic dimension of variation has been superficially addressed in sociolinguistic studies. This is even more evident when it comes to the alternation between the treatment forms in Spanish, given that the amount of researches which control factors of this nature are very limited regarding the literature on this topic. Therefore, this paper proposes a stylistic analysis applied to the variation between the treatment forms tú and usted in peninsular Spanish; about this variety, as Calderón Campos and Medina Morales (2010) point out, there is only a scarce bibliography of variationist studies when it is compared to other varieties of Spanish. We have the theoretical contribution of Labov (1972, 2001, 2008), Bell (1984), Eckert (2001) and Schilling-Estes (2002), who present different approaches to stylistic variation. Moreover, we briefly discuss the stylistic dimension in the studies on the treatment forms in Spanish. Finally, we propose a methodology of analysis of the variations between the mentioned forms from the stylistic variable: discursive style, complexity of the subject and the relation between the interlocutors, to be applied and tested in future research. We deeply hope, with this study, to contribute to the discussions and reflections on the stylistic variation regarding the treatment forms in the Hispanic world, as well as to offer new possibilities of analysis of these phenomena.