1. Usted, Tú, Vos - Challenges for English-to-
Spanish Translation
This article was originally published on the Acclaro blog.
Category: Translator's Corner
Your high school Spanish has probably been retired to some remote corner of your mind that
you visit only occasionally by necessity. Even so, you likely remember the challenges of learning
this rich and beautiful language that so many Americans claim is „easy‟. In reality, Spanish is
much more complex than the layman realizes and its structure varies greatly from one country
to another. The vocabulary, idioms and even grammatical forms are very different in Spain and
Mexico, for example – lo pasé bien in Spain is la pasé bien in Mexico. Taking these subtleties
and nuances into account and choosing the correct target audience are keys to successful
English-to-Spanish translation.
One of the elements of Español that varies greatly
across dialects and borders is the use of pronouns -
usted, tú and vos. Could anything be more
fundamental to a sentence than the pronoun? This
particular grammatical element is absolutely crucial
and yet its application is very culture-specific.
Though we do not have this distinction in English, we
can appreciate the difference in tone between „you
guys‟ and „you‟. When addressing members of the
board of your company, it's unlikely that you'd ask, “So how are you guys doing today?” The
formal and informal tone is even more developed in Spanish and is nuanced uniquely in
each hispanohablante country.
In Spain, for example, tú has become commonplace and usted is quickly being phased out of
communication, much to older generation Spaniards‟ surprise and often chagrin. Radio
Nacional hosted a program last night for the elderly, who were supposed to call in with words of
wisdom for the next generation. It was surprising to hear the host of the radio and the elderly
folks address each other using the informal tú as early as the introduction phase– “cómo te
llamas” and “cuántos años tienes?” Usted was nowhere to be found or heard.
This is a recent phenomenon in Spain – dating back to the 1930s when social equality took on
new importance in the shifting political landscape of the country. Before the 30s, students at the
Page 1: Usted, Tú, Vos - Challenges for English-to-Spanish Translation Copyright © Acclaro 2012

2. university would refer to each other as usted; tú was for God, the family and intimacy. Over the
next several decades, it became progressively more commonplace to refer to friends as tú.
Grandparents, professors and other respected professionals followed suit and finally total
strangers were given the tuteo in the last ten years or so. The higher the social class, the
more túhas come to dominate. Today it would be quite odd to call a friend usted in Spain.
By contrast, in Colombia, usted is often used among family members and friends to express
trust, intimacy, solidarity and confidence. Brothers will call each other usted – which to an
outside observer from Madrid would make them seem like strangers from another era. The use
of tú is a bit more frequent among women and higher social classes but in general, usted is the
default pronoun in Colombia.
The equation gets more complicated when you add vos. Vos is from Old Spanish and can be
heard in isolated areas of Spain and Colombia but is more common in countries like Argentina,
Uruguay and Paraguay where it has completely replaced tú in the written word.
In Guatemala, vos is used between a man and a woman who have established a relationship but
as they are getting to know each other, they‟ll use tú. Among men, the use of tú is a sign of
homosexuality (via Wikipedia en español). In Nicuaragua, vos is informal and usted is
formal; tú is basically extinct. The same goes for Costa Rica where tú is avoided completely.
The map of pronoun usage is even more complex when you consider variances within a given
country linked to social status, sex and geography. This is certainly something to take into
consideration as a tourist but the stakes are higher if you are taking your business global and
need a culturally appropriate message for each country you plan to target.
Given the lack of a universal standard for pronoun usage in Spanish, the goal of crafting a
message that will bear the same emotional and cultural weight in every country is
ambitious. Localization, which goes beyond translation, is necessary to fine-tune your message
to specific countries, keeping in mind these very pronounced linguistic differences.
At the very least, investing in effective localization will spare you the embarrassment of
committing tiny linguistic blunders or transmitting a bland message that is either irrelevant or
incomprehensible.
Ask your translation partner today how to best adapt your website, ad campaigns, marketing
docs and ecommerce platform to the various Spanish-speaking markets. You will see that
getting your pronouns right will lead to success!
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3. About Acclaro: Acclaro is an international translation and localization company that
helps the world‟s leading brands succeed across cultures. We specialize in website
translation, marketing translations, document translation and software localization to
give clients an authentic voice in key language markets.
North America: 1-866-468-5106 Worldwide: +1-914-468-0222
www.acclaro.comsales@acclaro.com
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