Loísmo
Encyclopedia
Loísmo, with its feminine counterpart laísmo, is a feature of certain dialects of Spanish
consisting of the use of the pronouns lo or la (which are normally used for direct objects) in place of the pronoun le (which is used for indirect objects). Loísmo and laísmo are almost entirely restricted to some dialects in central Spain; they're virtually absent from formal and written Spanish.
A simple example of loísmo and laísmo would be saying lo hablé (lit. "I spoke him") or la hablé (lit. "I spoke her") where a speaker of a dialect without loísmo would say le hablé (lit. "I spoke to him/her").
This effectively means the loss of a declension
al case marker. The difference between lo (accusative case
) and le (dative case
) are holdovers from Latin declension
. The general trend in the evolution of Spanish has been to drop such declensions, but most dialects of Spanish have preserved this feature for object pronouns. It just happens that speakers with loísmo have further lost this distinction.
Another effect of loísmo and laísmo is that the gender of the indirect object is clearer than it would be using le. One issue with non-loísmo dialects is that the le pronoun is ambiguous, as it does not specify gender. For example, le doy un beso can mean "I give him a kiss", "I give her a kiss", or even "I give you (formal) a kiss". One way around this ambiguity is to clarify the pronoun with a prepositional phrase; for our example, this would mean le doy un beso a él, le doy un beso a ella, or le doy un beso a usted, respectively. Since lo indicates masculine and la indicates feminine, using loísmo and laísmo means that this clarification is not necessary.
Loísmo can also seemingly change the meaning of certain phrases, since some verbs take on a different meaning based on the case of their objects. For example, le pegué means "I struck him", but a speaker with loísmo would say lo pegué, which literally means "I pasted/stuck him (onto something)" in dialects without loísmo.
listed loísmo and laísmo as correct in 1771; however, it condemned its usage in 1796. It currently recognizes it as a vulgarism
.
The lack of acceptance from the RAE has caused a certain classist or social stigma to be attached to loísmo and those who use it. This often leads to hypercorrection
, with loístas choosing the le pronoun even for direct objects as a form of leísmo
. It has also been a source for some criticism of the RAE itself.
(in Spanish)
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
consisting of the use of the pronouns lo or la (which are normally used for direct objects) in place of the pronoun le (which is used for indirect objects). Loísmo and laísmo are almost entirely restricted to some dialects in central Spain; they're virtually absent from formal and written Spanish.
A simple example of loísmo and laísmo would be saying lo hablé (lit. "I spoke him") or la hablé (lit. "I spoke her") where a speaker of a dialect without loísmo would say le hablé (lit. "I spoke to him/her").
This effectively means the loss of a declension
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
al case marker. The difference between lo (accusative case
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
) and le (dative case
Dative case
The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given, as in "George gave Jamie a drink"....
) are holdovers from Latin declension
Latin declension
Latin is an inflected language, and as such has nouns, pronouns, and adjectives that must be declined in order to serve a grammatical function. A set of declined forms of the same word pattern is called a declension. There are five declensions, which are numbered and grouped by ending and...
. The general trend in the evolution of Spanish has been to drop such declensions, but most dialects of Spanish have preserved this feature for object pronouns. It just happens that speakers with loísmo have further lost this distinction.
Another effect of loísmo and laísmo is that the gender of the indirect object is clearer than it would be using le. One issue with non-loísmo dialects is that the le pronoun is ambiguous, as it does not specify gender. For example, le doy un beso can mean "I give him a kiss", "I give her a kiss", or even "I give you (formal) a kiss". One way around this ambiguity is to clarify the pronoun with a prepositional phrase; for our example, this would mean le doy un beso a él, le doy un beso a ella, or le doy un beso a usted, respectively. Since lo indicates masculine and la indicates feminine, using loísmo and laísmo means that this clarification is not necessary.
Loísmo can also seemingly change the meaning of certain phrases, since some verbs take on a different meaning based on the case of their objects. For example, le pegué means "I struck him", but a speaker with loísmo would say lo pegué, which literally means "I pasted/stuck him (onto something)" in dialects without loísmo.
Loísmo and the Real Academia Española
The Real Academia EspañolaReal Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
listed loísmo and laísmo as correct in 1771; however, it condemned its usage in 1796. It currently recognizes it as a vulgarism
Vulgarism
A vulgarism , also called scurrility, is a colloquialism of an unpleasant action or unrefined character, which substitutes a coarse, indecorous word where the context might lead the reader to expect a more refined expression.-See also:*Euphemism*Grotesque body*Ribaldry, scatology, toilet...
.
The lack of acceptance from the RAE has caused a certain classist or social stigma to be attached to loísmo and those who use it. This often leads to hypercorrection
Hypercorrection
In linguistics or usage, hypercorrection is a non-standard usage that results from the over-application of a perceived rule of grammar or a usage prescription...
, with loístas choosing the le pronoun even for direct objects as a form of leísmo
Leísmo
Leísmo is a dialectal variation in the Spanish language that occurs largely in Spain. It involves using the indirect object pronoun le in place of the masculine direct object pronoun lo, especially when the direct object refers to a male person.Leísmo with animate objects is both common and...
. It has also been a source for some criticism of the RAE itself.
External links
Articles in the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas of the Real Academia EspañolaReal Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
(in Spanish)