Hello
I need to say from the start that I think SSiS is fantastic - what a resource!
I am up to lesson 20 in Level 1, and of course what I need is more and more practice at speaking.
I have one partner on babelvillage (amazing what you learn about on this site!).
However, I get the impression that native speakers are much more comfortable with the familiar form of address, rather than the polite form taught initially at least on SSiS.
Perhaps you have some comment on why the polite form was chosen for the initial lessons.
Great that youāre off to a good startā¦ thanks/diolch yn fawr iawn for the kind words!
Itās the kind of thing that will vary quite a lot from individual to individual - but we talked this through in detail before starting, and felt that in the experience of our Spanish speakers, it was better to start off with the formalā¦
It is quite difficult to know whether to use the polite form or the familiar. When I first came to live in Spain, I was surprised that shop assistants would quite matter-of-factly use the familiar form. Indeed, they would even address the customer by their first name. Perhaps this would be less the case in a town like Madrid, but here, out in the sticks, the familiar form is very prevalent. I still tend to use the polite form and it remains perfectly acceptable.
Yup, this kind of socially interactive stuff is always difficult - if itās any consolation (to anyone reading this and worrying about this stuff!), it can be difficult for first language speakers to decide sometimes as well, in any language where āyouā comes in different flavoursā¦
Adding my 2 centavos. Iām a native speaker from Central America (which is of course the best spanish there is ). Where Iām from, we tend to use the Usted form for anyone we donāt know, for acquaintances of the opposite sex or people who are āseniorā to us in some way. For friends or acquaintances who are of the same sex, we tend to use Tu and for very close friends or siblings, etc we tend to use Vos. However, youāll find that in some spanish speaking countires, Usted is used a little more commonly than this. However, in the south, (eg Argentina) they use the Vos form with just about everyone.
So, people are kinda used to hearing all forms but thereās a catch. I remember, the first couple of times I met an argentinian thinking that he was rude, speaking with the Vos form from the beginning (esp because I was kind of in a position of authority or seniority over him). Of course, I quickly learned that this was just normal for him.
The formal form will be understood by everyone, it is the most polite and appropriate in any circumstance. If I were designing a course, I would also start with Usted. Incidentally, my mother and sister are both Spanish teachers and they both recommend starting with Usted as well. Also, once youāre used to the Usted form, learning the Tu form is quite easy for most verbs.
). Where Iām from, we tend to use the Usted form for anyone we donāt know, for acquaintances of the opposite sex or people who are āseniorā to us in some way. For friends or acquaintances who are of the same sex, we tend to use Tu and for very close friends or siblings, etc we tend to use Vos. However, youāll find that in some spanish speaking countires, Usted is used a little more commonly than this. However, in the south, (eg Argentina) they use the Vos form with just about everyone.