The Forms of Address from Don Ǫuijote to Sancho Panza in Ǫuijote

politeness, communicative distance, and the restoration of knightly values

Abstract

When reading Cervantes, we observe his skill in creating dialogues that adapt to the linguistic varieties characteristic of the different social spheres represented by his characters. The author of Quijote, who was so interested in the language of his time, takes care, when constructing his characters’ interactions, to adapt forms of address to the various conversational dynamics in use. Cervantes is among the authors most frequently cited in studies of forms of address in classical Spanish. Given the large number of studies on the phenomenon that have analyzed Quijote, this paper aims to investigate the reasons that lead Don Quixote to replace the usual tuteo to address Sancho Panza with voseantes modalities in situations verified in the first and second parts of Quijote, in chapters X-I; XX-I and XXX-I and XXVIII-II and LXIII-II. Based on a qualitative analy- sis of data extracted from the critical edition of Quijote by the Cervantes Institute (1997-2025), it was possible to obtain a sample of the influence that communicative situations can have on the use of forms of address. In this study, chapters XX-I, XXX-I, and XXVIII-II show that the knight uses voseo in an “extra-estamental” function to mark Sancho’s lower social position. In chapters X-I and LXIII-II, on the other hand, vos assumes the “intra-estamental” function, characteristic of the sixteenth century, since it seems to indicate politeness and closeness between Don Quixote and his squire.