Leísmo
Spanish dialect feature / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Leísmo ("using le") is a dialectal variation in the Spanish language that occurs largely in Spain. It involves using the indirect object pronouns le and les in place of the (generally standard) direct object pronouns lo, la, los, and las, especially when the direct object refers to a male person or people.
This Usage in practice's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (October 2023) |
Leísmo with animate objects is both common and prescriptively accepted in many dialects spoken in Spain, but uncommon in most others. It thus typically correlates with the use of the preposition a for animate direct objects (for this "personal a", see Spanish prepositions). Leísmo is always rejected in linguistic prescription when the direct object to which it refers is not an animate object. For example:
- Veo al chico ("I see the boy") → Lo veo (standard Spanish, with lo)
- Veo al chico ("I see the boy") → Le veo (leísmo, common in Spain; other regions prefer lo veo)
- Veo el árbol ("I see the tree") → Le veo (not accepted in linguistic prescription — the tree is not a person)
Le and les are properly speaking the epicene indirect object pronouns, used for both masculine and feminine antecedents, whether animate or inanimate. In certain dialects the reverse occurs and the indirect object pronouns are replaced by lo, la, los, or las (loísmo and laísmo), but this usage is not accepted by the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy):
- Le voy a dar un regalo (a él/ella) ("I am going to give him/her a present", standard) → Lo voy a dar un regalo
- Dile que la quiero ("Tell her I love her", standard) → Dila que la quiero