Expressing emotion through forms of address in Colombian Spanish

This study discusses the influence of affect in the interpretation and use of forms of address by a group of Spanish speakers in Bogotá, Colombia. It highlights the idea that, in contrast with the mere characterization of formal and/or informal offered by Spanish as a foreign language textbooks, forms of address can carry a multiplicity of social meanings and that speakers do not use these linguistic elements based on some pre-established rules but in ways that are indicative of their own linguistic and social identity as well as of their intentionality and feelings.