The volume provides the first systematic comparative approach to the history of forms of
address in Portuguese and Spanish in their European and American varieties. Both languages
share a common history-e.g. the personal union of Philipp II of Spain and Philipp I of
Portugal the parallel colonization of the Americas by Portugal and Spain the long-term
transformation from a feudal to a democratic system-in which crucial moments in the diachrony
of address took place. To give one example empirical data show that the puzzling late spread
of Sp. usted 'you (formal polite)' and Pt. você 'you' across America can be explained for both
languages by the role of the political and military colonial administration. To explore these
new insights the volume relies on an innovative methodology as it links traditional
downstream diachrony with upstream diachronic reconstruction based on synchronic variation.
Including theoretical reflections as well as fine-grained empirical studies it brings together
the most relevant authors in the field.
