Laísmo and leísmo in Cecilia Valdés

Abstract

The antietymological trend in the use of the third person personal pronouns arose in medieval Castilian, but it didn’t extend to Andalusia, the Canary Islands or America. It is, therefore, surprising that numerous cases of leísmo and laísmo are found in Cecilia Valdés o La Loma del Ángel, a novel written by the Cuban Cirilo Villaverde (1812-1894). The alternations registered in the use of clitics in identical contexts demonstrate the author’s insecurity in the use of a pronominal system which is not typical of his regional variety but which he imitates in his literary variety because he considers it more prestigious.