Not all Spanish is the Same

                I have been speaking Spanish my whole life, and I have spoken to people in Spanish all the time. I know that each country of Spanish speaking origin have their own slang, that sometimes may confuse me. I know that any slang I use may not always be understood because I am speaking Honduran Spanish. I always thought that, that was the only thing I had to worry about when speaking Spanish, but I was wrong. I was at work when a coworker spoke to m, asking for some information. The only difference from any usual talks we have had was this time we spoke in Spanish, and I answered her using "usted" the second person singular, or you. She was upset and told me that she was not an old person, so I should not call her that.

                She informed me that Dominicans use "usted" only when talking to older people. This confused me as Hondurans use "usted" when speaking to any person we do not know well. We use "tu" when we know the person well, and we use "vos" to close friends and family. After doing research I have found that there are some other countries that have started using this method of speaking. It is the Honduras and neighboring Spanish countries that use a three tired system when using the second person singular.

Griffin,Wendy. “'Vos' is Good Form in Honduras," Honduras Weekly 2013 Web.