Laísmo (la-ism) is the use of la and las as indirect objects in Spanish Language, as opposed to the conventional le and les.
It is an accepted usage in Castile, including Madrid. Other localities maintain some form of Latin declension, distinguishing between the difference between the difference casae of personal pronouns.
This change in personal pronoun usage is not suprising, as Spanish has tended to simplify Latin grammar.
The laísmo phenomenon is seen when la or las (feminine direct objects) is used in places where the indirect object is feminine and a Latin-based grammar would dictate le or les (indirect objects.)
This usage difference between the Spanish of Castile and other Spanish variants can cause misunderstanding. For example, when a speaker from Castile (a laísta, or "la-ist") says "la pegué," a non-laísta can not be sure of the meaning. "Pegué" means "I hit" or "I glued," but the standard speaker uses indirect objects when saying "hit" and direct objects when saying "glued." Therefore, the non-laísta may hear "I glued it" or "I hit her." Conversely, a laísta also can be confused by a non-laísta speaker. When a non-laísta says "le pegué," the laísta hears it as "I hit him" when the meaning to the speaker could be "I hit him" or "I hit her." Remember, laísmo only replaces feminine indirect objects (feminine "le" and "les") with "la" and "las." This example with "pegar" is especially confusing since it has multiple meanings, but these types of problems do crop up between speakers.
In non-laísmo Spanish variants, the indirect object pronouns "le" and "les" are ambiguous. To remove the ambiguity, often a prepositional phrase is used to clarify. The italicized phrase clarifies the indirect object pronoun "le" in the following sentence. "Le doy un beso a ella." ("To her I give her a kiss.") Without the "a ella", the kiss-receiver could be a male or female. The corresponding laísmo sentence would be: "La doy un beso." This is immediately clear as to who receives the kiss.
In spite of being the accepted form in Castile (and, by extension, in Madrid) and having considered it correct in its grammar book of 1771, the Real Academia Española condemned laísmo in 1796 and all subsequent grammars. The RAE frequently is attacked as being too focused on the Spanish of Madrid and Castile. Critics claim that its grammars do not reflect the Spanish of most Spanish speakers.
However, the RAE's condemnation has brought a stigma to laísmo and the laístas, including to those within Castile. Today, some speakers over-compensate for laísmo. Much like the English speaker who says "I" after being scolded for saying "me" where a subject pronoun was needed, some Spanish speakers now incorrectly use "le" in place of "la" after being reprimanded for the opposite error.
