Why is there a "la" or "el" before someone's name?
I'm reading a novel for class, and I was wondering why the author writes peoples' names like "el papi", "la mami", "la Sophie", and "el Michael".
This is confusing me, because I don't think I've encountered this before. Is this typical in Spanish, or is there some extra meaning to putting the "el" or "la" before someone's name?
6 Answers
Normally thats a vulgarism of the language. We use it on the streets, if you are between friends: "¿Viste lo que hizo la Sofia?". But it is an incorrect usage.
Usually it is used with a nickname - el nick.
I have a friend whose name is Eduardo but his friends call him "el gato"
another one has a Russian father and he is called "el ruso"
It may be a vulgarism but it is very common.
My Spanish teacher says it's insulting, unless you're in an area which speaks Catalan, because the Catalans don't think it's insulting in Spanish since it's normal in Catalan.
So in most areas you should never call your friend "La Sophie" unless you're annoyed at her, it's like saying "That Sophie... she's a real piece of work! 
" but if they speak Catalan or something similar in the area their Spanish is going to be influenced by that and they use it neutrally because the nominative case in Catalan always requires articles.
el - is the boy la - is the girl
For example if you are saying icecream its : El helado. Because different objects have different genders, if you get what I mean. Normally boy objects end with an O , and girl objects end with an A, but this does not always workout.
You generally use "el" or "la" to describe the feminine or masculine form of a word, however, I do not recall the use of it with someone's name. You should substitute "el" for "señor" and "la" for "señora" or "señorita" to be safe. However, if you are describing a non-living object with a name, then you could use "el" or "la" before the name.
It varies because our whole world is based of sociology. It's just like asking " why does potato mean a certain type of vegetable."
