Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
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Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
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Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#2Thee and Thou are still used in Northern England (Yorkshire and Lancashire). Although probably only by older people and often spoken as Thi and Tha.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#3Thee and Thou are still used in Northern England (Yorkshire and Lancashire). Although probably only by older people and often spoken as Thi and Tha.
Interesting, and are those used as the informal you? Or in reference to singular?
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#4"You" is the formal version. But as the answers explain, English did also have the informal version.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#5I had never until just now considered the possibility that “you” might be the thorn misprint of “thou”, just like how in “ye olde shoppe” was (according to legend) pronounced “the old shop” because Y got used in printing presses as a stand-in for the thorn “Þ” character they didn’t have, that looks kinda-sorta like a Y.
Seems like the answers suggest I’m just imagining something that didn’t happen, but it was a fun thought.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#6In German, we use "sie" the German equivalent of "they".
Thus, to be polite, you address someone as many people that aren't part of the conversation.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#7Second person pronouns are so fascinating!
Not only is "you" the formal, polite plural form, but calling someone "thou" was also seen as so informal as to be rude (in verb form, to "thou" someone). This has a modern equivalent in the term "tutoyer" in French.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/thou
An interesting counterpoint is the usage in Japanese of sarcastically polite forms like お前 and 貴様, where you use a pronoun with a surface meaning of extreme respect, as a form of insult.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#8Second person pronouns are so fascinating! Not only is "you" the formal, polite plural form, but calling someone "thou" was also seen as so informal as to be rude (in verb form, to "thou" someone). This has a modern equivalent in the term "tutoyer" in French. https://www.etymonline.com/word/thou An interesting counterpoint is the usage in Japanese of sarcastically polite forms like お前 and 貴様, where you use a pronoun…
Shipmate is used to describe someone who you crew a ship with, such as in the navy, and is supposed to convey comradery.
E xcept in its real world use, where its the social equivalent of referring to someone as "s**head".
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#9In German, we use "sie" the German equivalent of "they". Thus, to be polite, you address someone as many people that aren't part of the conversation.
Dutch is similar with “U” being both singular and plural. Verb conjugation is the same for both cases.
This has been interesting as an English speaker learning Dutch! Luckily I never really latched on to sms-speak but I can imagine some cohorts of English speakers have to break the habit of reading “u” as shorthand for the the full word.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)
#10"You" is the formal version. But as the answers explain, English did also have the informal version.
Yes. We think of "thee" and "thou" as being formal, because nowadays they are mainly found in religious texts. But they used to be informal, used when addressing friends and children. As the top answer explains, "thee" and "thou" eventually came to be considered rude.