Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
english.stackexchange.com
Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
1–10 of 200 posts
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#2I was happy to be surprised by the answer!
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#3We're very happy with y'all here in Texas.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#4I'm having trouble finding a reference, but it's my understanding that the Dissenter (later Quaker) habit of referring to everyone as 'thou' regardless of rank is precisely what lead to 'you' becoming universal. If one wasn't a Dissenter, one surely didn't want to be mistaken for such.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#5I keep being surprised this isn't common knowledge, but then I remember I married a Quaker
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#6We're very happy with y'all here in Texas.
[deleted]
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#7Nice to see English on here. I’m one of the more active users there (Jon Purdy) and it’s a great resource. :)
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#8We're very happy with y'all here in Texas.
I thought in Texas it was all y'all.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#9We're very happy with y'all here in Texas.
I'm gonna upvote that just for you being a Texan and all.
Re: Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?
#10Hemingway's abuse of language in For Whom the Bell Tolls always drove me. He uses you in place of tu and thou as usted.