Re: How and why did English lose "thou"

guido wugi <wugi@brol.invalid> wrote:

Op 21/05/2025 om 1:11 schreef Christian Weisgerber:

On 2025-05-20, Grimble Crumble <grimblecrumble870@gmail.com> wrote:
 

In EmE, there were 2 distinct pronouns that translate to "you" in Modern
English: thou, used in the singular; and ye, used in the plural/formal
singular. This is a common distinction in other languages (Spanish, German,
French, etc.), so how come "thou" was lost?

Inflation.  A common driver of language change, too.  The plural
was used as a form of respect when addressing superiors, cf. French
"vous".  In fact, the usage may have been copied from French.
[...]

 
I'm pretty sure it has, in an epoch when French lifestyle and language
were imitated everywhere.The same happened in Dutch: "du" was replaced
by plural "ghi". In Flanders this became "gij", which served all uses of
Fr. "tu" and "vous", including Biblical "thou". In Holland "gij" got
stuck to Biblical use, and for the rest evolved to "jij" with its own
conjugation, for singular "tu". Now there was a need for a plural, which
became "jullie" (< jij lieden, you folks). And for a polite form, which
became "u" (< Uwe < Uwé < U.E.= Uw Edelheid, your nobility).
Since 'standardisation' of the language was teached in Flanders, we're
now in a real messing up stage of use, of gij-u(w) with jij-je forms, of
gij-u with jullie-je (and zich, 3d p.!) forms, etc.
 

The French sure seem to bring chaos everywhere they touch. It's crazy
looking back even at the sheer amount of influence they had
internationally.

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