Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!qantel!dual!mordor!ut-sally!utastro!bill From: bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys) Newsgroups: net.nlang Subject: Re: Second person singular Message-ID: <706@utastro.UUCP> Date: Thu, 12-Sep-85 18:11:14 EDT Article-I.D.: utastro.706 Posted: Thu Sep 12 18:11:14 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 15-Sep-85 10:02:36 EDT References: <2058@dutoit.UUCP> <3568@dartvax.UUCP> <1156@ihuxn.UUCP> Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX Lines: 32 > -- > > > I know several Philadelphia-area Quaker families who use > > > "plain speech" when addressing family members. The nominative > > > of the second person singular, among them, is "thee," as in, > > > "Ben, if thee doesn't stop that, I'm going to hit thee." > > > > > > Dennis Ritchie > > > Incidentally, I have heard "thee's", usually in contexts like "Thee's > > going to be quite surprised one of these days!" > > > > Elizabeth Hanes Perry > > Fascinating--the pronoun has been retained in both these instances, > but the declension ("thou"=subject, "thee"=object) has been lost. > And in the face of a grammatically irreproachable model (the Bible). > If this sloppier usage is real, Mr. Ritchie, how does thou explain it? > If it's sloppy reporting, Ms. Perry, shame on thee. Oddly enough, it's "thee" that I have always heard in both cases. I remember vaguely wondering about this once, but you don't get to hear the Plain Speech very often here in Texas. :-) -- Glend. I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hot. Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? -- Henry IV Pt. I, III, i, 53 Bill Jefferys 8-% Astronomy Dept, University of Texas, Austin TX 78712 (USnail) {allegra,ihnp4}!{ut-sally,noao}!utastro!bill (UUCP) bill@astro.UTEXAS.EDU. (Internet) Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com