History of English: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|Ye knowe eek<ref>also</ref>, that in forme of speche is chaunge<ref>pronounced <big>''chon-j''</big> </ref> |
{{quote|Ye knowe eek<ref>also</ref>, that in forme of speche is chaunge<ref>pronounced <big>''chon-j''</big> </ref> |
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With-inne a thousand yeer, and wordes tho |
With-inne a thousand yeer, and wordes tho |
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Like many west Indo-European languages, English used to have both ''singular'' and ''plural'' modes of address: English "thou", like French "tu", Spanish "tú", and German "du" were all used when speaking to (singular) intimates and social inferiors; while English "you", French "vous", Spanish "vosotros"<ref>Spanish has evolved, too; "usted", a contraction of "vuestra merced", "Your mercy", eventually became its third person singular pronoun. "Vosotros" found a new role as the second person plural pronoun.</ref>, and German "Ihr" were used when speaking to more than one person, as well as (singular) individuals who did not fall into the previous categories--especially someone of higher social rank. Unlike most of those, English has lost its singular mode ("thou") and now uses the plural mode ("you") exclusively. |
Like many west Indo-European languages, English used to have both ''singular'' and ''plural'' modes of address: English "thou", like French "tu", Spanish "tú", and German "du" were all used when speaking to (singular) intimates and social inferiors; while English "you", French "vous", Spanish "vosotros"<ref>Spanish has evolved, too; "usted", a contraction of "vuestra merced", "Your mercy", eventually became its third person singular pronoun. "Vosotros" found a new role as the second person plural pronoun.</ref>, and German "Ihr" were used when speaking to more than one person, as well as (singular) individuals who did not fall into the previous categories--especially someone of higher social rank. Unlike most of those, English has lost its singular mode ("thou") and now uses the plural mode ("you") exclusively. |
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The singular-plural distinction as a marker of ''politeness'' in western Indo-European languages originated in the later stages of Latin, specifically in reference to the Emperor (who was referred to directly by the plural "vos" rather than the singular "tu" (hence "t-v"). (Latin of earlier stages, notably that of the Catholic Bible, had yet to develop this distinction, resulting in even the Judeo-Christian God being referred to with the singular "tu".) This eventually spread to the rest of the aristocracy, and became a standard feature of etiquette. |
The singular-plural distinction as a marker of ''politeness'' in western Indo-European languages originated in the later stages of Latin, specifically in reference to the Emperor (who was referred to directly by the plural "vos" rather than the singular "tu" (hence "t-v"). (Latin of earlier stages, notably that of the Catholic Bible, had yet to develop this distinction, resulting in even the Judeo-Christian God being referred to with the singular "tu".) This eventually spread to the rest of the aristocracy, and became a standard feature of etiquette. |
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When vulgar Latin evolved into proto-Romance, the distinction was carried over, and the t-v distinction passed on into French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and so on. In other Indo-European languages like the Germanic branch, it was traditionally perfectly acceptable for a subject to refer to his king in the second person singular when speaking to him. Following the Norman conquest, the French t-v distinction was loosely imposed on top of English customs, but it was fairly rare until perhaps the end of the early-modern period, when France was a dominant cultural power. Other languages in the French sphere of influence (such as German) adopted the distinction fairly normally. However, in a misguided attempt to outdo each other in fashionability, the higher end of the social order in England abandoned the use of thou/thee/thy ''altogether'', and since the dialect they spoke eventually became the spoken standard, most variants of the language lost the distinction entirely. |
When vulgar Latin evolved into proto-Romance, the distinction was carried over, and the t-v distinction passed on into French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and so on. In other Indo-European languages like the Germanic branch, it was traditionally perfectly acceptable for a subject to refer to his king in the second person singular when speaking to him. Following the Norman conquest, the French t-v distinction was loosely imposed on top of English customs, but it was fairly rare until perhaps the end of the early-modern period, when France was a dominant cultural power. Other languages in the French sphere of influence (such as German) adopted the distinction fairly normally. However, in a misguided attempt to outdo each other in fashionability, the higher end of the social order in England abandoned the use of thou/thee/thy ''altogether'', and since the dialect they spoke eventually became the spoken standard, most variants of the language lost the distinction entirely. |
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(Interestingly, something similar happened in Argentina: people of equal rank or with an existing intimacy address each other with the once formal "vos", now regarded as an even more intimate, less formal pronoun than tú. The usage of "vos" is called "voseo".) |
(Interestingly, something similar happened in Argentina: people of equal rank or with an existing intimacy address each other with the once formal "vos", now regarded as an even more intimate, less formal pronoun than tú. The usage of "vos" is called "voseo".) |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:Useful Notes]] |
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[[Category:Hollywood History]] |
[[Category:Hollywood History]] |
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[[Category:History of English]] |
[[Category:History of English]] |
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