Thee, thou, art, etc

[beads4prayer]

puzzleannie:

these pronouns come from the Germanic influence in middle English, to express intimate relationships (see Martin Buber on I-thou relationship with God), similar to difference between tu and usted in Spanish.

These forms have been out of general use for so long, that most consider them to be more “formal”!

The relationship between “tu” and “Usted” (in Spanish) is comparable to the relationship between “thou” and “you”; in German, it would be “Du” and “Sie”.

 

[CoG]

I like them and I hate to see them go out of style. I also feel that they have a different conation from every day use. I think it is good to be a little formal when speaking to God the Father just as you should show a little different respect for you parents then you do for you friends. In the same way I feel that I can be less formal with Christ, my brother. I just wish people would stop trying to make my religion more meaningful using their viewpoint of what is meaningful to them.

 

[Digitonomy]

beads4prayer:

These forms have been out of general use for so long, that most consider them to be more “formal”!

Very true, I certainly did. So I was surprised to read in Rudyard Kipling that Kim, the main character who has become a sahib (European in colonial India), takes offense when his driver calls him “thou” rather than the more formal “you.”