They're replacing "thee, thy, thou" with you and your

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Why? I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve said “Blessed art thou” and “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb” since forever. I cringe when I hear them subsitute “blessed are you” and “blessed is the fruit of your womb”. They even changed it in the hymn “o come Emmanuel”…to “rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to YOU, O Israel…” Why?:confused:
 
When TPTB decide on English changes, that’s it.

The Latin is still tu, te and tibi.
 
When TPTB decide on English changes, that’s it.
For an old timer not up on the latest, what does TPTB stand for? For what it’s worth, the use of you and your in prayer is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
 
It is OK to pray and sing in modern English.

You can still say the Hail Mary with thy and thou. I don’t know who “they” is, but if someone else says it with you and your, that is fine also. As for songs, if you mean the hymnal in your church, you’ll have to deal with others around you singing the words in the book. But if you are listening to the radio or a CD, just skip it. 😉
 
Why? I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve said “Blessed art thou” and “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb” since forever. I cringe when I hear them subsitute “blessed are you” and “blessed is the fruit of your womb”. They even changed it in the hymn “o come Emmanuel”…to “rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to YOU, O Israel…” Why?:confused:
I strongly prefer the older versions as well, but it is worth remembering two things. First, at the time the old versions were written, they were in “contemporary” language. They were not supposed to sound antique. Second, and more importantly, because the thee/thou forms have completely fallen out of use, they mainly serve to signal “old-fashionedness,” and so most people have a sense of them as imparting a great formality, like the language you would use to address King Arthur: “O sire, I am but thy humble liege!” In reality, however, you and your were the formal terms of address, while thee, thou, and thy were the intimate forms of address for use with family members or close friends, never with superiors (this is why the Quakers, the “Society of Friends” who do not recognize social distinctions, have continued to use these forms).

So you can see that it’s at least debatable whether it’s worth retaining the older forms just for posterity’s sake, when they now carry the exact opposite connotation than was intended. I cringe whenever I see traditionalists pine for the old thee/thou forms “because it is such a nobler way to address God, the modernists are bringing Him down to our level with their bland language,” etc., etc.
 
Why? I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve said “Blessed art thou” and “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb” since forever. I cringe when I hear them subsitute “blessed are you” and “blessed is the fruit of your womb”. They even changed it in the hymn “o come Emmanuel”…to “rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to YOU, O Israel…” Why?:confused:
Consider this: “thou/thy/thee/thine” is the singular-informal.
“you/your/yours” is the plural or singular-formal.
By using the y’s, we’re upping the reverence.
 
The Powers That Be, whoever that is. 🙂

It seems someone has to determine what’s archaic and what’s not, no?
The Powers That Be, whoever that is. 🙂

My first guess naturally would be the meddling ICEL
Any wonder why Catholics are confused by so many Catholic Bible versions
along with various scripture versions used in Lectionaries.

To me its what you grow-up with and are comfortable with.
Always have and always will love my Douay Rheims.
 
This is getting silly, after 1900 plus yrs we should have got this right. It’s just fuel for the Protestants.
 
I agree, it only sounds antique because its old. Back in the day it was contempory language.
 
Why? I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve said “Blessed art thou” and “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb” since forever. I cringe when I hear them subsitute “blessed are you” and “blessed is the fruit of your womb”. They even changed it in the hymn “o come Emmanuel”…to “rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to YOU, O Israel…” Why?:confused:
Why are you changing the Hail Mary or have I read it wrong?

We haven’t had to change ours.

:confused:
 
I don’t think you can blame the ICEL for dropping terms like “brake,” “begat,” “spake,” “abode,” “drive,” “bought,” “breast,” “shop” etc.

But you think this is bad. The differences between Old English and Middle English were much more pronounced. And they didn’t happen overnight either.

What we need is an official language which doesn’t change. 😃
I don’t have much problem with such Old English grammar terms.

My beloved belated father used to always say when I’d ask him what any word meant; Look it up in the dictionary son😃

He was right. Today I use an Old English Dictionary if I get stuck. French, English, Latin etc love dictionaries, thesauruses, concordance bibles etc. The older the better.

I’m not an Inclusive Language enthusiast nor do I care to be Politically correct.
 
centurionguard;8708803:
I don’t think you can blame the ICEL for dropping terms like “brake,” “begat,” “spake,” “abode,” “drave,” “boughten,” “brast,” “shope” etc.

But you think this is bad. The differences between Old English and Middle English were much more pronounced. And they didn’t happen overnight either.

What we need is an official language which doesn’t change. 😃
You mean like … (gasp) Latin???

🍿
 
Why are you changing the Hail Mary or have I read it wrong?

We haven’t had to change ours.

:confused:
I don’t know who started it; but this is what I’ve heard the last few times in my parish. Is the “Our Father” next? :eek:
 
I once felt the same about the thee and thou “comfort” I derived from the King James Version of the Bible when I was a fundamentalist protestant many years ago <I’m 60> . ( I converted, through the Mercy of God, to the Catholic Faith 25 years ago). Problem is, back then I could not have explained why I found comfort in it and the sense of “puritan exactness” it rendered. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), I was not asked. :rolleyes: At any rate, my humble opinion at this point is that if “comfort” was a virtue or a fruit of the Spirit, then I suppose The Lord Jesus would have commended his disciples for grabbing a nap in the Garden of His Agony. In the Gospels, Our Lord said that His words were “spirit and life”… and I reckon that holds true for the Polish, Portugese, Ukranian languages etc., every bit as much as for those whose native tongue happens to be english: thumbsup: No doubt, we are certainly free to prefer and use Old English in our devotional lives, but I’d wager that the blind man with his braile Bible and Missal finds a discussion like ours just a little peculiar:D

“We are weak, but HE is strong…”
 
They even changed it in the hymn “o come Emmanuel”…to “rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to YOU, O Israel…” Why?:confused:
Happy to report that in the parish where I attended Mass last night we sang “Rejoice, rejoice, O Israel, to thee shall come Emmanuel.”
 
The second person singular declension has disappeared from modern English and has been replaced by the second person plural. Just the natural development of the language. Years ago, the second person singular “thou” was used toward family members and close friends, toward children by adults and toward servants or slaves by masters. Note, it was a put-down outside close friends and family. Similarly, the second person plural was used by children toward unrelated adults, servants to masters, and acquaintances toward each other. Just the other side of the put-down. That so many people don’t know any of this is not unexpected.

So, historically, we used the “Thou” form addressing God - our Father. However, nowadays, no English native speaker uses the “Thou” form at all in conversation - or anywhere outside prayers. A post above notes the desire for an unchanging language. Maybe a dead language would work a bit better! 🙂

In any event - I don’t see any reason to get too disturbed by it. I prefer my prayers with the Thou forms, but can hardly argue about someone not using it, either.
 
Why? I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve said “Blessed art thou” and “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb” since forever. I cringe when I hear them subsitute “blessed are you” and “blessed is the fruit of your womb”. They even changed it in the hymn “o come Emmanuel”…to “rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to YOU, O Israel…” Why?:confused:
I miss the second person singular too, but then I’m an old curmudgeon. Heck, I’m even tempted to respond “Domine non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea,” at communion time.
 
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