Old English

[chrispenycate]

And shouldst thou decide to express in second person
(For even then it was decision, not enforced)
Remember, madame, that my present use is falshe - the thou doth indicate age instructing youth, or rank addressing commons.

So speech respectous between those of like rank, and age
Would only use 'thee, thou' if they were family, or closest friends.
And even now, in Yorkshire, where the usage still persists,
'Tha art' is speaking down to someone.

And, mentioning regional dialects, they were more numerous and more diverse than now, so nobles frequently would converse
In Norman French (itself a ******* tongue) or learnèd Latin, even Greek,
Rather than attempt to follow local peasant usage, foreign to their ear.

Standardisation was not widely int'resting, as distant villagers rarely traveled, save to war.

 

[Jennifer L. Carson]

the thou doth indicate age instructing youth, or rank addressing commons.

Hi chrispenycate. Yes indeed, much like the German du/sie, which is where I was originally introduced to the concept. And it is this concept which made me want to use it for a high court scene to give a formality to it...kinda like the white wigs in English courtrooms, a nod to the past. I'm also good with the application of thy and thine, my and mine, since if follows the rules of a/an (or the [thee]/the [thuh], or even the application of "r" at the end of a word in nonrhotic dialects like where I grew up in Massachusetts ). I have the inflections for the conjugation of simple verbs right I think in most cases, but it's the less than simple ones that are getting me!

'Tha art' is speaking down to someone.

Oh yeah, I have fun with that in another scene where the King and Queen are fighting in private and she "thou's" him when she mocks him.

I knew that the court language of England was Norman French starting in 1066 and persisting, for 200 or so years was it? So yeah, I know nobles spoke it once upon a time.

And even today, standardization only goes so far...I could not for the life of me understand more than one in three or four words the shuttle driver spoke when I travelled in the south this summer. Funny thing is I spent three weeks all over England and Wales, and never had trouble understanding anyone there in another country, yet in my own back yard... But your right to remind on that front, it's a much more standard world than the time you refer to.

Thanks again chrispenycate, it's fun to blather on about the English language and nice to find someone else to do it with! But then, I knew the Chron would be the right place.