A Conversation for Challenge h2g2
Challenge: Thou!
Malabarista - now with added pony Started conversation Jun 25, 2008
So many people use "thou" wrong - and especially the verb conjugations that go with it. Happens a lot in "medieval-ish" writing in comics and books, or when people are trying to write "eleventh commandments" and things like that. And few realise it's actually the *informal* mode of address...
Not sure I'm up to writing an entry all by myself, but if anyone would write something I could point people to I'd be grateful... I'd be willing to collaborate, too 
Challenge: Thou!
Otto Fisch ("Stop analysing Strava.... and cut your hedge") Posted Jun 25, 2008
I thought 'thou' was used when speaking to a social inferior, rather than being informal as such - at least that's what I think I remember from studying Shakespeare. I guess there is an informality in speaking to servants etc as opposed to the formality of court, but I don't think it's quite the same as "tu" and "vous" in French in terms of the informal/formal distinction.
Challenge: Thou!
Malabarista - now with added pony Posted Jun 25, 2008
Nearly the same, yes - like "Du" and "Sie" in German - the formal is a plural, except that "Sie" is "they" rather than "you" Or like "jij" and "U" in Dutch.
"Thou" is also correctly used between equals in a less formal setting.
In German, servants used to be addressed as "he" or "she", even when speaking directly to them 
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Challenge: Thou!
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