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From: kreme@netcom.com (Cerebus The Aardvark)
Subject: Re: You, Youse, ...All Y'all
Message-ID: <kremeDMI1Gz.GKu@netcom.com>
Organization: Nyx, the spirit of the Night (telent nyx.cs.du.edu)
References: <4f813a$t5f@cronkite.cisco.com> <1996Feb8.194946.1@ahecas>
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 08:12:34 GMT
Lines: 27
Sender: kreme@netcom4.netcom.com

williamsg@ahecas.ahec.edu (Gary Williams, Business Services Accounting) writes:

>In article <4f813a$t5f@cronkite.cisco.com>, jahlstro@cisco.com (John Ahlstrom) 
>writes:
>> It seems to me that there is a very definite pattern in some
>> American English to use the second person plural pronoun 
>> as the second person singular, then to generate a new, distinct
>> form for the plural, then to begin using that in the singular,

>I think you're right.  English is not the only language to exhibit this
>phenomenon.  Spanish did it for certain, and I think several other European
>languages have as well.

Spanish?  Spanish has distinct form for the second preson plural and
singular, as a matter of fact, it has two forms for each.

In the singular, there is Tu and Usted.  In the plural, there is Vostoros
and Ustedes.  In sevelar dialects, Vosotros is hardly ever used (Mexican
dialect, for example almost never uses the vosotros form).

I've never heard anyone say "Ustedes" when they mean a single person.

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