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From: jkh107@netcom.com (Joy Haftel)
Subject: Re: You, Youse, ...All Y'all
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Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 17:08:46 GMT
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In article <DMHEIG.8q3@logic.uc.wlu.edu>,
Peter Hoogenboom <phoogenb@liberty.uc.wlu.edu> wrote:
>Peter Hullah (Peter.Hullah@eurocontrol.fr) wrote:
>: "You" is the second person plural - and second person formal. The English
>: equivalent of the French "vous" or the German "Sie". The second person singular

>German "sie" is not the second person plural, but the third person 
>plural.  Therefore, it's not equivalent to "you" or "vous."

German "Sie" is the 2nd person singular formal (I believe plural, too); 
"sie" is 3rd person singular feminine and plural for all genders; "du" is
informal singular; "euch" is informal plural. 

English has dropped its informal 2nd person singular (thou), and brought 
in the plural and formal (you) to do double duty as a 
formality-irrelevant singular and plural. Those of use who wish to 
distinguish the two add another word (all) or suffix (-s, -se) to make 
the distinction. I have heard "y'all" used as a singular, and it gives me 
the shivers.

But what I really want to know is, what is the usage for "ye" in Early 
Modern English (King James/Shakespeare era)?

Joy
