From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!floyd!vax135!houxi!ihnss!michael Newsgroups: net.followup Title: Re: English language Article-I.D.: ihnss.3422 Posted: Fri May 14 11:25:33 1982 Received: Sat May 15 01:02:29 1982 Besides a singular form for social equals and inferiors (thee), English also had a corresponding plural form -- ye. "You" was used strictly to denote respect. In Spanish, "thee" corresponds to "tu," "ye" corresponds to "vosotros," and "you" corresponds to "usted" and "ustedes." "Vosotros" has already gone the way of "ye" in most Spanish-speaking countries. A couple of summers ago I was speaking to some Spaniards on a Spanish train. They were bemoaning a trend of using "usted" to the exclusion of the familiar "tu," since such unrestricted use removes any connotation of respect. So the Spanish "tu" may well go the way of "thou." Mike Morgan