Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!qantel!dual!mordor!ut-sally!utastro!bill
From: bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Second person singular
Message-ID: <706@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Sep-85 18:11:14 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.706
Posted: Thu Sep 12 18:11:14 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Sep-85 10:02:36 EDT
References: <2058@dutoit.UUCP> <3568@dartvax.UUCP> <1156@ihuxn.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 32

> --
> > > I know several Philadelphia-area Quaker families who use
> > > "plain speech" when addressing family members.  The nominative
> > > of the second person singular, among them, is "thee," as in,
> > > "Ben, if thee doesn't stop that, I'm going to hit thee."
> > > 
> > > 	Dennis Ritchie
>  
> > Incidentally, I have heard "thee's", usually in contexts like "Thee's
> > going to be quite surprised one of these days!"
> >  
> > Elizabeth Hanes Perry                        
> 
> Fascinating--the pronoun has been retained in both these instances,
> but the declension ("thou"=subject, "thee"=object) has been lost.
> And in the face of a grammatically irreproachable model (the Bible).
> If this sloppier usage is real, Mr. Ritchie, how does thou explain it?
> If it's sloppy reporting, Ms. Perry, shame on thee.

Oddly enough, it's "thee" that I have always heard in both cases.
I remember vaguely wondering about this once, but you don't get
to hear the Plain Speech very often here in Texas.  :-)

-- 
Glend.	I can call spirits from the vasty deep.
Hot.	Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you
	do call for them?    --  Henry IV Pt. I, III, i, 53

	Bill Jefferys  8-%
	Astronomy Dept, University of Texas, Austin TX 78712   (USnail)
	{allegra,ihnp4}!{ut-sally,noao}!utastro!bill	(UUCP)
	bill@astro.UTEXAS.EDU.				(Internet)