5

Do all native speakers know the words

Thee Thou Thine Thy ?

And all other forms of creating the sentences in the archaic manner?

I mean all these phrases and grammar aren't used by anyone now but known by every person or aren't known, either.

Because it's kind of amusing if nobody uses it but knows perfectly and one day some guys can go for a walk and use this archaic genre of talking to make a view of some noble people. And everybody will understand them if it's known by everyone.

P.S. I would be extremely pleased and grateful if you asnwered something using these adorable words...:)

Improve this question
3
  • These forms are found mainly in church liturgies. It's impossible to say how many younger native English speakers are familiar with them. – Ronald Sole Apr 19 '19 at 14:53
  • 2
    The word "all" in your first sentence is perhaps not the best way to put it. I am a native speaker, I do not know these words, and thus by my singular counter-example the answer is "no." Now, I will say that I am vaguely aware of these terms as antiquatied alternatives to "you" and "your" and there is some nominative/accusative difference that I didn't learn about until college and then promptly forgot. But vague awareness is far short of knowledge. – cobaltduck Apr 19 '19 at 14:55
  • So you can't just switch your mind for this kind of grammar and start speaking English with the archaic forms of words with the same ease as you speak the current version of English? – Michael Azarenko Apr 19 '19 at 15:04
3

Most English speakers are familiar with these terms, but are not familiar with the exact distinctions; for instance, a native English speaker may very well, when trying to sound archaic, say something along the lines of "How art thee?", when it should be "How art thou?" Also, because this is archaic language, many people think that it's more formal, when in fact "thou" was the informal second person. It would have been a serious breach of etiquette to address a noble person as "thou", at least for a common person.

Improve this answer
3
  • So they know some definite words but not always they can be formed correctly by them. But why has the "thou" been canceled? It's so uncomfortable to use only "you" in the modern English because in my languagre we have our "you" and "thou". – Michael Azarenko Apr 19 '19 at 16:10
  • @MichaelAzarenko You can get more definitive answers from linguists, but my guess would be that social norms evolved away from "thou" due to wanting to avoid offense. Assuming that your native language is Russian, "ты" has can convey affection, but can also convey social standing, as in teachers calling students "ты" but students calling teachers "вы". It's safer to use "вы" than "ты"; a person who thinks they are due "вы" is likely to take offense at "ты". It's not too difficult to imagine a society in which, over several centuries, the social standing meaning comes to dominate, is it? – Acccumulation Apr 19 '19 at 16:29
  • But there can be some opposite cases which are pretty funny like if some person will talk with a dog while feeding it like "Well, you are so hungry". It will mean he finds himself equal to the dog? Or the dog equal to him? Wouldn't it be useful to use "thou art so hungry" in such kind of cases? Or at least "thou are so hungry" if not to change any auxiliary verbs, only pronouns. – Michael Azarenko Apr 19 '19 at 16:36
1
Question:

Do all native speakers know the words:

Thee Thou Thine Thy?

The answer is no, the average English speaker won't use these words nor will they hear these words unless they're in church or reading old literature.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.