LL-L: "Pronouns" LOWLANDS-L, 25.JUN.2001 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Edwin Alexander <edsells at idirect.com>
Subject: LL-L: "Pronouns" LOWLANDS-L, 25.JUN.2001 (01) [E/S]

At 02:57 PM 06/25/01 -0700, Sandy wrote:

  It's worth remembering that in large areas of England such
  as the West Country, Yorkshire and Lancashire, the thou
  /thee/thy forms are still used, at least amongst older
  speakers, though with some variations in pronunciation.

As well as among some rural groups of conservative Quakers (Religious
Society of Friends, if you will) in Ohio and
Pennsylvania, where these forms are still used.  This practice was urged
upon early Friends by their charismatic leader George
Fox, who considered the use of the "you" form to be worldly.  This was
around the time of Cromwell, whenever that was.
Among the Quakers, this is known as "Plain Speech".  Many of the older
people in these communities still wear "Plain
Clothes", which are somewhat like the Amish black clothing.

There's a Quaker joke that survives from probably a few hundred years ago
about the Quaker farmer who was walking his
mule.  When the mule balked, this "tender" farmer tried every form of
Friendly Persuasion, but to no avail.  Finally in
frustration, he cried out, "Thou knowest that I would neither strike thee
nor curse thee, but dammit if thou dost not move, I
will sell thee to a Methodist, and he'll beat the shit out of thee."

Interestingly, I've always heard this joke using  the form "Thee knows" and
"if thee does not move", but the tellers were not
native users of the "thee and thou" forms.

Ed Alexander
JAG REALTY INC.
80 Jones Street Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8R 1Y1
Pager: 905-312-5204  Fax: 905-525-6671  http://camexvi.com/jag

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