"Ye" is also sometimes used to represent an Early Modern English form of the definite articlethe (pronounced /ðiː/), such as in "Ye Olde Shoppe" [the old shop]. The word the was spelled þe but frequently written as "" (here the "e" is written above the other letter to save space, but it could also be written on the line). The initial (or lower) letter is thorn, commonly written þ but which in handwritten scripts could resemble a "y" as shown. Medieval printing presses did not contain the letter thorn. Thus, the letter y was substituted for þ, owing to its similarity to some medieval scripts, especially later ones. The "thorn" character was supplanted during the later phases of Middle English and the earlier phases of Early Modern English by the modern digraph "th". (Its use continues in Icelandic.)
Etymologyedit
In Old English, the use of second-person pronouns was governed by a simple rule: þū addressed one person, ġit addressed two people, and ġē addressed more than two. After the Norman Conquest, which marks the beginning of the French vocabulary influence that characterised the Middle English period, the singular was gradually replaced by the plural as the form of address for a superior and later for an equal. The practice of matching singular and plural forms with informal and formal connotations, respectively, is called the T–V distinction, and in English it is largely due to the influence of French. This began with the practice of addressing kings and other aristocrats in the plural. Eventually, this was generalised, as in French, to address any social superior or stranger with a plural pronoun, which was believed to be more polite. In French, tu was eventually considered either intimate or condescending (and, to a stranger, potentially insulting), while the plural form vous was reserved and formal. In Early Modern English, ye functioned as both an informal plural and formal singular second-person nominative pronoun. "Ye" is still commonly used as an informal plural in Hiberno‐English and Newfoundland English. Both dialects also use variants of "ye" for alternative cases, such as "yeer" (your), "yeers" (yours), and "yeerselves" (yourselves).[2]
Many other variations are noted in Middle English sources due to difference in spellings and pronunciations. See Francis Henry Stratmann (1891). A Middle-English dictionary. [London]: Oxford University Press. and A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 TO 1580, A. L. Mayhew, Walter W. Skeat, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1888.
^ abThe genitives my, mine, thy, and thine are used as possessive adjectives before a noun, or as possessive pronouns without a noun. All four forms are used as possessive adjectives: mine and thine are used before nouns beginning in a vowel sound, or before nouns beginning in the letter h, which was usually silent (e.g. thine eyes and mine heart, which was pronounced as mine art) and my and thy before consonants (thy mother, my love). However, only mine and thine are used as possessive pronouns, as in it is thine and they were mine (not *they were my).
^ abFrom the early Early Modern English period up until the 17th century, his was the possessive of the third-person neuter it as well as of the third-person masculine he. Genitive "it" appears once in the 1611 King James Bible (Leviticus 25:5) as groweth of it owne accord.
^Nosowitz, Dan (October 13, 2016). "Y'all, You'uns, Yinz, Youse: How Regional Dialects Are Fixing Standard English: The real enemy? "You guys."". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
^Hickey, Raymond (1983). "Remarks on pronominal usage in Hiberno-English" (PDF). Studia Anglica Posnaniensia. Universität Buisberg Essen. pp. 47–53. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
January 19, 2024
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Ye pronoun news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ye j iː is a second person plural personal pronoun nominative spelled in Old English as ge In Middle English and Early Modern English it was used as a both informal second person plural and formal honorific to address a group of equals or superiors or a single superior While its use is archaic in most of the English speaking world it is used in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and in some parts of Ireland to distinguish from the singular you 1 The pronoun Ye used in a quote from the Bahaʼu llah Contents 1 Confusion with definite article the 2 Etymology 3 See also 4 ReferencesConfusion with definite article the edit Ye is also sometimes used to represent an Early Modern English form of the definite article the pronounced diː such as in Ye Olde Shoppe the old shop The word the was spelled the but frequently written as nbsp here the e is written above the other letter to save space but it could also be written on the line The initial or lower letter is thorn commonly written th but which in handwritten scripts could resemble a y as shown Medieval printing presses did not contain the letter thorn Thus the letter y was substituted for th owing to its similarity to some medieval scripts especially later ones The thorn character was supplanted during the later phases of Middle English and the earlier phases of Early Modern English by the modern digraph th Its use continues in Icelandic Etymology editIn Old English the use of second person pronouns was governed by a simple rule thu addressed one person ġit addressed two people and ġe addressed more than two After the Norman Conquest which marks the beginning of the French vocabulary influence that characterised the Middle English period the singular was gradually replaced by the plural as the form of address for a superior and later for an equal The practice of matching singular and plural forms with informal and formal connotations respectively is called the T V distinction and in English it is largely due to the influence of French This began with the practice of addressing kings and other aristocrats in the plural Eventually this was generalised as in French to address any social superior or stranger with a plural pronoun which was believed to be more polite In French tu was eventually considered either intimate or condescending and to a stranger potentially insulting while the plural form vous was reserved and formal In Early Modern English ye functioned as both an informal plural and formal singular second person nominative pronoun Ye is still commonly used as an informal plural in Hiberno English and Newfoundland English Both dialects also use variants of ye for alternative cases such as yeer your yeers yours and yeerselves yourselves 2 Old English pronouns Nominative IPA Accusative Dative Genitive1st Singular iċ itʃ mec me me minDual wit wit uncit unc uncerPlural we weː usic us user ure2nd Singular thu 8uː thec the the thinDual ġit jit incit inc incerPlural ġe jeː eowic eow eower3rd Singular Masculine he heː hine him hisNeuter hit hit hit him hisFeminine heo heːo hie hiere hierePlural hie hiːy hie heom heoraPersonal pronouns in Middle English Below each Middle English pronoun the Modern English is shown in italics with archaic forms in brackets Person gender Subject Object Possessive determiner Possessive pronoun ReflexiveSingularFirst ic ich I I me mi me min minen pl my min mire minre mine min one mi selven myselfSecond thou thu tu theou you thou the you thee thi ti your thy thin thyn yours thine theself thi selven yourself thyself Third Masculine he he him a hine b him his hisse hes his his hisse his him seluen himselfFeminine sche o s c ho ȝho she heo his hie hies hire her hio heo hire heore her hers heo seolf herselfNeuter hit it hit him it his its his its hit sulue itselfPluralFirst we we us ous us ure n our e ures urne our oures ours us self ous silve ourselvesSecond ȝe ye you ye eow ȝ ou ȝow gu you you eower ȝ ower gur e our your youres yours Ȝou self ou selve yourselvesThird From Old English heo he his heo m heore her From Old Norse tha thei theo tho them tho their tham seluemodern they them their theirs themselves Dative case indirect object Accusative case direct object Many other variations are noted in Middle English sources due to difference in spellings and pronunciations See Francis Henry Stratmann 1891 A Middle English dictionary London Oxford University Press and A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A D 1150 TO 1580 A L Mayhew Walter W Skeat Oxford Clarendon Press 1888 Personal pronouns in Early Modern English Nominative Oblique Genitive Possessive1st person singular I me my mine 1 mineplural we us our ours2nd person singular informal thou thee thy thine 1 thinesingular formal ye you you your yoursplural3rd person singular he she it him her it his her his it 2 his hers his 2 plural they them their theirs a b The genitives my mine thy and thine are used as possessive adjectives before a noun or as possessive pronouns without a noun All four forms are used as possessive adjectives mine and thine are used before nouns beginning in a vowel sound or before nouns beginning in the letter h which was usually silent e g thine eyes and mine heart which was pronounced as mine art and my and thy before consonants thy mother my love However only mine and thine are used as possessive pronouns as in it is thine and they were mine not they were my a b From the early Early Modern English period up until the 17th century his was the possessive of the third person neuter it as well as of the third person masculine he Genitive it appears once in the 1611 King James Bible Leviticus 25 5 as groweth of it owne accord See also edit nbsp Look up ye in Wiktionary the free dictionary Y all YinzReferences edit Nosowitz Dan October 13 2016 Y all You uns Yinz Youse How Regional Dialects Are Fixing Standard English The real enemy You guys Atlas Obscura Retrieved August 31 2018 Hickey Raymond 1983 Remarks on pronominal usage in Hiberno English PDF Studia Anglica Posnaniensia Universitat Buisberg Essen pp 47 53 Retrieved 2020 11 11 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ye pronoun amp oldid 1194712099, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
