# I'm up for reviving thou **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776 "2008-07-17T01:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/41 "2012-04-10T13:23:48Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > People also throw it into sentences in random ways. The worst is Paula Deen ( **Mrs. FtG** watches her shows). She says things “And now we’ll put that in a 350 degree oven, y’all.” As in “We’ll put that in a 350 degree oven, you.”?? Maybe I spent too much time in the South, but this makes sense to me. She’s saying “We’ll put that into a 350 degree oven, viewers.” I mean, not strictly necessary perhaps (who else would she be talking to?), but could be considered friendly or polite to acknowledge the people listening to her – am I right, Dopers? It’s linguistically exactly like saying “Let’s get ready to rock, Detroit!” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/42 "2012-04-10T14:04:30Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Rather a lot of people here say “Youse” as the plural form of “You”. I once heard learned counsel say to the judges of the Court of Appeal: “Youse guys know the law.” we’ve never let him forget it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/43 "2012-04-10T15:28:37Z")
Verily, and if given a chance I would revive Thee. ---
**Author:** ![wuglife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@wuglife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wuglife)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/44 "2012-04-25T14:56:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Thou/thee/thine/thy never completely went away - it’s still an active, everyday part of some dialects - for example, in Yorkshire. Lancashire, as well. There’s even a society about preservation of Lancashire’s way of speaking (which includes “thou”, “thee”, and “thy” etc., although they are often written a bit differently, such as “thisel’” for “thyself”), and the literature and culture of Lancashire. It is called The Lancashire Society; it has a web page, too. I am working to introduce “thou” more into conversation, notes, etc., though I am American. I think of it as an endangered part of English, and my interest in preserving it before it goes totally extinct (already I hear young people in Lancashire are more likely to use “you”, always) I liken to an animal enthusiast wanting to preserve an endangered species. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/45 "2012-04-25T15:34:25Z")
Not unless you pay me. I’ll get on board with this for, say, five thou. ---
**Author:** ![wuglife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@wuglife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wuglife)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/46 "2012-04-25T15:41:30Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Not unless you pay me. I’ll get on board with this for, say, five thou. I see what thou did there. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/47 "2012-04-25T22:53:30Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > So we ditched the old singular (thou), and replaced it with the old plural (you), but then now we have the same word for singular and plural (you), so folks say something else for the plural (y’all), but that’s no good, so _let’s replace the new plural with the old singular!_ Yes, it makes wonderful sense. Let’s do it 🙂 Hey, it’s English, baby - why the hell not? I love [this book](http://www.amazon.com/The-Mother-Tongue-English-That/dp/0380715430/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335394378&sr=8-1). Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/48 "2012-04-25T23:14:20Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > They’re commonly found in Romance languages. So, we’d be a new Romantic, looking for the T-V sound. I hate you forever. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/49 "2012-04-26T01:02:42Z")
I thought of this: > [@](#): > > “Like it? It is more sweet to me than I can tell. Say `thou’, > also, and I shall say your language is almost as beautiful as mine.” > > “Isn’t `thou’ a little sentimental?” asked Jo, privately thinking > it a lovely monosyllable. > > “Sentimental? Yes. Thank Gott, we Germans believe in sentiment, > and keep ourselves young mit it. Your English `you' is so cold, say `thou’, heart’s dearest, it means so much to me,” pleaded Mr. Bhaer, > more like a romantic student than a grave professor. ---
**Author:** ![wuglife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@wuglife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wuglife)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776/50 "2012-05-03T00:53:28Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > I thought of this: Thanks a lot for sharing that; I had totally forgotten about that book and I never actually read it, though I heard about it as a kid. I honestly probably would have never known that I had a kindred soul in the 19th century. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-up-for-reviving-thou/456776.md?page=2)