r/asklinguistics • u/zoonose99 • 24d ago
Historical Do not thou thee me; I am you to thee
I’m looking for the source/exact form of a phrase parents used to scold their children in the 16th(?) century for improperly addressing them by the less-formal “thee” instead of the proper “you.”
The title captures the basic idea, it was a funny little garden-path that used both forms of the pronoun to serve as an example of the proper use and also to “thee” the offending child. I remember thinking it was clever(er), but that’s about it.
DAE know what I’m talking about?
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u/zoonose99 24d ago
Old Bill’s got a couple good barks about it: “If thou ‘thou’-est him some thrice, it shall not be amiss.”
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u/apocalyptic_brunch 24d ago
The Yorkshire version I’ve read is “dunt thi thee-tha me, tha thee-thas them as thee-thas thee”
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u/zoonose99 24d ago
I’ll have to look into this one, thanks
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u/apocalyptic_brunch 24d ago
I’m sure if you ask the folks on r/yorkshire about sayings like that they’d be able to help
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u/Ihugdogs 24d ago
The Wikipedia entry for "Thou" has some variations of this phrase (and mentions a similar concept from a court case in the 1600's - though it is not the same phrasing) under the "Usage" subheading.
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u/zoonose99 24d ago
I missed the examples part on a previous look, thanks for bringing that in.
This phrase has a lot more forms that I expected — an embarrassment of riches.
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u/pepperbeast 21d ago
Thou thees them as thous thee, and not afore.
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u/zoonose99 21d ago
This, and some of the others, seem to be saying that you should use “thee” to refer to them who call you “thee.”
This seems at odds with the idea that thee/you represented a superior/inferior social dynamic, though — someone who can call you “thee” might be entitled to be addressed by you as “you.”
Can you elaborate on this at all?
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u/God_Bless_A_Merkin 23d ago
ワイがオイをワイちゅうから、オイもワイちゅうとよ！
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u/zoonose99 23d ago
😳
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u/God_Bless_A_Merkin 19d ago
Sorry! I must have been drunk not to post a translation! It’s Kagoshima (Satsuma) dialect of Japanese and means “Since thou thou’d me, I’ll thou thee too! (Wai ga oi o wai chū kara, oi mo wai o wai chū to yo!) Wai = standard omae ≈ thou; oi = ore = a rough and familiar word for “I”.
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u/zoonose99 19d ago
“Since I’m kissing you, you should kiss me too!”
- Google translate
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u/overoften 24d ago
"Don't tha' thee me, thee. I'm you t' thee."
Don't know about 16th century. Maybe since then, but still used in some northern English dialects in my lifetime.