MORE COMPLEXITIES OF TU AND VOUS.

MORE COMPLEXITIES OF TU AND VOUS. The Matthew Engel article that I linked to yesterday describes some of the continuing complexities of familiar pronouns in other languages. The pronouns are an index of the tension between egalitarianism and a love of hierarchy in different societies, as reflected in the subtle use of “tu” and “vous” I discussed here. In Sweden, Ikea made the use of the informal “du” compulsory. The Swedish airline SAS went the other direction by insisting on “ni”. In English, “thou” was disappearing by 1600 except in isolated areas. Engel has a wonderful old saying from Yorkshire: : “Don’t thee-thou me, thee-thou thissen [yourself], and see how tha’ likes thee-thou.”