NJHUNTER-L Archives

From: Ron Warrick <>
Subject: Re: [NJHUNTER] Grammarians: 17th, 18th, 19th century use of 'thee' and 'thou'
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 07:08:28 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <003a01c137a2$e18c9140$dc5c56d1@8lv7501>

--- "Catherine R. Buck" <>
wrote:

> If using 'thee' and 'thou' was common practice
> early on, would cultural heritage be ingrained
> enough so that it took 150-200 years to die out
> of common use in the middle Atlantc colonies
> and states?

It is possible that it lived on in some isolated
non-Quaker communities, but this is doubtful in
New Jersey isn't it? Some people may have
retained the usage for close family ("thee" and
"thou" being more "intimate" forms of address). I
understand the usage is still prevalent for
informal speech in parts of England. I wouldn't
give up on the Quaker track too soon though; I
would think it is certainly the most likely
scenario for this geographical case.

Ron

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This thread:

• [NJHUNTER] Grammarians: 17th, 18th, 19th century use of 'thee' and 'thou' by "Catherine R. Buck" <>

  • Re: [NJHUNTER] Grammarians: 17th, 18th, 19th century use of 'thee' and 'thou' by Ron Warrick <>

  • Re: [NJHUNTER] Grammarians: 17th, 18th, 19th century use of 'thee' and 'thou' by "Alison Wallner" <>