7 votes

Wit, unker, git: The lost medieval pronouns of English intimacy

Posted by cfabbro
Tags: history, english.old, 12th century, pronouns.personal, pronouns.dual, poetry, wulf and eadwacer, english.middle, 8th century, beowulf, norman conquest, vikings, norse.old, pronouns.gender neutral, 14th century, william and the werewolf, the pardoners prologue, geoffrey chaucer, multilingualism, french, author.sophie hardach, source.bbc future
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260408-the-extinct-english-words-for-just-the-two-of-us

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Published
Apr 9 2026
Word count
1717 words

3 comments

  1. [2]
    carsonc
    Link
    Well, how abaht that? Yinz are gonna leave aht Pittsburgh again just cause we dahnt say "Y'all" or "Youse" n'at.

    In Glasgow and west central Scotland, another version, "youse", is often used as the plural in the local dialect.
    And people today also use spontaneous workarounds to clarify the plural in everyday life, such as "you all" and "you guys".

    Well, how abaht that? Yinz are gonna leave aht Pittsburgh again just cause we dahnt say "Y'all" or "Youse" n'at.

    3 votes
    1. jtfriendly
      Link Parent
      Youse guys use "youse" in Pittsburgh? Getaddahee!

      Youse guys use "youse" in Pittsburgh? Getaddahee!

      1 vote