why did the word "thou" disappear from the current English language?

Answer 1

Five hundred years ago, persons who spoke English differentiated between the singular first person, thou, and the the plural, you. Thee and thy were the singular forms of ye and yours. The King James translators used a deliberately archaic English for the Bible to heighten its tone and set it apart from everyday speech. Since that time, we no longer use ye, and have substituted you and yours for thou and thine.

Correct use of thou had become complicated. One used thou to express the singular, but it was also used to express a child or a person of lower social class. If a child addressed an adult, or a commoner addressed someone of higher class, then the word used was you. If you weren't sure which word to use, you was the save choice.

Complicating all this was the paradox that while thou was used for inferiors, Thou was used for God. The difference was clear in print, due to the uppercase T, but not in speech. It simply became easier, and, eventually, the grammatical rule, to use you.

Among some very traditional cultures, such as the Quakers, the older forms were preserved, and they are still in common use in religious ceremonies. Thou has never become 'wrong,' but it is no longer 'wrong' to use you at all times.

Answer 2

Thou dost make a false assumption. Not to seem holier than thou, but many people still use that form. Superseded in M.E. by plural form you (from a different root), but retained in certain dialects (e.g. Philadelphia Quakers). The plural at first was used in addressing superior individuals, later also (to err on the side of propriety) strangers, and ultimately all equals. By c.1450 the use of thou to address inferiors gave it a tinge of insult unless addressed by parents to children, or intimates to one another. Hence the verb meaning "to use 'thou' to a person" (c.1440).

Answer 3

particular, I agree. Even in Canada we are saying that individuals do not communicate the comparable language. all of us have diverse meanings for issues. yet another occasion is the french spoken in Paris is extremely diverse from that spoken in Quebec, Canada. i think of all of us make a version of English. I nevertheless have faith that the British communicate actual English! ?D

Answer 4

The word "thou" really didn't disapper and it is still in our time! But it changed into other word: the pronoun "you".
That is why in the Ten commandments: "Thou" shall not....

Answer 5

"Thee" talked "thou" into running away, "thence", they are seldom seen.