Re: Old Norse (was Re: New to the list)

Marcus Smith wrote:
> That's an account I hadn't heard before.  The story I was taught actually
> worked in the other direction.  As the merchants became richer than the minor
> nobles, they began to demand the same amount of respect, so people began using
> the polite "you" rather than common "thou."
Quite likely, both stories were factors in the loss of "thou".  I
seriously doubt that such a major change was due to a single factor.

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