Just to get away from politics for a while...
Those familiar with languages such as Italian, French, and many others, will know that there is a formal conjugation of the verb which is supposed to be used when speaking to someone "higher" than you (how that is defined varies). In Italian, this means using the third person singluar. So in English, instead of saying "would you like a drink" you would say "would sir like a drink" (third person). I was talking to my German housemate the other night, and apparently German has even more formality. Apart from the regular formal conjugation, there is an even higher conjugation used when meeting royalty. Jokingly, I asked if royalty therefore had to use a different conjugation when speaking to themselves, and he replied "Yes... in first person plural".
None of this exists in English I thought. But when I think about it, I could imagine a servant saying "would sir like a drink?". So perhaps it does exist. And as for the royalty speaking (or referring) to themselves, didn't Queen Victoria say "WE are not amused", referring to herself?
So my question is, did this changing of conjugation ever exist in English, does it still technically exist, and why is it hardly ever used now?
Cheers,
Sbagman.
(Will post this on the General Talk board too).
Those familiar with languages such as Italian, French, and many others, will know that there is a formal conjugation of the verb which is supposed to be used when speaking to someone "higher" than you (how that is defined varies). In Italian, this means using the third person singluar. So in English, instead of saying "would you like a drink" you would say "would sir like a drink" (third person). I was talking to my German housemate the other night, and apparently German has even more formality. Apart from the regular formal conjugation, there is an even higher conjugation used when meeting royalty. Jokingly, I asked if royalty therefore had to use a different conjugation when speaking to themselves, and he replied "Yes... in first person plural".
None of this exists in English I thought. But when I think about it, I could imagine a servant saying "would sir like a drink?". So perhaps it does exist. And as for the royalty speaking (or referring) to themselves, didn't Queen Victoria say "WE are not amused", referring to herself?
So my question is, did this changing of conjugation ever exist in English, does it still technically exist, and why is it hardly ever used now?
Cheers,
Sbagman.
(Will post this on the General Talk board too).