One thing that might help it feel less strange is realising that you already use a grammatically plural pronoun to refer to individuals all the time: the word “you”. It’s always “you are tall”, not “you is tall”, same as “we” or “they” instead of “he” or “she”. This is because it was historically plural, and “thou” was the singular. Over time we started using the plural to be more polite, and then eventually always using it.
“Thou is tall” sounds weird though.
you already use a grammatically plural pronoun to refer to individuals all the time: the word “you”. It’s always “you are tall”,
This made my brain short circuit lol. Can’t believe I never noticed.
No, that’s incorrect.
It’s “Thou are tall” or “Thou art tall”
Nominative Oblique Possessive
Thou Thee Thy/Thine*
I Me My/Mine*
He Him His
She Her Her/Hers**
You You Your/Yours**
* Used as an object (It is thine) or historically, when the following word started in the vowel (Thine eyes sparkle like diamonds, Mine ears ache)
** Used as an object (it is hers)
Yeah but that’s because you see it in archaic contexts. How do you feel about ‘thou art tall’?
It only feels strange because of how it’s been used previously in my lifetime, not from historical usage. But as you’ve shown, language changes over time, and not having a singular neutral pronoun has proven to be a big omission in English (since “they” has only traditionally been used that way in certain limited cases). If it was good enough for “you,” it’s good enough for “they!”
I’m joining in the “this blew my mind” sentiment and just want to say thanks for sharing this tidbit of info.
