The Punning Pundit

We had that: Y'all, a contraction of Ye All. Sort of still used in the South.

Ok, we used to have one. But where did it go?

Even accepting it, “you all” is still unsatisfactory (though better than nothing). A) it’s two words. B) There is an implication of speaking to everyone, rather than simply 2 or more people.

And how on Earth did we ditch the 2nd person plural? Has any other language managed this?

The lack of a gender neutral pronoun is the one that annoys me.

OK OK, the language as used in the KJVNT is familiar. Ye [and sometimes Thee- Y is a substitution for Th, which is why you see it on signs, as in Ye Olde Shoppe] is second person plural, familiar & formal, but Thee is strictly familiar.

"Ye all" is a contraction, if Y'all, so basically one word- but Ye can be used in it's stead if the meaning is clear from the sentence.

We got rid of the familiar usage & switched to formal during the Enlightenment, since everybody was supposed to be equal. The Monarch used familiar to everybody else but the commons were to use the formal when addressing the Monarch. It was easier to depose Monarchs and keep the speech than the reverse, but some Religious Dissenters keep the Plainspeech Familiar, such as the Quakers [which is whom I learned this from].

We retain the familiar when talking to God, since it is presumed one is on familiar terms with one's Diety.