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From: davidt@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (David Tugwell)
Subject: Re: Decline of the 'net
Message-ID: <DF4HEy.AxB@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <librikDEz5n2.M4n@netcom.com> <43it02$pha@zikzak.zikzak.net> <43iuq8$lng@medici.trl.OZ.AU>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 22:35:19 GMT
Lines: 30

In article <43iuq8$lng@medici.trl.OZ.AU> jbm@newsserver.trl.oz.au (Jacques Guy) writes:
>froggy@zikzak.zikzak.net (Robyn McNamara) writes:
>
>>I think the prevalence of objective "you and I" is more likely to result
>>from overcorrection: a child is told that subjective "you and me" is incorrect
>>and generalises a rule that "you and I" is the _only_ correct form.  
>
>Like the famous "It is I", yes. Me, I don't baulk when I hear "you and me"
>as subject. In fact, I *think* I would say "you and me are in a pretty
>pickle", not "you and I".  Yes, definitely so. It is "you and I" which
>rattles me, subject, object or other. 
>
>Hmmm, what about "thou and I", "thou and me"? "Thee and me" I would
>say, perhaps.
>
>

That's dead right. In South Yorkshire and thereabouts, they say: "Thee
and me are going, any road" and so on.  "Tha and I" or "tha and me"
are so impossible that they sound bizarre. 

I'm sure that this construction escapes the influence of meddlesome
teachers as they will always correct along the lines of

 "it's not 'thee and me', Johnny, it's 'you and I'"

thus preserving the natural instinct in the broad dialect.


David Tugwell
