ABSTRACT
The second person pronouns in English underwent major changes during the Early Modern English period. The change was triggered by the loss of thou as a specific second person singular reference which was later entirely restricted to religious and some poetic usage. After a period of overlap, the gap which was vacated by the demise of thou was later filled by the plural form you being used for the singular as well. This led to syncretism of the singular and plural and represented a quandary when speakers desired to distinguish the two categories. The solution for many varieties was to introduce an innovative form for the plural, retaining you for the singular. In Irish English the new pronouns took on a number of forms, notably ye(e)z and yous(e). The concern of this paper is to trace the appearance of these forms, offering a credible chronology, and to conjecture about their source.
