NationStates Jolt Archive

I've been thinking about this lately, and thought I'd put the question to my NationStates friends. The phrase "thank you" does not seem to be proper English to me. Now I'm no expert so I could easily just be wrong, but am I? Give me your opinion. This is my argument.
I don't think you can have a statement with just a verb and a recieving subject in proper English. You can do it with the acting subject and a verb sometimes, but I don't think you can switch it. For example, think of this. You can say "I hug", but you don't say "hug you"; or, another example, "punch you". So why do people say "thank you"? "Thanks to you" and "I thank you" work, but not just "thank you". Well, have at me.

Interesting point. The way I see it (and I am far from an expert in proper English) "thank you" would be more properly treated as a contraction instead of a phrase. "I thank you" would be proper.

Jim

I don't think the phrase origanted as "Thank you", I expect it started something like "I thank you".

'Thank you' is one of the least peculiar figures of speech. Why don't you examine something like "By the way" instead?

Attempting to derive any kind of logic or reason from the construct of the english language is an effort doomed to failure.

Nimzonia: This I know. But most of them can be logically connected to reality in some sense. To take your example, "by the way", it could be interpreted as a contarction of "as long as the conversation is running in that direction". It's hardly the best way to contract it, but you can see why no one would want to say that whole phrase.

As for "thank you" being a contraction, you're probably right. I still think it's a bit wierd though. English is going to lose its rules altogether unless we watch it.

To take your example, "by the way", it could be interpreted as a contarction of "as long as the conversation is running in that direction". It's hardly the best way to contract it, but you can see why no one would want to say that whole phrase.

Actually, for 'By the way', I think it means something like 'By the roadside', sort of meaning, 'As an aside to this line of conversation, I would just like to say...'

You can trace the origins of words, but that doesn't mean their present form is logical; most words we use today have been mangled by the passing of countless mouths, to a point where their originators would no longer recognise them.

I spank you

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"Everyone, please, bow your heads, and pretend to be serious."

oh you naughty boy you. Tee Hee Hee

Sorry. Couldn't resist

You're right, it should be:

To you I give my thanks.

I should give up english-speaking all together. English is too bizzare and disorderly a language when compared to French, which I speak

Nimzonia: This I know. But most of them can be logically connected to reality in some sense. To take your example, "by the way", it could be interpreted as a contarction of "as long as the conversation is running in that direction". It's hardly the best way to contract it, but you can see why no one would want to say that whole phrase.

As for "thank you" being a contraction, you're probably right. I still think it's a bit wierd though. English is going to lose its rules altogether unless we watch it.

since when does english have rules? oh you mean stuff like i before e, like in "protein" yeh?

There is an understood "I" in "Thank you". So it actually means: I thank you.

It's like telling your brother to shutup. You normally say "shutup", but there is an understood "you", making it: You shutup.

There is an understood "I" in "Thank you". So it actually means: I thank you.

It's like telling your brother to shutup. You normally say "shutup", but there is an understood "you", making it: You shutup.

Quite right, if we are going to insist on speaking properly always, we'd better start to write down everything we say, so that we may edit it. Once we have said something editing is over.

Language is constantly evolving, especially the English language. You can't say that something is wrong just becuase it's new. We have to adapt to language. Therefore I voted you are wrong but once it would of been considered wrong to use just thankyou.

As I understand it "Thank you" is a shortening of "I thank you," which is a complete sentence. There are many shortenings like this in English and while they would not be intelligable to a computer reading English and interpreting it by the strict laws of the language speakers have little trouble with it because they are able to move with the natural ebb and flow of the language.

Interesting point. The way I see it (and I am far from an expert in proper English) "thank you" would be more properly treated as a contraction instead of a phrase. "I thank you" would be proper.

Jim

How about simply put "thanks"

Interesting point. The way I see it (and I am far from an expert in proper English) "thank you" would be more properly treated as a contraction instead of a phrase. "I thank you" would be proper.

Jim

How about simply put "thanks"

"Thanks" being short of "You have my thanks." doesn't seem like we've gotten anywhere.

Yeah, I think we pretty much all agree. If you want to keep going with this topic you may, but my work is done here.

Language is constantly evolving, especially the English language. You can't say that something is wrong just becuase it's new. We have to adapt to language. Therefore I voted you are wrong but once it would of been considered wrong to use just thankyou.

Language is constantly evolving, only because people keep mangling it (rather like I mangled the word 'originated' earlier). It isn't a good thing, it is just an inevitable thing. It's wrong, because it makes communication more difficult, even if there's nothing you can do about it.

since when does english have rules? oh you mean stuff like i before e, like in "protein" yeh?

I before E except after C, unless you want it to rhyme with "Bee."

But then there's probably a few words that break that one too...

English has the silliest Etymology.

For example, the word 'doubt' used to be spelled 'doute', but scholars added the b on the authority of the latin 'dubitare'.

There is a "mood" in Hebrew called "jussive", which is in between imperative and indicative. It translates as "May such & such be...", or "let's...".

It would apply when someone sneezes and you say "bless you", meaning "may you be blessed".

To tell you the truth I dont give a **** cause I just write wat i write im the illiterate Nation so its fine for me...ne way u do wat u think is best...

No it's not wrong. I have theory. Have you ever noticed in spanish class, or french class that when you say...oh I dunno "Yo tengo que ir al bano" that you can drop the 'yo' and everyone knows what you're talking about? I think it's something like that. It's probably just another idea we stole from the french, or just another abbreviation (Like I am is I'm, etc)

There is an understood "I" in "Thank you". So it actually means: I thank you.

It's like telling your brother to shutup. You normally say "shutup", but there is an understood "you", making it: You shutup.

That's an interesting example, actually, because it shows how 'up' has become a sort of all-purpose catch-all preposition. You could argue that it's there because shutting your mouth involves swinging your lower jaw up, but I suspect it's more likely, like 'wake up' extrapolated from 'get up'. "I get up from the bed."

Trying to interpret 'wake up' literally can give some very poetic imagery about rising from the arms of Morpheus. :)

The 'I thank you' contraction theory is almost certainly right- after all, someone cited French as a more logical language, well, there we have "Merci" (apologies for the deficiencies of this English-language keyboard) presumably from "Je vous remercie".

Another fascinating one in English is "Goodbye". "God Be With You".